Medical Office Assistant with Health Unit Coordinator Diploma

The Medical Office Assistant with Health Unit Coordinator Diploma program is designed to provide employment-ready and comprehensively trained graduates. Successful graduates will achieve the Certified Medical Assisting Professional (CMAP) designation in addition to their diploma. These graduates are fully qualified to work in a hands-on administrative and clinical support capacity in the medical industry.

Medical Office Assistant with Health Unit Coordinator Diploma AOLCC

Skill development is delivered in four areas:

  • Comprehensive medical administrative knowledge, which includes medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, medical office and clinical administrative procedures
  • In-depth hospital administrative knowledge of nursing units, emergency response codes, infection control, and treatment procedures, including an understanding of mental disorders and treatments, workplace ethics, and processing medication, laboratory and doctors’ orders
  • Full range of computer and office skills, including current software applications, keyboarding skills, bookkeeping, and personal and professional development
  • On-site work experience through participation in a 160-hour Clinical Preceptorship at an approved healthcare facility

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the Medical Office Assistant with Health Unit Coordinator program are qualified to work in a wide variety of healthcare settings and occupations. Job titles vary per location but graduates are an integral part of many healthcare settings, which may include:

  • Unit clerks/ward clerks in hospital nursing units or outpatient departments
  • Hospital Admitting/ER departments such as Switchboard, Cashier, Information, Patient Registration, Morgue
  • Ambulatory / Outpatient departments
  • Diagnostic Lab / X-Ray departments and clinics
  • Medical Finance and Administrative departments
  • OR Booking / Bed Booking
  • Health Records department
  • Long Term and Extended Care departments
  • Physicians’ Offices, Clinics, Mental Healthcare and Allied Health Care and Walk-in Centers
  • Daycare and Ambulatory Clinics
  • Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinics such as Chiropractic and Acupuncture Centers
  • Physio and Occupational Therapy Clinics
  • Group Homes and Community Living Societies
  • Medical Supply Companies
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Program Outline

Health Unit Coordinator Level 1 (HUC 1) introduces students to the role of a Health Unit Coordinator (HUC) in today’s healthcare industry and explores the communication, personal, and professional skills required to excel at the job. HUC 1 also covers patient chart preparation, knowledge of nursing units, and management techniques. Students will develop the knowledge and skills to cope with emergencies and implement infection control procedures.

Health Unit Coordinator Level 2 (HUC 2) provides students with effective communication skills and an introduction to the world of psychiatry. Students will develop listening skills, sensitivity to different cultures, assertive behaviour, and knowledge in verbal and non-verbal communication. This course also covers various ethical issues relevant to working in a health unit and provides an overview of mental health disorders.

Health Unit Coordinator Level 3 (HUC 3) introduces students to various hospital departments and provides the skills to transcribe and process medical orders between hospital departments. HUC 3 covers different procedures such as admission, transfer, discharge, preoperative and postoperative, recording vital signs, and postmortem. Treatment protocols are also covered in this course.

Students will study the digestive system, urinary system and female reproductive system as to:

  • The function and structure of each system and their specialties;
  • Spelling, pronunciation and translation of the basic vocabulary for the function and structure of each system;
  • Spelling and pronunciation of the basic pathology, clinical procedures, lab tests, and abbreviations of each system.

Anatomy and Physiology Part 2 provides students with the terminology and conditions of some of the body systems: musculoskeletal, male reproductive, and cardiovascular. Students learn to describe the process of bone formation, identify the vocabulary and terminology for the male reproductive system, and explain major pathological conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels. An overview of the remaining body systems will be introduced, including the nervous system, respiratory system, blood system, lymphatic and immune systems, integumentary system, the senses (specifically eyes and ears), and endocrine system.

Clinical Procedures provides students with an understanding of the everyday responsibilities that are commonly performed by a Medical Office Assistant. Topics include medical asepsis, personal hygiene, infection control, workplace safety, and First Aid and CPR. Students learn daily routines, vital signs and basic measurements, instruments used for examinations, and the purpose of blood tests. Students will also receive a review of common abbreviations used in prescriptions.

This course provides an opportunity to learn and practice basic traditional and computer-related medical office procedures, and to acquire the necessary skills to work in a variety of medical-oriented workplaces. While the primary focus of this course is on the role of the medical assistant in a doctor’s office, many of the examples, procedures, and tasks apply to other medical environments such as dental offices, clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, health-care plan and workers’ compensation offices, laboratories, specialists’ practices, medical association offices, etc.

During the course, students learn about health-care personnel and their role in providing quality patient care. Students also learn about medical ethics and the medical environment. Students develop and apply such skills as communicating with patients, health-care providers, and others; handling the medical office reception area; scheduling appointments and managing time; preparing and processing medical documentation; managing medical records; medical billing (manual and computerized); preparing and processing medical financial records; and handling purchasing and inventory control for medical office supplies.

Introduction to Medical Terminology provides the tools to analyze medical terms and to learn the meaning, spelling, and pronunciation of terms. The first lesson of the course introduces students to word structures and teaches them how to break down long medical terms into their various components. It also introduces students to body systems, planes, directions, and positions. This information, together with the word structure tools, provides the groundwork for the remainder of their studies. The second and subsequent lessons present anatomical, pathological, and clinical terms and procedures relating to the various body systems. In the final lesson, students expand on and review some of the diagnostic and surgical terminology they have encountered throughout the course. This lesson also introduces students to pharmacological (drug) terminology, and expands their knowledge of oncology (the study and treatment of cancer). Each lesson covers three or more body systems. As they work through each lesson, students are presented with simple diagrams to help them relate medical terms to the structure and function of the human body. They are given the opportunity to practice the pronunciation and spelling of various medical terms relating to the body system.

