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CCI Colleges
Healthcare training built around patient support

Medical Assisting.

Build the clinical and administrative skills that help medical offices and outpatient clinics run smoothly. CCI’s Medical Assisting program combines classroom instruction, hands-on lab practice, and a supervised externship as you prepare for entry-level work within California’s medical-assistant scope.

No pressure. Just answers.

Medical Assisting students stand together in a training lab.
Two Medical Assisting students practice measuring and recording weight.
Two Medical Assisting students practice taking a temperature.
Program length
9 months
Campuses to Serve our Communities.
3
Next Class Start
November 9, 2026
01 | 06
Campus availability

Your Medical Assisting path, closer to home.

Medical Assisting is offered at CCI campuses in Lancaster, Moreno Valley, and Oxnard. Explore the location that works best for you, then review its current class schedule and externship requirements.

Choose the campus that works for you

Schedules vary by campus. Externship training generally takes place during regular business hours, and evening students must be available for daytime externship assignments. CCI cannot guarantee an evening externship placement.

How You’ll Learn

Learn. Practice. Apply.

The program moves from clinical and administrative foundations to hands-on skills practice and a supervised externship.

  1. learn

    Clinical and Administrative Foundations

    Build medical terminology, anatomy, patient communication, scheduling, records, insurance, and medical-office fundamentals.

    A Medical Assisting student practices an injection on an arm mannequin in a training lab.
  2. practice
    Two Medical Assisting students practice a blood draw in a training lab.

    Hands-On Clinical Skills

    Practice vital signs, exam preparation, infection control, specimen handling, venipuncture, injections, EKGs, and other routine supportive procedures with instructor guidance.

  3. apply

    Supervised Externship

    Bring classroom and lab learning into an approved healthcare setting while working under qualified supervision.

    A Medical Assisting student prepares supplies at a training-lab counter.

What you’ll build

The skills behind patient support. The organization that keeps care moving.

Medical Assisting brings clinical support and medical-office coordination together. You’ll build practical skills for patient visits while learning the communication, documentation, safety, and administrative routines that support an effective healthcare team.

  1. Support the patient visit

    Practice patient intake, medical histories, vital signs, examination preparation, and clear communication throughout the visit.

  2. Assist with routine clinical procedures

    Learn how medical assistants support examinations, maintain supplies, prepare treatment areas, and perform trained supportive tasks under authorization and supervision.

  3. Work with specimens, injections, and medications

    Build training in specimen collection, venipuncture, injections, medication support, and the safety requirements that govern those duties in California.

  4. Use EKG and diagnostic workflows

    Practice EKG procedures, routine testing support, equipment preparation, and accurate documentation without interpreting results.

  5. Keep the medical office moving

    Develop skills in scheduling, records, insurance forms, billing workflows, telephone communication, and front-office organization.

  6. Document, communicate, and protect privacy

    Strengthen professional communication, accurate recordkeeping, confidentiality, teamwork, and the judgment to escalate questions to licensed staff.

INSIDE THE PROGRAM

Classroom, practice, people, and milestones.

  1. Two Medical Assisting students collaborate while preparing for an injection practice activity.
    Student collaboration. Working together helps students practice communication, preparation, and safe clinical routines.
  2. Medical Assisting students and staff gather during mock-interview preparation.
    Career preparation. Career preparation helps students practice how they will communicate beyond the classroom.
  3. Three Medical Assisting students in professional attire stand together on campus.
    Professional readiness. Students practice presenting themselves professionally as they prepare for the workplace.
  4. Medical Assisting students and staff stand together during a mock-interview activity.
    Interview preparation. Staff-guided interview activities give students another opportunity to prepare for conversations with employers.
  5. Two Medical Assisting instructors stand together during a recognition-week activity.
    Instructor community. Instructors contribute guidance and experience throughout the Medical Assisting program.
  6. A Medical Assisting student practices a patient-intake conversation in an exam room.
    Patient intake. Patient-intake practice helps students connect communication, documentation, and clinical workflow.
  7. Medical Assisting students practice a clinical procedure together at a laboratory table.
    Guided clinical practice. Hands-on practice gives students space to build careful technique with classmates nearby.
  8. Medical Assisting students practice specimen-handling procedures in a clinical lab.
    Specimen handling. Clinical lab activities reinforce preparation, infection control, and accurate specimen workflows.
  9. A Medical Assisting cohort gathers together outside a CCI classroom.
    Cohort community. Classmates are part of the day-to-day community surrounding Medical Assisting training.
Student collaboration

Working together helps students practice communication, preparation, and safe clinical routines.

