UCLA Extension Medical Assistant Program: A Comprehensive Overview

The demand for medical assistants is growing rapidly, driven by the aging population and the increasing need for medical services. The graying of America means the demand for medical services, both treatment and preventive care is growing, creating a big opportunity for people to work in the medical profession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for medical assistants is expected to grow 29 percent over the next seven years, much faster than the average projected growth for all occupations. UCLA Health recognizes this need and has developed a comprehensive Medical Assistant Program (MAP) through a partnership between UCLA Health and UCLA Extension. This program aims to equip students with the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical experience to excel in a medical assistant career.

The Growing Need for Medical Assistants

Medical assistants play an essential role in providing health care. They take vital signs, administer medications and perform administrative tasks, helping physicians care for patients. As Quanna Batiste, Chief Nursing Officer of Ambulatory Care for UCLA Health, explains, “Because of the greater need for care, we have a larger need for a workforce. Having more workforce available increases the efficiency of the office, allowing doctors to see more patients." Medical assistants are generally the first people a patient sees in a doctor’s office after the receptionist. “They’re asking them what their chief complaint is, taking all of their history, making sure that everything is accurate so that the physician can make the best diagnosis possible,” Batiste tells me. “They do vital signs - taking blood pressure, taking temperature, pulse, respiration. They do electrocardiograms on the patient. Unlike a registered nurse, who works collaboratively with the physician and can assess the patient and recommend a course of action, a medical assistant is task-based. “They can collect information, screen patients. They would have to report things to the physician. UCLA Health has more than 170 facilities across Southern California, including its top-rated medical center on the University of California Los Angeles campus and dozens of outpatient clinics. Over the course of a year, more than 600,000 patients make more than 2.5 million visits to its physicians.

Development of the UCLA Medical Assistant Program

Recognizing the increasing demand for skilled medical assistants, UCLA Health took a proactive approach to develop its own training program. One of the first things she did was visit existing medical assistant programs to see if there was an existing program they could buy and implement. “I observed students in their programs. I looked at the curriculum online,” Batiste tells me. Through her initial investigations, she determined that UCLA Health needed to design its own program. “There was a gap in what I saw the programs teaching and what I know that we could do if we were able to devote resources to building a great program.” Batiste and her colleagues wrote their own curriculum from scratch, chose their own textbooks and created their own tests. “Some programs may be 12 weeks; some are three months. The longest is probably six months. Our program is longer because it was built by registered nurses, using the knowledge that we have.

Program Structure and Curriculum

The UCLA Medical Assistant Program is an integral part of UCLA Health. The UCLA program trains the students to be a medical assistant anywhere in the country and was designed to meet all the requirements for accreditation by CAAHEP. “And because it is from an accredited program, our medical assistants are also required to sit for the national certification exam, the National CMA. Instructors are working nurses, physicians, and other health care professionals working in the medical field.

A key component of the program focuses on administrative functions, including:

Appointment and scheduling methods
Introduction to the electronic medical record and practice management system
Third party reimbursement and basic finance practices
Managing appointments
Utilizing an EMR
Creating, organizing, and maintaining a medical record
Interpreting insurance information and verifying insurance eligibility and pre-authorization
Introduction to procedural and diagnostic coding

This UCLA Medical Assistant Program course is the third in a 3-part series.

Admission Requirements and Application Process

The UCLA Medical Assistant Program is set up in a cohort model that begins each fall or spring quarter. Fall enrollment is open, and closes September 28. To start your application, click "Apply Now" which is located beneath the course listings. May 15th, 2025: The application window opens for the Winter 2026 cohort.

Applicants are required to:

Be able to work in the United States
Have a high school diploma or GED
Be competent in reading comprehension
Have basic arithmetic and math skills
Take the HESI admission exam

Selection Process/Admission is based on:

Submission of a complete application including references and transcripts
Satisfactory performance on the HESI entrance exam
MAP Admission Committee decision to invite selected candidates to an interview
Final application decisions are completed after the interview

Applicants must provide the following at the time of application:

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Complete a student profile
High school transcripts or GED certificate (unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application)
College transcripts - if applicable (unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application)
Comprehensive resumé
Three (3) references who can recommend you for the program, must be completed on the reference form (PDF). One letter must be from your current supervisor (if employed).

Technical Standards

Admission or progression in the UCLA Health Medical Assistant Program will be denied if a student is unable to demonstrate the technical standards. Technical Standards are nonacademic criteria essential for program participation. These core competencies are the minimum skills necessary for successful completion of the Medical Assistant Program.

