Mississauga Graduate of the Quarter – Summer 2015

Emilia Amador

Medical Office Assistant Program – Mississauga Campus

Registrar – Algonquin Careers Academy, Mississauga

 

 

Congratulations to Emilia Amador who is our Mississauga Graduate of the Summer 2015 Quarter! Emilia is a graduate of our Medical Office Assistant program in 2010 and is now the Registrar of Algonquin Careers Academy, Mississauga Campus. As Registrar, Emilia is responsible for the financial administration of the campus as well as being the financial advisor of our students.

Emilia came to Canada from Mexico in 2004 to visit some relatives and applied for refugee status for personal reasons. It was granted and Emilia became a citizen in 2007. As with the majority of immigrants, Emilia had a very hard life in Canada to begin with because of the language barrier and not being able to work in the field in which she trained in Mexico. The only work she could get was cleaning - something she never had to do back home. She was embarrassed to begin with but she then realized that it was honest work and people did not look down on her for it. She and her husband were able to buy a house, a car and travel with this job. Her husband called her “The Barbie Cleaner”.

Emilia did not want to be a cleaner for the rest of her life so when a friend who was registered in the Accounting and Payroll program told her about Algonquin Careers Academy, she came to speak with our helpful Admissions Representative. In Mexico she had been involved in Administrative work so she signed up for MOA. She thought her English was good until she got to the class - then was so embarrassed by it that she stopped speaking. However, she listened and learned and graduated as an MOA. The people around her in her life did not think she would make it through but were very proud of her when she did.

When she graduated, the Mississauga Campus Director asked her to be our evening receptionist. It was not a medical office but the same types of organization and customer service were required. She took on more and more as she grew into that role including ordering books, taking student payments and attendance. The opportunity came up for her to be a Student Financial Advisor. She hesitated but decided to take it on. Again her duties grew and she was promoted to Registrar. She deals with all of the student financial information from beginning to end as well as does payables, registrations, financial filing, bank deposits, and more. She has a very responsible job that requires an organized, detailed, honest and trustworthy person to fill the role. She has moved from “The Barbie Cleaner” to the “Money Lady” and we are thankful that she did. Emilia just passed her five year milestone with ACA.

Emilia is happy and grateful to be living in the beautiful, safe country of Canada. Her son is here but her daughter is still living in Mexico. Her head and half of her heart are in Canada but the other half is in Mexico until she can get her daughter and her family into Canada.

Emilia’s words of wisdom? Pursue your dream. No one is going to knock on your door and offer it to you. Don’t always think you can’t. You are not going to know if you can unless you try. Don’t quit before you start – that way, not matter the outcome, at least you tried. Every day Emilia wakes up and tries to do her best.

For further information on Algonquin Careers Academy’s Medical Office Assistant program, click on the following link:

Medical Office Assistant program

Medical Office Assistant – Additional Information

An article from the following website very succinctly describes the role of the Medical Office Assistant:

http://www.innerbody.com/careers-in-health/how-to-become-a-medical-office-assistant.html

Doctors and patients alike rely upon medical office assistants to bring order to the complex world of medicine. As a medical office assistant (MOA), you are the first point of contact between patient and office, and as such, set the tone for the patient’s experience. In addition to guiding patients, MOAs also work behind the scenes to coordinate referrals, lab test reviews, chart updates, insurance reimbursements and other functions that keep a medical office running smoothly. A medical office assistant can be given great leeway by a doctor who trusts in his integrity and judgment, particularly in smaller practices where an MOA must inevitably fill a wide variety of roles.

Larger medical practices or hospitals rely on medical office assistants, too, but for fewer and more specialized tasks. Regardless of the size of the practice, medical office assistants are an integral part of any medical office, and can tip the balance of a patient's experience from mundane to superlative.

Follow the link to find out more information but keep in mind that it is a U.S. article and some things do not apply to Canada.