Medical Office Administration program helps keep health care system operating

any of the people who keep America's health care system running today work in behind-the-scenes administrative roles.

Myeshia Somme is one of these out-of-sight health care heroes. She works in the health information systems department at Craven Regional Medical Center in New Bern, where she's responsible for scanning patients' charts into the computer and ensuring that all documents and related materials are present and correct.

"These will be our patients' new medical records, so they need to be accurate," Somme said recently.

The 27-year-old mother of two is one of thousands of people who have found stable employment in the fast-growing health care sector.

Somme is a 2007 graduate of Craven Community College's Medical Office Administration program. The program is perfect for students who want to find work in health care, but who do not want to have direct contact with patients.

Craven's program teaches students what they need to know to function in health care settings, including medical terminology, coding, document production and legal issues. Students also learn critical office skills, including word processing, text entry, spreadsheets and management.

Graduates of the program go on to work as receptionists, transcriptionists, coders, billing specialists, medical records technicians and patient representatives. Experienced workers have the opportunity to become supervisors.

"There is a business side of health care, an unseen side that's critical for health care delivery," said Craven instructor Angel Moore. "Our graduates take care of the business side of health care, which enables caregivers to treat patients.

"Everybody knows that health care is where the jobs are. This is a wide open field. The job security is there."

Somme said she was attracted to Craven's Medical Office Administration program because of the potential for job security.

She had long been interested in a health care career and had enrolled at Winston-Salem State University after high school to become a nurse. But that option didn't work out, so Somme moved back to New Bern and began exploring her options.

She was still interested in health care, but as a mother, Somme was looking for a program where she could work on her studies and still have time to spend with her children. Craven's Medical Office Administration program was a perfect fit.

"Craven was the best thing for me right then," she said.

Somme earned her degree and has a bright future ahead of her. She knows that her skills and experience will enable her to get a health care-related job almost anywhere.

Somme also said her experiences at Craven have made her ready for a new academic challenge. In fact, she's thinking about enrolling at East Carolina University and pursuing a degree in a health care program there.

"Craven has given me the confidence to know that I could get my bachelor's degree at the next level," she said. "Craven's a great place to start. It's definitely worth a look."

Craven's Medical Office Administration program offers several options, including a two-year associate's degree, a diploma program and various certificates, including billing/scheduling, general medical office, medical coding and medical transcription.

Students can choose to enroll in seated courses or can take nearly all of their classes online. For more information about Craven's Medical Office Administration program, contact Moore at 638-7319.