Sarai Vences moves through Central Health’s East Austin clinic quietly and assuredly. She prepares one of the exam rooms with a fresh information sheet and makes sure it is clean. In the lobby, she greets patient Eloy Herrera with a smile and walks him back to the scale for his weight and height, and then into the room where she checks his temperature, blood pressure and oxygen level. She then goes through all of his medications and why he has visited the clinic today. 

She speaks clearly and makes eye contact, and makes him feel welcome in what can be a stressful situation.

Leaving the room, she heads to the next room to give Dr. Brett Vessell an update before he meets with Herrera. 

Vences, 20, never thought she would be in the medical field, but after graduating from Del Valle High School in 2023, she was looking for something to do.

“I had nothing,” she said. “My mind was blank.” For a whole year after graduating, she had worked in supermarkets and restaurants, and sold cell phones. “Whatever comes in.” 

Then her sister saw some information about a new program in which Central Health pays for 10 people twice a year to go through Austin Community College’s medical assistant certification program and then trains them inside its clinics.

“Our goal for this program is to meet the growing demand for medical assistants as we’re continuing to grow,” said Prashun Rijal, the director of the program. “Medical assistants are vital to delivering care.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the need for medical assistants to grow by 15% by 2033.

Many of the new medical assistants are from the communities served by Central Health and its clinical partner CommUnityCare. “Some have been

going to CommUnityCare since they were born or their parents go to CommUnityCare,” Rijal said. “We are helping our people in their community.”

Inside the training

During the 15-week training program, the participants receive a wage as Central Health employees, which makes it possible for them to put their full attention on completing the program, rather than trying to work and do school at the same time. Central Health is the hospital district for Travis County and is funded by property taxes. 

Since the program launched in 2024, Central Health has had four cohorts. More than 90% completed the program and 90% passed the medical assistant certification exam the first time. Those who didn’t can retake it, Rijal said. Those who didn’t complete the program had barriers such as child care or transportation, she said. Central Health hired 57% of the graduates within two weeks of graduation. Others have gone to other clinics or hospitals. Rijal will be doing follow-up surveys of participants to see where they are a year later, two years later and beyond.

This is an intensive program. The classroom portion is condensed into nine weeks instead of nine months. They also have two days of orientation, plus a career fair and another day that focuses on how to build a resume and interview skills. The students also are paired with an experienced nurse and an experienced medical assistant when they go into the clinics.

They also receive a week of training on the medical records system, which allows them to jump in right away to clinic work. Once there, they rotate through different clinics and experience everything from taking vitals, to collecting medical information, to giving vaccines, helping doctors with some patient procedures or taking X-rays. 

Finding their place after the program

Andrea Luna graduated from the medical assistant program in May and immediately began working atCentral Health’s East Austin clinic’s general surgery department. The program allowed her to get a lot of practice working with patients before she got the job at the clinic, she said.

Before being accepted into the program, Luna, 23, had stayed at home with her son for two years, and had driven for Uber and Amazon.

Now working with Dr. Catie Mavroudis, they have been able to simplify the way patients are getting scheduled for surgery, which cuts down on their wait times. “She learns very quickly,” Mavroudis said. “She always goes above and beyond.” 

They high-five each other as they work through another patient’s case to get them scheduled. “We’re making progress,” Luna said. 

As soon as Vences graduated the program in June 2024, she was hired to work in the East Austin’s podiatry clinic. “They gave me an opportunity,” she said. One of the patients specifically brought up to a manager what a difference Vences made to his visit. 

“The compassionate care she was able to provide to this patient was really touching for him,” Rijal said.

Now Vences has even more goals: to go to nursing school and then to become a community health worker.  

“For me, I feel the satisfaction of helping others and when I see a smile on their face in appreciation and gratitude,” she said.

About the medical assistant program

Applications open about two months before the programs begin: usually November for the January program and May for the July program. 

Applicants have to have a high school degree or GED and be 18 or older. They do not need to have any medical experience.

The program pays for all the training and materials, as well as an hourly wage. 

You can find out more at centralhealth.net/about-central-health/careers/ma-apprenticeship-program/.