Department: Allied Health

The Exercise Science program of study prepares students to transfer to a four-year institution for further education in pre-health professional degrees (pre-physical therapy, athletic training, or pre-physician assistant), corporate wellness, personal trainer, cardiac rehabilitation, and human performance. Students gain a solid foundation of human biology, anatomy and physiology, nutrition, and exercise programming. Graduates of this program are awarded an Associate of Science (A.S.) degree.

The fast-paced world of medicine requires the best training available, and you can get that with Iowa Western’s Medical Assistant program. You’ll leave Iowa Western prepared to become an administrative and clinical assistant in physicians’ offices. Graduates of this program are awarded a diploma and become eligible to take the American Association of Medical Assistants examination to become a Certified Medical Assistant.

Iowa Western Community College’s Medical Assistant Program’s goal to prepare competent entry-level medical assistants in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains. In this program, you will participate in service-learning projects including administering flu shots, providing health screenings, and organizing fundraising efforts for a non-profit organization of their choice. Our students also complete externships and job shadowing. Alegent Health, Methodist Health System, and many local physicians’ offices are among those who have hired Iowa Western graduates.

The Medical Assistant Program at Iowa Western Community College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assistant Education Review Board (MAERB). The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs can be contacted at CAAHEP,9355- 113th St. N. #7709, Seminole, FL 33775, 727-210-2350, mail@caahep.org.

Iowa Western Community College continues to surpass the required national thresholds for student job placement, based on the most recent Annual report form submitted to the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).  The Medical Assistant Program at Iowa Western Community College has a retention rate of 100% for the 2022 admission cohort. The 5-year average for Retention for years 2018-2022 is 92.54%.

The Surgical Technology Program is designed to prepare students to become skilled Certified Surgical Technologist. In the classroom and lab sessions you will learn Sterile Processing practices, sterile technique, operative procedures, human anatomy and physiology, and microbiology as applied to surgery. At the end of this program each graduate will take the National Certification Exam, those who pass earn the title of Certified Surgical Technologist.  

In the clinical portion of the program, you will practice under the supervision of a Physician and Surgical Technologist, functioning as a member of the surgical team. Iowa Western will also provide on site faculty at each clinical site. 

Upon graduation of this program, you will be prepared to accept employment as a Surgical Technologist. With the Spring 2022 Simulation Center upgrades to the Audio-visual technology and addition of VR surgical procedure capabilities and Simulated patients for surgical experiences during lab sessions; students in this program will benefit from state-of-the-art resources to attain their degree in this rewarding career field. 

The Surgical Technology program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), 1361 Park Street, Clearwater, FL 33756. Additional accreditation information can be found online at: http://www.caahep.org/.