Introduction to Medical Transcription provides students with an understanding of medical documents and how to create them. Students learn the fundamental concepts of all aspects of medical transcription, how to create accurate documents, the importance of confidentiality with regard to medical reports, the rules of proofreading and editing, and how to transcribe medical reports using the correct capitalization, numbers, punctuation, abbreviations, symbols, and metric measurement rules. Students also expand their knowledge of proper grammar and punctuation through proofreading exercises.

Clinical Placement, also referred to as Worksite Experience, Clinical Externship, or Practicum Placement, is a critical training component for students in any healthcare services program. This is the period of time when students are placed in a real workplace environment and given a chance to apply some of the skills learned during the program.

This course covers the basic concepts and most commonly used features and functions of Windows 10. The course will walk you through performing basic operations such as opening applications, using Help and shutting down the computer. Additionally, you will learn to set up user accounts, create and use custom keyboard shortcuts, personalize and organize the working space, and use the Action Centre. The course will also provide you with a hands-on experience on how to connect, use and update devices, use File Explorer to manage files and folders, as well as navigate the internet using various browsers, including Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge.

The Introduction to Keyboarding course is designed for individuals who have no formal training in keyboarding. The objective is to teach students the skill of keyboarding – essential to the learning of other computer applications and workplace skills. The course begins with an overview of the basics of computer use. Students learn about the components of the computer and keyboard, as well as the seating, posture, and hand positioning necessary for efficient keyboarding.

The Keyboard Skill Building Level 1 course is designed for individuals who have basic keyboard proficiency, and wish to increase speed and dexterity. Each lesson increases key recognition and builds confidence using the keyboard, while improving speed and accuracy. Speed achieved depends on personal dexterity and time spent on practice lessons. Students who are not already familiar with the TypingTrainer software program are introduced to it. Typing Trainer helps students learn and improve skills using a variety of methods: graphical keyboard drills, speed drills, alphabet drills, word, phrase and sentence drills, and keyboarding Self-Tests. Upon completion of this course, students are expected to keyboard at minimum 25 words per minute.

The Keyboard Skill Building Level 2 course is designed for individuals proficient in keyboarding who wish to increase speed and dexterity. Students are introduced to Special Keys on the keyboard. Each lesson increases key recognition and builds confidence using the keyboard, while increasing speed and accuracy. Speed achieved depends on personal dexterity and time spent on practice lessons.

Basic Bookkeeping Level 1 course provides students with an understanding of the double entry system of bookkeeping and provides the essential accounting tools for the workplace. The course is especially beneficial for students planning to take a computer accounting program or use computer accounting in the workplace.

The Microsoft Access Level 1 course teaches students the fundamentals of the Microsoft Access application. In this course, students examine database objects and learn to manage data in a database. They learn to sort and filter data, display and format data, and use simple queries to retrieve data. Students learn to create and modify databases and tables, and work with simple forms and reports.

In the Microsoft Excel Level 1 course, students learn to create and manage worksheets and workbook files; enter data and create basic formulas to perform calculations. They learn to edit and manipulate cell content, modify worksheet structure, view and format worksheets, and use Excel’s predefined functions. Students use the Find and Replace feature, use themes to format workbooks and practice preparing, previewing, and printing worksheets.

In the Microsoft Outlook Level 1 course, students will learn how to use both the e-mail program and the personal information manager components of Microsoft Outlook. The skills learned in this course will help students use Microsoft Outlook effectively both at work and in your personal life.

In Microsoft Word Level 1 course, students learn to create, navigate, and organize documents and use the help functions. They learn to edit and manipulate text, view and format documents, and use Word’s predefined functions. Students us
e the Find and Replace feature, use proofing and language tools, create, format and modify tables, work with hyperlinks and cross references, and learn how to preview and print a document.

The Microsoft Word Level 2 course teaches students intermediate- to advanced-level concepts and features of the Microsoft Word application. In this course, students learn to customize Word and build upon the basic skills learned in the Word – Level 1 course. They learn how to increase their productivity and enhance their documents using some of Microsoft Word’s intermediate to advanced level features. They will be given ample opportunity to explore and practice these techniques throughout the course.

The Microsoft Word Level 3 course teaches students advanced-level concepts and features of the Microsoft Word application. In this course, students learn to use mail merge, and work with fields, macros, large documents, and forms. They learn to merge form letters, emails, envelopes, and labels using a data source. Students work with fields and macros, and learn to use features that facilitate working with large documents, including generating an index, table of contents, and tables of figures and authorities. They also learn to create forms using form fields such as drop-down lists and check boxes.

Job Search and Résumé Writing provides students with both traditional and innovative job-search techniques and résumé writing skills required to gain employment in today’s competitive marketplace. The course combines theoretical, how-to information with hands-on practical applications. Students are required to draw on their own experiences to identify work preferences, accomplishments, technical and transferable skills, and to research, organize, and analyze information; and to apply their knowledge in a series of job search preparation and implementation tasks.

The course is designed to improve the student’s learning experience and prepare him or her for personal and professional growth and success. The focus is on increasing the student’s self-discipline and self-esteem. The positive concepts taught in this course are intended to unleash the student’s potential for growth and creativity, resulting in personal and professional development. Humor and practical examples are used to target the primary concerns of adult students. In addition, written exercises, activities, and audiotapes provide understanding, acceptance, and reinforcement of the program material.