Medical Assistant Program at Peninsula College

✔️ Page Updated: December 26th, 2025 | Current for 2026, learn more about our data 🛈

For those seeking a high-quality Medical Assisting career on the Olympic Peninsula, Peninsula College boasts a 4.5 rating and an exam passage rate exceeding 95%.

This page provides up-to-date program costs, graduation and employment data, accreditation details, contact information, and interactive resources, including a Google map and official Campus Video, to help you quickly evaluate if PC is the right medical assisting school for you.

CMA AAMA: Medical Assistant Program Overview at PC

The Medical Assisting Program at Peninsula College (PC) in Port Angeles, WA, is a CAAHEP-accredited program, initially recognized in 2017, that prepares competent medical assistants for high-demand roles throughout the Olympic Peninsula region and beyond. It offers two primary awards: a comprehensive Medical Assisting Certificate and an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree, which requires 25 additional general education credits.

Program Training and Experience

PC’s comprehensive curriculum trains students in essential learning outcomes, including ethical practice, medical terminology, patient communication, and electronic medical billing (including ICD-10 coding). A critical part of the program is the mandatory unpaid clinical externship, which provides vital hands-on experience. Program Director Rachel Pairsh handles clinic placements with strong local healthcare partners such as Olympic Medical Center and Jefferson Healthcare.

Career Outcomes and Outlook

Accreditation ensures graduates are eligible for the CMA (AAMA) national credential, recognized as the industry’s gold standard. Outcomes are consistently excellent, with the five-year average exam passage rate over 95% and job placement averaging over 86%. Career prospects are robust, with job growth significantly exceeding the national average. Wages in the Pacific region averaged $24.52/hour in 2022, and local employers often offer benefits and bonuses.

Important Application Notice

Prospective students must note that specific immunizations are required. Completing the necessary immunization series can take five to six months before you are able to apply to the program.

PC’s Medical Assistant Program Data

Our Data

Our Medical Assistant Program Data is carefully researched and curated from the following government and higher education organizations.

• CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) – CAAHEP is the largest programmatic accreditor for health sciences education and the official medical assisting program accreditor for the National CMA (AAMA) Certification Exam.
• IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) – A comprehensive database of U.S. colleges and universities.
• Peterson’s Database – Includes detailed college information and their Distance Learning Licensed Data Set.
• College Scorecard – A U.S. Department of Education tool offering key statistics on college costs, graduation rates, and student outcomes.
• NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) – The primary federal source for data and analysis on education in the U.S. such as cost of tuition. Our data shows average cost of tuition and fees for Public 2 year institutions per state.
• BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) – May 2024 Occupational Outlook Handbook Medical Assistants Data for Salary and Employment. Our data shows the mean annual salary and the total number of employed MAs per state.

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