After three years of practicing blood pressures and learning about different body systems, medical assisting students were ready to put on their scrubs and begin working side by side with a certified medical assistant.

For the first time since their program started, these students were finally able to get this chance. Their internship took place at the Mass General Chelsea Health Care Center.

“I really liked the environment,” senior Luca Jean Noel said. “It wasn’t like anything that I had experienced before and I thought that everyone there was very helpful and welcoming.” 

“I just recently finished my rounds and I absolutely loved the people there,” senior Alejandra Diaz said. 

“I was able to adapt to the medical space pretty fast and easily because I knew how to act professionally.” senior Mustafa Mohammed said.

After their experience as interns at a medical clinic, most of the students feel that they see themselves pursuing a career within the medical field in the future. But a few students think otherwise

“If you really want to be a nurse or medical assistant, just do your best. It’s going to be stressful but it’s worth it,” medical professional Jennifer Alas said. 

“I definitely see myself continuing some sort of career in the medical field  because I always knew that I wanted this type of job even as a kid,” Mohammed said. “I think that although the internship wasn’t the most exciting, it still helped me confirm what I want to do when I’m older.” 

“The internship made it official for me to want to continue a job in the medical field,” Jean Noel said. “I’m going off to college soon enough and I plan to major in biology or pre-med because I want to become a doctor. I didn’t know for sure if I wanted that career until I did my internship.”

“I thought that the internship was a good experience but to be honest, I’m not completely sure if it’s what I want,” Diaz said. “I liked the people but I’m still debating on if it’s a career for me.”

The students were able to learn concepts that they couldn’t learn within their classroom.

“It was right about what I expected,” Mohammed said. “I expected it to be very boring but that’s because it’s a work environment. I still think that the internship gave me a lot of knowledge and was overall a decent experience.”

“I was able to learn some important stuff here and there,” Mohammed said. “There were at least two solid things that I learned from the experience that helped me on the actual exam which was nice. One of the things I learned was about the EKG electrode placement which helped me on my exam,” Mohammed said. “The other thing that I learned about was how to properly clean the room.”

“I remember when I saw the weight scale, it had a walker placed over it,” Diaz said. “At first, I didn’t know what it was for but my medical assistant told me it was there as a safety for the handicapped. I thought that that was pretty interesting.” 

“While I was there, I was able to observe the different medical assistants and how they each performed the same tasks. I liked that because it showed me that I can do something different than another medical assistant.” Jean Noel said.

The seniors of medical assisting gained knowledge and experience as they worked alongside certified medical assistants to perform clinical tasks that they could use when they are looking for a job after high school.