 | Considerations in Distance Education for the Medical Assistant
Instructor
By Dr. Mark Stout
Dean of Education St. Augustine Medical Assistant School
Distance Education and Informatics Specialist
Medical Assistant distance education is emerging to meet the demands
of a new generation of students in the twenty first century. St.
Augustine Medical Assistant School distance education program for
medical assistant presents a good model for this integration of
technology with medical assistant education. Distance education,
particularly in its most recent form, online education, is being
integrated into even the most cautious and conservative of educational
institutions. Yet the impact of these alternative forms of teaching
and learning on students, faculty, and institutions has yet to be
broadly or deeply studied. New models such as that at St. Augustine
Medical Assistant School are immerging. St. Augustine Medical
Assistant School is available at: www.medicalassistant.us
Distance education is not new, and can be traced as far back as the
first century. The Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christian churches,
instructing them from a distance (even when he was under 'house
arrest' in Rome). This was probably the first type of 'correspondence
course', which was the only method of learning at a distance until the
advent of the telephone. Today, distance education and in particular
online medical assistant instruction calls upon an impressive range of
technologies to enable medical assistant instructor and the medical
assistant student who are separated by distance to communicate with
each other either in real time (synchronous) or delayed time
(asynchronous). Currently and asynchronous model used at St. Augustine
Medical Assistant School to instruct medical assistant students. This
has proven to be a very effective model however the medical assistant
program is currently investigating the benefits of synchronous online
medical assistant instruction and the benefits it may have for the
medical assistant student.
Medical Assistant distance learning epitomizes the move away from
institute based learning to a more direct, student centered approach.
As a concept, distance learning has existed for over a century,
notably in the form of paper based correspondence courses including
the less formal correspondence education for medical assistants. Now
however, distance education is depending increasingly upon technology
for its success and technological innovations ensure that distance
learning for the medical assistant continues to evolve and grow as a
valid and potent force in all forms of education for the medical
assistant.
The task of the medical assistant distance educator is therefore to
obviate these problems as much as possible by mixing and matching
techniques, creating and maintaining a stimulating environment, and
offering opportunities for medical assistant students to communicate
with each other and with the medical assistant teaching staff on a
regular basis. The medical assistant educators will also need to
change their traditional role as well. Many remote medical assistant
students need a great deal of social support, and medical assistant
distance educators may find themselves spending more time offering
one-to-one tutorials and less time lecturing. St. Augustine Medical
Assistant School at www.MedicalAssistant.us is leading today's
technology in medical assistant education.
When designing medical assistant educational systems and materials for
medical assistant distance in delivery the medical assistant teacher
must consider not only learning outcomes, but also centered
requirements and technical constraints for the medical assistant. Also
to be considered are the needs, characteristics, and individual
differences of both the students, the teachers and future medical
assistants.
Medical assistant distance education for the medical assistant then,
should not be viewed as a means of reducing costs, but as an
opportunity to raise standards. It is also about providing quality
medical assistant learning opportunities for those who, for one reason
or another, have previously been excluded from this basic human right.
Medical Assistant distance education will quickly become the norm and
not the exception for the twenty first century medical assistant. St.
Augustine Medical Assistant School distance education program for
medical assistant presents a good model for this integration of
technology with medical assistant education. The St. Augustine Medical
Assistant model can be reviewed at: www.medicalassistant.us.
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