Students must be able to:

Motor:
- Apply general care & emergency treatment to patients.
- Help lift patients who may be unable to move themselves to and from the examination table.
- Lift equipment up to 50 pounds and manipulate mechanical and patient care equipment.
- Work standing on his/her feet 75% of the time.
- Have adequate physical mobility, fine and gross motor skills, sensation, balance and equilibrium.
Cognitive:
- Read and comprehend written instructions, patients’ charts, and other written material.
- Perform basic mathematical equations and dosage calculations.
- Demonstrate sufficient critical thinking skills to provide quality patient care within the scope of practice of the Medical Assistant.
- Provide care safely, responsibly and efficiently during medical emergencies and other stressful situations.
Communication:
- Communicate effectively (verbal, non-verbal and written) with patients, their families, and other members of the healthcare team.
- Be able to hear and observe clinical staff and patients in order to accurately assess vital signs, elicit information, perceive nonverbal communications, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and recognize and respond to an emergency.
- Possess appropriate interpersonal communication skills to interact positively with all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.
- Apply the principles of confidentiality, respect, and discretion.
Behavioral/Social Attributes:
- Display flexibility to adjust to changing environments
- Demonstrate professionalism and a positive work ethic.
- Accept responsibility and accountability for actions in the classroom, lab, or clinic setting.

Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations should make an appointment with the UCLA Extension Disabilities Services Office. Individuals will be asked to provide documentation of the disability in order to assist with the provision of appropriate reasonable accommodations. Accommodations that fundamentally alter the nature of the academic program, could jeopardize the health and safety of others, or cause an undue burden to the program are not considered reasonable accommodations.

Individuals must possess a functional level of ability to perform the duties required of a Medical Assistant with or without reasonable accommodations. If an individual experiences a change during the program, so that the technical standards cannot be met, with or without reasonable accommodations, the student will be withdrawn from the Medical Assistant Program.

Provisional Acceptance

If an applicant is selected and does not complete the registration process, the applicant must reapply and is not guaranteed acceptance in any subsequent selection process.

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The provisional acceptance notice will include:

Registration information
Mandatory health screening and vaccination information
Details of mandatory orientation

All students are considered conditionally accepted until completion of all the above items. Further information will be provided when the individual’s admission into the Medical Assistant Program is confirmed. All courses in this program are paid for individually, unless otherwise noted. An application form is required to establish candidacy in this program.

Program Costs and Financial Aid

The cost of the year-long program ($23,000) is comparable to a year at a four-year college or university. “The students who are not UCLA Health employees already received $18,500 in scholarship. So they paid about $5,000 out-of-pocket, broken up over four quarters.

The Department of Education requires colleges and universities to disclose certain information for any financial aid eligible program that, “prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation”. This information includes program costs; occupations that the program prepares students to enter; occupational profiles; on time completion rate; and for the most recent award year: the number of students who have completed the program, the number of students who complete the program within the estimated duration, the job placement rate, and the median Title IV and private loan debt incurred by those who complete the program.

New Student Orientation

The purpose of New Student Orientation Program at UCLA Extension is to prepare students to be academically successful in the Medical Assistant Program by providing information and resources that will allow students to make informed choices to be successful throughout the program, creating a welcoming environment that allows students to connect with their new peers and program faculty and advisors, and communicate the expectations of the program including Program policies and standards. Fall enrollment is open, and closes September 28.

Career Opportunities and Certification

Course of study prepares students for the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) National Certified Medical Assistants (NCMA) exam.

UCLA Health currently employs over 500 Medical Assistants and there are many open positions for which our program graduates are strongly encouraged to apply. The current starting salary for Medical Assistants at UCLA Health is 13% above the national median.

While the students are not guaranteed a job at UCLA Health, Batiste says they hope to employ as many of the graduates as possible, and right now they have more openings than graduates. Once they sit for the certification exam, they can apply for the jobs with the assistance of the program administrators. “At UCLA Health we have over 180 clinics. And they all hire and employ medical assistants,” says Batiste. “There are departments that say, ‘I want to hire all of the medical assistant students.’ I’ve received letters from physicians where the students have done their clinical hours saying, ‘You know what? This student is really great.

Program Graduates

Sixty percent of the 20 students in the first cohort, which graduated in October, was drawn from current staff members at UCLA Health. The 2019 MAP cohort. Another graduate was referred to the program through another UCLA Health employee told Batiste that “there’s a lady who works over at Whole Foods and she always talks about how she wants to go back to school. The graduates range in age from 20 to their mid-40s. Many were making minimum wage when they entered the program. A second cohort started in September. The next application period opens up in March.

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