MARP: A Career Stepping Stone in Your Medical Assistant Training

Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) introduced their Medical Assistant Residency Program (MARP) in 2014, and since then they’ve been training new medical assistant hires to work at their outpatient clinics located throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

In fact, MARP has been overwhelmingly successful.

“There’s a 95 per cent success rate of residents graduating and being hired by PAMF outside of the program,” says Candis Maninang, PAMF Sourcer.

If you’ve set your sights on a healthcare career and enrolling in a Bay Area medical assistant training school, you should definitely keep this renowned residency program in mind once you’ve graduated.

MARP is certainly a career stepping stone for the ambitious medical assistant.

What Do I Need to Know About MARP?

MARP is open to new medical assistant graduates as well as experienced medical assistants.

“When we review applications, we look for a graduate of an accredited medical assisting program, 160 externship hours, and CPR certification preferably from the American Heart Association,” says Candis, talking about some of the requirements needed to be eligible for the program.

The program is 4-weeks long, 36 to 40 hours per week, and runs Monday through Friday.  Additionally, residents are paid during their training.
MARP provides newly hired medical assistants with:

• The knowledge and clinical skills for the safe and competent performance of their role
• An introduction to the social structure of the organization
• Ensures familiarity with and adherence to PAMFCares standards and PAMF policies and procedures

Some duties a medical assistant in the MARP program can expect to perform are:

• Managing rooming and patient flow
• Providing clinical support and patient care
• Administering medications in accordance to Medical Assistant Scope of Practice
• Completing accurate and thorough documentation in the EHR
• Providing care and maintenance of medical equipment

Once the resident has completed the program, they continue to work in their ‘host’ department for up to 45-days, during which time they’re expected to apply for medical assistant positions at PAMF outside of the program.

“We put so much effort into on-boarding residents,” says Tanisha Lindsey, Program Coordinator of the Student Placement Program. “If they’re an awesome medical assistant, and they’ve yet to find a job with their 45-days coming up, we try everything we can to assist them in getting hired. This includes meeting with residents periodically to see how well they’re doing in their job search, assisting them with their interviewing techniques, doing all that we can to help them get placed.”

What to Do If MARP Interests You After Graduating Medical Assistant Training School

A MARP resident has the benefit of working within a supportive environment established to transition them into a medical assistant ideally suited to working at PAMF.

“I hear the question from medical assistants, ‘If I have medical assisting experience, why do I have to go through the program to work at PAMF?'” says Tanisha. “The answer is, we like to focus on expectation goals and how PAMF handles customers when we bring someone into the program. Once a resident has gone through the program, they’ll be a good fit for medical assistant positions available.”

If MARP interests you after graduating your medical assistant training and completing your externship, it’s recommended you arrange a meeting with your school career services staff.

This is important as you’ll be advised on the following:

• Your application
• Your resume
• Your cover letter
• Your interview
• Your professionalism

You’ll want to be well-prepared for taking this possible next step in your medical assistant career.

As Tanisha says: “PAMF recruiters are looking out for you!”

Would you like to know more about working for Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF)?
If you do, you can learn more about what PAMF has to offer their employees here.