CMAP Candidate Profile

The Medical Assisting Professional is an enthusiastic, energetic individual, who plays an integral part of the health-care team by building trust and creating a safe environment for patients and their families, while performing a broad scope of general and industry-specific duties.

Critical to the success of the training institution, the CMAP designation, and fulfilling Labour Market demand, is the careful screening and selection of each student. To be accepted in this program, a successful applicant must meet a combination of admission requirements and demonstrated characteristics. The Preceptor/Host can expect a student who demonstrates:

¨ A strong desire to work as an integral part of the health-care team

¨ Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

¨ Enjoys performing a variety of duties in a caring, gracious and professional manner

¨ Values confidentiality and demonstrates discretion

¨ Excellent organizational and time-management skills

¨ 19 years of age or older (varies depending on province)

¨ Completion of Grade 12 or equivalent

¨ Two letters of reference speaking to personal character

¨ Keen interest and knowledge of health-care services

¨ Completion of standard registration form

¨ Completion of personal interview with training institution personnel

¨ Completion of Wonderlic admission test with a score of 20 points or better

¨ Strong commitment to supporting the training institution’s educational standards and guidelines

¨ Strong professional commitment to adherence of CMAP code of ethics

Careers For The CMAP Graduate

Graduates of the Head Office CMAP Medical Program (Core) are equipped with the necessary skills, making them employable in any medical administrative capacity, including those mentioned in the following table. CMAP students who choose to add a Specialty to their Core training enhance their employment options in the field of their specialty:

Employers who have had an opportunity to hire a graduate are surprised and delighted to find that little or no in-house training is required – a new and welcome concept. The success rate for graduates finding employment, within the first six-months after graduation, is well over 90% in large metropolitan areas, and 85% in more rural areas. Currently, 65% of our graduates are being employed directly from their work-site practicums.
* International students are required to obtain a work permit in order to work in Canada

What Do Employers Say About Our Graduates?

· “She (student) is a great person and a hard worker; so we kept her on staff.” Winnipeg S.

· “Very high quality student! Excellent working skills and solid medical knowledge – lab and terminology.” – North Battleford

· “Restored my faith in training programs. Her positive attitude and her desire to learn and complete her practicum was beyond my expectations. Well Done!” – Red Deer

· “(student) is a very quick learner; it was like she had been working with us for years!” – Airdrie

· “It has been a pleasure to have (student) here and her wonderful attitude and willingness to learn is very refreshing. She has been taught at your college very well!” – Calgary

· “She (student) was a pleasure to have around. If we had an opening here, I would hire her immediately. I would recommend her to any office looking for help.” – Cornwall

· “(student) is a very special lady. She is very knowledgeable and is especially kind and patient with staff and residents. She will definitely be a wonderful asset to any office or organization” - Sudbury

· “It was a pleasure to work with (student). Her personality and work ethics are well suited to her chosen field.” – Cornwall

· “Louise made a positive contribution to our centre. She worked hard and was professional at all times. She was a welcome addition to the (centre) during a very busy time.” – Sudbury

· “I really enjoyed working with (student) the past few weeks. She has a good attitude, and a pleasant personality. I wish her well in her future endeavors and would recommend her to any prospective employer.” - Cranbrook

· “It has been a pleasure having (student) with us for the last month. (student) excelled in all she did. She will definitely be an asset to any medical office should work in. (student) has left a good impression. The Academy of Learning should be proud. She’s going to be a hard act to follow for future students.” - Sudbury

· “(student) is a talented, intelligent candidate who can train fast and work with minimum of supervision. She has gained valuable knowledge of medical organizations through her CMAP course that she shows in her performance.” – Mississauga

· “Let me just start with stating that (student) was a great pleasure to have at the (clinic). Not only did (student) relieve all the day-to-day pressures of my occupation, she was just a breath of fresh air to have around.” – Mississauga

· “I was very impressed by (student)’s work, confidence and poise. She would be an excellent addition in any medical/clinic setting.” - Hamilton

Certified Medical Assisting Professional^â

The Certified Medical Assisting Professional^â designation has been developed in consultation with the healthcare industry as a distinctive training standard for employees in medical assisting roles. The CMAP^â designation applies to a series of medical training programs in the allied healthcare field such as the medical office assistant, unit clerk, dental administrative assistant, pharmacy technician, and medical laboratory assistant. Wherever training competencies or certification criteria already exist, these are incorporated into the CMAP^â designation. The CMAP^â designation therefore, meets or exceeds all other designations. All programs follow a strict set of guidelines, including the successful completion of all certification exams, a minimum keyboarding speed, approved externship (or an equivalent work experience), demonstrated proficiency in current software applications, knowledge of general office procedures, communication skills and customer service, and a working knowledge of basic bookkeeping.

Heartbeat Training International^Ô is the organization responsible for ensuring that all of the above criteria are met and issuing the certification to successful candidates. Heartbeat Training International^Ô can provide the necessary curriculum to any public or private training institution that is interested in offering training to achieve CMAP^â certification. Exams can be written only at sites authorized to offer the exams under an agreement with Heartbeat Training International^Ô. Certification exams will be marked by Heartbeat Training International^Ô. Each successful candidate will receive a diploma and a CMAP^â pin from Heartbeat Training International^Ô.

Individuals with the Certified Medical Assisting Professional^â designation will find their skills in demand in today’s fastest growing industry. Their skills are in demand in Physicians' offices, Medical, Dental & Veterinary Clinics, Hospitals, Medical Labs, Mental Health and Group Homes, Non-Profit Societies, Long-Term and Extended Care Homes, Pharmacies, Public Health Units, WCB, and many other community allied health care settings.

About Heartbeat Training International^Ô

Heartbeat Training InternationalÔ (HTI) was established to develop and provide medical courseware to existing training institutions – both public and private. The courseware is designed to train individuals for medical administrative and clinical assisting positions in all areas of the medical industry. There are currently numerous training programs designed to prepare students for specific roles in the medical industry, but the medical administrative and clinical assisting roles have traditionally been left to on-the-job training. In recent years we have observed public colleges offering short-term courses in an attempt to address this critical training shortage. This has certainly helped the crisis, but not resolved it. The result is that employers are required to train a new employee in-house, at their own expense, or to try to attract qualified, experienced personnel from a competitor.

The success of HTI’s program, together with the lack of recognized industry training standards for medical assisting positions, has created a demand for both recognition and validation of these well-trained workers filling these professional roles. Accordingly, our curriculum has evolved into a certification program: Certified Medical Assisting Professional^â (CMAP). This designation is awarded to our graduates to distinguish their high level of training and professionalism.

How Does The Program Work?

Each diploma program is approximately 1 year in length and is made up of the following 3 components:

This component is provided by HTI. The curriculum consists of six four-week modules offered in a classroom setting:

This portion of the training is based on Academy of Learning's It equates to approximately 380 hours of training. The required courses vary slightly from province to province, but will generally include:

Students are required to participate in this career development course that includes professional and personal development, and a full range of job search techniques. This program ranges in length from 40-60 hours. The facilitated portion of the course is 24 hours in length (10, 2 hr. sessions) with 16-35 hours of student study.

In addition to the career development training the student receives approximately 160 hours (equivalent to 4 weeks full-time) worksite experience. The length of the worksite experience may vary by province. This is the final component required by the student to achieve certification. The student must successfully complete all training requirements prior to embarking on the clinical experience, and be recommended for externship by the CMAP Instructor and campus Director, prior to being scheduled for the worksite placement.