Dental Assisting

The Dental Assisting program will teach you about X-rays, film mounting and developing, oral surgery assistance, orthodontic appliances, and patient preparation. You'll practice these techniques in a spacious and modern dental laboratory and use equipment, materials, and instruments comparable to those used in actual dental facilities.

Graduates of the Dental Assisting program may work in many areas of dentistry, such as oral surgery, aesthetic dentistry, pediatrics, and orthodontics, in places like public health facilities, hospital dental departments, correctional facilities, schools/universities, clinics, and dental suppliers.

Massage Therapy

In the Massage Therapy program, you'll learn massage techniques as varied as Swedish, deep tissue, shiatsu, aromatherapy, sports massage, neuromuscular therapy, and reflexology. With each new technique, you'll grow in your knowledge of the body's skeletal and muscular systems.

You'll also assess and implement massage treatment, learn sanitation and hygiene protocols, and be introduced to the daily business aspects of starting, operating and successfully managing a massage practice.

MEDICAL ASSISTANT – DIPLOMA PROGRAM

The Medical Assistant program is designed to teach both administrative skills (front-office duties) and clinical procedures (back-office duties). You'll learn to prepare patients for examinations, administer medications, perform routine laboratory procedures, and run an efficient medical office.

The training program at ACC can prepare you for work as an entry-level medical assistant or medical receptionist in a private office, clinic, HMO, or other health care setting.

OPTICAL DISPENSING – DIPLOMA PROGRAM

The Optical Dispensing program teaches a wide range of skills. The training you receive will prepare you to recommend lenses, frames, and coatings, fit eyeglasses, repair broken frames, cut, edge, tint, and insert lenses in a lab setting, or ensure proper contact lens fit by measuring eye shape and size.

Our program prepares you for the National Opticianry Exam and Contact Lens Registry Exam administered by the American Board of Opticianry and National Contact Lens Examiners (ABO/NCLE).

RESPIRATORY THERAPY - ASSOCIATE IN OCCUPATIONAL SCIENCE DEGREE PROGRAM

Breathing isn't something we think about until we can't do it well. That's when respiratory therapists step in, evaluating and treating patients - from premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed to elderly people whose lungs are diseased. Respiratory therapists provide temporary relief to patients with chronic asthma or emphysema, and give emergency care to patients who are victims of a heart attack, stroke, drowning or shock.

The Associate of Occupational Science Degree in Respiratory Therapy combines theoretical knowledge with hands-on learning, preparing you for a clinical practicum in a hospital, sub-acute care center, or diagnostic laboratory.

ACC is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

In addition, ACC's Respiratory Therapy Degree holds a letter of review by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).

PHARMACY TECHNICIAN – DIPLOMA PROGRAM

The Pharmacy Technician program covers subjects including pharmacy law, basic chemistry, pharmacology, dosage calculations, inpatient pharmacy procedures, and retail pharmacy procedures. Major emphasis is placed on learning the trade and generic names of selected drugs, drug classifications, indications, routes of administration, side effects, dosages, and storage requirements. You'll also learn pharmaceutical and medical terminology including abbreviations and symbols used in prescribing, dispensing and charting.

SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY – ASSOCIATE IN OCCUPATIONAL SCIENCE DEGREE PROGRAM

The Surgical Technology program teaches both theoretical and clinical skills. After classroom training, you will be placed in a clinical environment for on-the-job training.

Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive an Associate of Occupational Science Degree in Surgical Technology, the preferred educational model for entry-level practice, according to the Association of Surgical Technologists. You will also be eligible to sit for the certification examination administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.

ACC is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).

In addition, The Associate of Occupational Science in Surgical Technology programs at the Los Angeles and Orange County campuses are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

Health Claims Examiner/Medical Biller

This growing field offers great career opportunities with insurance companies as well as medical offices, hospitals and clinics, and independent billing companies.

Health Claims Examiner/Medical Biller students learn the principles of health insurance and medical billing, industry terminology, theory and practical application, communication, customer service skills, computer skills and more.

HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - ASSOCIATE IN OCCUPATIONAL SCIENCE DEGREE PROGRAM

Our Associate of Occupational Science Degree in Health Information Technology will give you the training you need to collect, analyze, monitor, maintain, and report data that health care providers rely on.*

The Health Information Technology curriculum combines science classes like Anatomy and Physiology with computer courses in subjects like Database Management. Since this program consists of an online component, a laptop computer will be provided. Students may choose to use their own laptop if it meets the requirements needed to fulfill the online component of the HIT curriculum.** Talk to your Admissions Representative for more details. As a student, you'll also gain hands-on experience in your clinical practicum course, practicing what you have learned.

American Career College is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES, www.abhes.org).

This program is offered at the Orange County campus.

*Many employers of health information technicians either limit their hiring, or give hiring preference to candidates who are Registered Health Information Technicians (RHIT). In order for a student to become an RHIT upon graduation, the student must pass a certification examination for RHIT administered by the Council on Certification of the American Health Information Management Association. For details on what prospective HIT students should know, please visit: http://www.cahiim.org/whatyoushouldknow.html. The HIT program at the Orange County Campus is in candidacy status with CAHIIM. If this program does not become accredited by CAHIIM by the time a student graduates from this program, the graduate will not be allowed to take the Certification Exam to become an RHIT. A graduate of this program is unlikely to qualify for any employment opportunities involving the management of health information, unless and until he or she is able to take and pass the Certification Exam.

**System requirements: Ability to run MS Office 2007, Internet Explorer 8.0 and Windows 7 operating system. At least: 4 meg ram and a hard drive with at least 100 gigabytes of free space and a 17" or larger screen.

Vocational Nursing

As a student in our Vocational Nursing program, you'll learn the fundamentals of nursing and patient care, including assessment, diagnostic measurements, procedures and treatments. You'll also learn anatomy and physiology, medical surgical nursing, newborn and child care, pharmacology, infectious diseases and much more.

Vocational Nurses provide direct care to patients, often having the most personal, face-to-face contact during a patient's stay, under the supervision of a physician, dentist or registered nurse (RN).

The combined academic and clinical training prepares vocational nursing students to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) for licensure as a practical/vocational nurse meeting the standards set by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT). Those that pass qualify for entry-level employment as Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) in a variety of health care settings, such as a medical office, clinic, HMO, or long-term care facility.