Your Journey

From medical-office foundations to supervised practice

The curriculum progresses through patient support, clinical procedures, body systems, administrative workflows, and an externship where students apply their training in an approved setting.

  1. Foundation

    Patient Care and Medical Office Fundamentals

    Begin with the communication, terminology, patient-intake, and office skills used throughout medical assisting.

    • Patient communication and scheduling
    • Medical terminology
    • Vital signs
    • Patient histories
    • Medical-office workflow

    Build the foundation for patient-facing and administrative work.

  2. Clinical Skills

    Clinical Procedures and Core Anatomy

    Connect anatomy and physiology with the routine procedures used to prepare patients and support examinations.

    • Examination preparation
    • Venipuncture and specimen collection
    • Infection control
    • Routine laboratory procedures
    • Anatomy and physiology

    Move from foundational knowledge into guided clinical practice.

  3. Diagnostic Support

    Cardiovascular and Emergency Readiness

    Develop cardiovascular, EKG, injection, medication-support, and emergency-response skills.

    • EKG and cardiology
    • Injection procedures
    • Medication support
    • CPR and First Aid
    • Emergency procedures

    Strengthen safe clinical support and emergency readiness.

  4. Integrated Practice

    Health Behavior and Diagnostic Systems

    Expand clinical and administrative knowledge across body systems, patient behavior, records, and diagnostic workflows.

    • Medical records and finance
    • Patient behavior and communication
    • Immune and nervous systems
    • Digestive and respiratory systems
    • Diagnostic-procedure support

    Connect clinical observations with clear documentation and team communication.

  5. Externship

    Externship and Certification Readiness

    Apply program learning in an approved healthcare setting while preparing for program completion and optional national certification.

    • Supervised externship
    • Professional documentation
    • Employer evaluation
    • NCCT review and testing
    • Career preparation

    Complete the transition from guided practice to an entry-level workplace setting.

Certification & Career

What comes next

Program completion prepares graduates for entry-level Medical Assisting work and provides an opportunity to pursue national certification. California does not license medical assistants.

From Program Completion to the Workplace

  1. Complete the Medical Assisting program
  2. Receive CCI’s Medical Assisting and supporting certificates
  3. Take the NCCT NCMA examination if pursuing national certification
  4. Meet employer and role-specific requirements
  5. Pursue entry-level Medical Assisting work under required supervision

California does not require medical assistants to hold a state license or certification. Employers or insurance carriers may require national certification. Program completion or certification does not expand the duties allowed under California law; duties depend on training, authorization, and supervision.

Review California Medical Assistant requirements

Where Medical Assistants May Work

  • Physician offices
  • Outpatient clinics
  • Specialty medical practices
  • Ambulatory-care settings
  • Medical administrative and front-office environments
  • Other settings permitted by California law and employer policy

Getting Started

Admissions and student support

Admissions guides applicants through the entrance process, while academic, externship, and career support continues through training and preparation for the workplace.

A CCI staff member presents to seated students in a classroom.

Admissions stages

  1. Speak with Admissions
  2. Review campus schedules, costs, eligibility, and Quick Facts
  3. Complete the pre-entrance examination
  4. Submit education, identity, TB, and drug-screen documentation
  5. Complete orientation and remaining enrollment requirements
Review complete requirements in the Program Quick Facts

Student support

  • Instructor guidance
  • Tutoring and academic support
  • Guided clinical-skills practice
  • Externship coordination
  • Career-services and job-placement assistance
  • Financial-aid guidance for those who qualify
  • Student-services and accommodation support

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Official documents

Program resources

Review the current schedule, curriculum, admissions requirements, costs, California scope information, and certification resources for the campus you are considering.

Your next step

See where your Medical Assisting training could begin.

Explore the campus, review the current schedule, and get answers about the program, externship, and admissions requirements.

No pressure. Just answers.