Are You The Next BAMA Medical Assistant or Pharmacy Technician Student?

Posted on May 15, 2017
Posted in: Healthcare Career Training

Tagged: going to school at Bay Area Medical Academymedical assistantpharmacy technician

A classroom at B A M A with all the smiling students and a happy instructor So you’re thinking about going back to school for medical assistant or pharmacy technician training?

For over 10 years, BAMA has sought to provide occupational skills training that not only aims to help students obtain livable-wage jobs in the costly San Francisco Bay Area, but also provide a starting point for students to develop long-lasting and upwardly-mobile careers in the healthcare industry.

Students come to BAMA’s medical assistant and pharmacy technician programs as single moms, career changers, veterans, the unemployed, under-employed, and recent high school graduates.

Although we knew our classrooms are a melting-pot of people from different walks of life, we recently decided to take a closer look at the classroom demographics for our 2016-2017 medical assistant and pharmacy technician classroom populations.

What we discovered didn’t surprise us. We always knew we were a school of equal opportunity for everyone.

Medical Assistant and Pharmacy Technician Student Demographics for 2016-2017

A pie chart showing the distribution of gender at B A M A. Male is 14% and female is 86%.

A pie chart showing the distribution of ages at B A M A. Ages 18 to 21 are 21%. Ages 22-29 are 48%. Ages 30 to 39 are 25%. Ages 40 and over are 6%.

A graphic showing the ethnic distribution of the B A M A student body. African American 25%. Hispanic/Latino 29%. Asian 18%. White 7%. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 6%. None selected 13%. American Indian/Alaska Native 2%.

A graphic showing where B A M A students live. East Bay 25%. North Bay 4%. Other 2%. Peninsula 7%. San Francisco 44%. South Bay 18%.

Reasons Students Enroll in BAMA’s Medical Assistant or Pharmacy Technician Programs

The reasons students come to BAMA are as diverse as the people themselves. Every student has a different story to tell. For some people, it’s because they want to enhance their educational background. For others they need a better job to support their family, or they recently lost their job or were laid off. We’ve been told by students they’ve been unable to afford college, or they want to improve their life, or they wanted to get off public financial assistance.

Whatever the student’s motivating reason for coming to BAMA, whatever the student’s gender, age, ethnicity, or location, we’ve found every student shares a common, driving ambition – they’re looking to change their lives through further education.

Can you see a reflection of yourself in these students? Do you have similar healthcare career goals? The same ambition?