National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement

In 2017, Kōkua Kalihi Valley (KKV) began a partnership with the National Institute of Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA). Through this collaboration, students attend an intensive seven-month, four term program in which on-line coursework and in-clinic experience are combined into an affordable curriculum which situates graduates to be employed in primary care settings.

NIMAA has developed a framework for integrating medical assistant (MA) training into community health centers. This includes support for students and staff, and testing to ensure students develop and retain skills to be successful MAs. KKV serves as the site for this training. Additionally, KKV provides trainers and preceptors from its own staff to support the learning process. Each student shadows their own dedicated preceptor through 12 clinical hours per week. The preceptors are MAs offered a leadership opportunity that increases their knowledge, deepens their connection to the community, and compensates them for the added work.

Nationally there is a shortage of certified MAs to meet the demands of the growing healthcare industry. KKV’s experience reflects this trend, and the NIMAA program is one way to overcome the issue. Training new MAs on-site is a successful way to provide students with real-world technical skills while creating a pipeline for employment