LIVERMORE FALLS — Students in the Spruce Mountain Adult Education program are embracing new careers as a result of the Certified Medical Assistant course.

The course prepares students to perform patient clinical skills in various medical office settings. Students perform clinical procedures, including administering medications, assisting with minor surgery, performing an electrocardiogram, obtaining laboratory specimens for testing, educating patients and maintaining clinical equipment in an ambulatory care setting. Medical assistants perform routine clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors and optometrists running smoothly.

Tania Dawson, Franklin Memorial Hospital and Western Maine Area Health Education Center, said there are currently 14 students enrolled. After successfully completing the twice-weekly,16-week program, students then complete a 160-hour externship through FMH.

“The students take one of the national board exams (to become certified),” Dawson said.

Last week students who have been involved in the CMA program were at Spruce Mountain Adult Education in Livermore Falls. SMAE programs will be featured later this year on national public television.

Having completed their externships, Jake Hanstein of Farmington works in general surgery at FMH while Samantha Nevedomski of New Vineyard is employed at FMH’s Primary Care. Chelsi Emery of Rumford, Natasha Perez of Jay and Autumn Vining of Livermore are applying for positions.

“I helped with a large cyst removal, done a lot of suture removals. Dr. Rice showed cortisone injections into a knee. That was cool to watch,” Nevedomski said.

Hanstein has worked on cysts, abscesses and lesions.

“We see a lot of acute patients, it makes te day go by a lot faster,” Nevedomski said.

She added, “I’m happy now. Down the road I may transition to a registered nurse. I’d want to stay in the office I’m in now.”

Hanstein said, “I want to do more. I very much enjoy what I’m doing now.”

Dawson said certification is renewed every two years. CMAs can take other credits.

Emery said her dream job, for which she has applied, would be working at Internal Medicine. Perez wants to work in orthopedics.

Hanstein said he was surprised to learn the number of medications the average person takes.

“It blew my mind. I was shocked,” he said.

Dawson said the older generation has the mentality that doctors are authority figures. They take the medications they are told to.

“It’s not a bad thing to question,” she said.

Nevedomski spoke of a patient taking three blood pressure medications who asked what the differences were and why taking them all.

“That was nice to see,” she said.

Dawson reviewed questions that would be found on the certification exam and demonstrated how to draw medications from glass ampules into syringes. The others then practiced the technique.