On Long Island, a chance to learn while building a healthcare career

A new “earn and learn” opportunity allows people to attend college while building a career in healthcare.

The inaugural Earn and Learn Medical Assistant Program is a partnership between Northwell Health and Nassau Community College. It provides people with the chance to train as entry-level medical assistants.

Medical assistants perform patient care under the direct supervision of a physician or nurse. The training program begins in January.

The one-year program is now accepting applications from Northwell employees and external candidates.

Here’s how the medical assistant certificate program works: It will include medical associates starting work at Northwell Health, while simultaneously beginning their coursework at Nassau Community College. Northwell will pay tuition and fees of about $10,000 per person, while the Nassau Community College Foundation will cover book expenses for the first initial year of the program.

“Medical assistants are key members of the healthcare team in physician practices and other outpatient medical facilities – they are often the first clinical staff member patients encounter,” Kathleen Donovan, Northwell’s regional human resource officer in ambulatory services, said in a statement about the program.

“We’re excited to partner with Nassau Community College to design this innovative, hands-on training program for medical assistants as we look to prepare our current and future workforce for careers in health care,” Donovan added.

This is a field in which there is big demand for workers, experts say.

“The medical assistant field is expected to grow exponentially in the next five years,” Maria Conzatti, the interim president of Nassau Community College, said in the statement.

Conzatti added that the community college “is pleased to match the critical needs of our medical partners with the educational aspirations of people in our communities.”

The work-education program was specifically designed to train and retain medical assistants in the competitive healthcare industry. Students enrolled in the program work four days a week and take courses at Nassau Community College on Fridays, two evenings per week as well as on Saturdays.

Coursework for medical assistants include administrative and clinical documentation, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, CPR and basic life support training, medical coding among other clinical areas.

The program features study sessions, mentors, team building and clinical placement for graduates. Upon successful performance in their medical associate role and the completion of the required coursework, the student will be promoted to a certified medical assistant position.

As part of the program, the student must also commit to working at Northwell in this role for a minimum of one year.