Friday, November 21, 2014

Eleven Graduates Receive Clinical Medical Assistant Certificates from CELL

2014 Graduates of UVICELL’s Clinical Medical Assistant Program.
Eleven students who graduated from the recent Clinical Medical Assistant (CMA) program offered by the UVI’s Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning (UVICELL) Center received certification during a ceremony on Nov. 19, 2014, in Frederiksted, St. Croix. The six-month CMA program is designed to prepare students to perform a wide range of clinical tasks in a healthcare setting. It was created to address high unemployment rates on St. Croix and provide much needed skills to increase chances for employment in the healthcare sector.
Graduates of the program are trained to assist with the administration of medication, prepare patients for examination and treatment, record and take vital signs, and perform routine laboratory procedures. Graduates included: Alberta Benjamin, Shemona Cascen, Shermin Charles, Ana Cruz, Jewelise Fahie, Mary Francois, Bernadette King, Brenda La-Force, Sophia Lawrence-Brown, Shanice Liburd and Brizeida Rivera. Ten of the eleven students are already nationally certified.
“Our students have worked extremely hard to achieve this milestone,” said Ilene Garner, director of the UVICELL Center. “It is also fitting that we are able to train and certify individuals in the industry, especially when our healthcare system needs an infusion of trained and talented staff to support our local healthcare facilities,” she said. 
The course, taught in a blended-learning environment, combined online learning with traditional classroom methods. Theoretical aspects of the course were taught online with the assistance of an online instructor. Regular group and clinical hands-on sessions with an in-class instructor rounded out the comprehensive course, providing a rich and unique learning experience.  

For more information on the CMA program, contact the UVICELL Center at (340) 693-1100 or visit cell.uvi.edu.