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Tanana Chiefs honors ������ allied health student

February 2, 2015

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Tanana Chiefs Conference honored April Maynard, a University of Alaska Fairbanks allied health student, with its Health Services Above and Beyond Award to recognize her consistently superior customer service. Maynard is the medical assistant for TCC’s Upper Tanana Health Center in Tok.

“Patients ask for April. If she is in? Will they see her? Can they see her? When will she be back?” said Joni Young, clinic coordinator at TCC’s Upper Tanana Health Center. “Besides her busy daily job duties, April is willing to help anyone with anything here at the clinic. She maintains a 4.0 while working eight hours a day and juggling family responsibilities. She is an asset to us in Tok, as well as TCC Health Services.”

Maynard is taking distance education classes under a Department of Labor grant to complete her certificate and associate’s of applied science degree from the ������ Community and Technical College’s Allied Health Medical Assistant Program. The online program makes it possible for Maynard to balance her family responsibilities, work full-time and earn her degree.

“After dinner, I study from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and sometimes later,” said Maynard, who has five children and three grandchildren. “My instructor, Amy Samuel, is there for me constantly, even if it’s a weekend or in the evening. All I have to do is call or email her. She is always there to answer my questions and help me. Without online classes, it would be impossible for me to earn my degree.”

As a medical assistant, Maynard assists the physician with exams and procedures, lab work, ordering supplies and inventory. She said her classes have given her the tools to better help the patients she serves.

“My physiology classes taught me the how and why of the human body,” said Maynard, who graduates next summer. “I have also learned how to better communicate with my patients and become an effective patient educator when patients ask me questions about their health conditions, like diabetes or hypertension.”

CTC's Medical Assistant Certificate Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. The program teaches a blend of administrative and technical medical skills for employment in health care. The program blends online learning with practical experience working in a health care environment.

“Throughout Alaska, especially in our rural areas, there is a critical shortage of medical professionals,” said Amy Samuel, assistant professor of medical assisting at CTC. “Medical assistants like April are vital to the health and well-being of our communities. No matter where they live in Alaska, the medical assisting program has given students the opportunity to earn their degree and make a difference.”

For more information about the program, contact Samuel at aksamuel@alaska.edu or 907-455-2999.