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Success Spotlights

Jasmine Heath: Overcoming Challenges to Complete Medical Assistant Program

Concorde Staff

Concorde Staff

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Updated January 12, 2021. The information contained in this blog is current and accurate as of this date.
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Jasmine Heath wanted a career that would allow her to provide for her daughter but have a flexible schedule. That's why she decided to become a medical assistant (MA).
 

Jasmine started in a program at a local college, but felt there was a lack of support from staff and dropped out. After an additional negative experience at a second school, Jasmine became hesitant about her career choice. Her uneasiness changed though when she found the MA program at Concorde Career Institute's Jacksonville campus.
 

"My mom had just started at Concorde for nursing," Jasmine said. "She loved her instructors and was having such a good experience. I felt like I needed to check it out."
 

Once Jasmine visited the Jacksonville campus, she was immediately impressed by the kindness and encouragement the Concorde staff provided. She completed the enrollment process and started the MA program in October 2019.
 

Overcoming Challenges

Jasmine flourished in the MA program with the assistance of her instructors. She was always supported and Jasmine could see how much the faculty cared for each student's success. "At Concorde, they made sure you understood everything," she said. "It was completely opposite from my other two MA programs."
 

From computer labs to one-on-one tutoring, instructors offered Jasmine and her fellow students a variety of resources to strengthen their skills. Jasmine even remembers one of her instructors staying late to help her better understand a lesson from class.
 

As much as Jasmine loved her program, it wasn't always easy. Before starting her externship, Jasmine moved to Louisiana so she could have more support raising her daughter. Though she was no longer in Jacksonville, the MA program team worked tirelessly to find an opportunity for Jasmine to complete her externship in Louisiana.
 

"They were so supportive of my decision to move and do what's best for my family," Jasmine said. "Within four days, my program director found me a replacement site to do my externship hours."
 

While Jasmine worked to complete her program, two hurricanes hit the area, causing her to lose her home. Meanwhile, Jasmine's mother, who lives in Florida, was diagnosed with COVID-19.
 

Jasmine returned to Jacksonville to start over, take care of her mother and complete the remaining hours of her MA program. With hard work and help from her instructors, Jasmine graduated in December 2020 and was hired three days after starting at her new Jacksonville externship site, Angel Kids Pediatrics.
 

Practicing Medical Assisting

At Angel Kids Pediatrics, Jasmine's responsibilities include taking blood draws, checking vitals, updating charts and inserting IVs. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with kids every day and loves being able to help her patients when they're sick.
 

Something that made her nervous, however, was starting a job during a global pandemic. The hospital Jasmine works at offers COVID-19 testing to hundreds of people a day and MAs are often in contact with these patients.
 

"It was pretty scary," Jasmine said. "But I felt super prepared because of Concorde. Not only did they train us for the core skills like checking vitals, but they also taught us how to thoroughly sanitize and disinfect tools to keep us and our patients safe. I couldn't have done any of this without them."

Next Steps?

Interested in learning more about our Medical Assistant program? We have a Concorde representative ready to talk about what matters most to you. Get answers about start dates, curriculum, financial aid, scholarships and more!

  1. Program length may be subject to change dependent on transfer credits and course load. Please refer to current course catalog for more information. Concorde does not guarantee admittance, graduation, subsequent employment or salary amount.

  2. Professional certification is not a requirement for graduation, may not be a requirement for employment nor does it guarantee employment.

  3. Financial aid is available to those who qualify but may not be available for all programs. Concorde does not guarantee financial aid or scholarship awards or amounts.

  4. Clinical hour requirements and delivery may vary by campus location and may be subject to change. Concorde does not guarantee clinical site assignments based upon student preference or geographic convenience; nor do clinical experiences guarantee graduation, post-clinical employment or salary outcomes.

  5. Registration and certification requirements for taking and passing these examinations are not controlled by Concorde, but by outside agencies, and are subject to change by the agency without notice. Therefore, Concorde cannot guarantee that graduates will be eligible to take these exams, at all or at any specific time, regardless of their eligibility status upon enrollment.