Education Helps a Medical Assistant Student Reach New Heights
Kayla Ray has proven throughout her career that she knows how to work hard, but somehow school has always been out of reach.
Kayla has a strong work ethic. After high school, she got a job working as a receptionist at a medical office where her dad had worked. From there she moved on to a medical records company, a physical therapist office, and even an emergency veterinarian clinic.
In each office, she worked at the front desk but picked up a great amount of knowledge about the medical field. Eventually, she ended up working as a receptionist at an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor (ENT) where the doctors performed everything from routine ear and nose exams to cosmetic procedures and surgeries. With all her experience, she was quickly promoted to a supervisor role, but she still felt insecure about her educational background.
A few months later, her father passed away.
“I told my husband at the time I feel like a failure,” she said. “I do not have a good enough job at the time to support my family. I need to go back to school. I need to figure out something to do with my life to provide better for my children. I knew going back to school as a medical assistant was the next course of action. I found UEI and they offered a program that was 10 months versus two years and that was a really big deal for me.”
Just two weeks after giving birth to her second child, Kayla enrolled in the Medical Assistant program at UEI College in Oceanside.
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“I felt excited,” she said. “There was lots of stuff I already knew and some I didn’t know. I was excited about the next best things I would learn and then even more on top of that. I was excited to learn new things from different perspectives. I’ve learned so much from the medical field. I loved that the classes looked like offices. I really enjoyed that. I felt at home.”
“It was really great having Kayla in my class,” said Jomar Jean, Kayla’s instructor. “She really brought a lot of joy and happiness to the class. I don’t ever remember her coming into the class without a big smile on her face.”
From the start, Kayla did her best to never fall behind on her work. She still worked a full-time job, was raising two kids, and dealt with the loss of her father-in-law just two months into her program, but she kept pushing forward.
“It was a real turning point for our family,” she said. “I still kept up with school. I still did everything I could. I had to take less time with work because my kids were constantly getting sick. I forced myself to be on top of everything as best as possible. I commend my teachers for being there for me because they were definitely my rock. If I needed help, they were there. My children were my reason to continue on and not to give up. I wanted to show them that whatever you put your mind to, you can achieve it.”
“I was able to notice a huge boost in Kayla’s confidence from when she first started to when she left,” Mr. Jean said. “Confidence is one of the key things that I focus on in my class and she excelled greatly. It feels amazing to see her come in trying to learn all she can and then leave as a true medical professional. I honestly couldn’t be prouder of Kayla! She is without a doubt one of the best students I’ve ever had.”
In the end, Kayla graduated on the honor roll and felt proud that she finally had the proper training to excel in the career she already loved.
“It feels amazing. It is still surreal saying I graduated, I have my certificate, I’m an official MA,” she said. “I have more opportunities. I’m able to participate in surgeries with my clinics, cover multiple providers’ clinics, and am a supervisor and manager in training. I’ve been able to move up within my position by getting my certificate.”
