Bryttnee McKinney is a proud two-time graduate of Pima Medical Institute. She earned her Medical Assistant certificate from our Renton campus and continued to earn her Health Care Administration associate degree through our online program.
Here’s her story.
“I took a leap of faith and it ended up being my calling! After the birth of my oldest daughter, I was feeling the pressure of parenthood. Despite my degree in graphic design, I wasn’t able to find a job. I saw a commercial for Pima Medical Institute, called for an appointment and ended up starting the Medical Assistant (MA) program almost immediately. Compared to my previous college experience, Pima Medical was a breath of fresh air – a one-stop shop for education. The positive environment, small class sizes and supportive instructors made the journey enjoyable. My classmates were both younger and older than I was, but we had the same goal and supported each other.
During my externship in an urgent care, I felt well prepared for tasks like vitals, blood draws and injections. I also gained valuable hands-on experience in suturing and wound care. I landed my first job at Planned Parenthood and later moved to the Nephrology department at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, where I gained experience and became a Lead MA. Knowing I wanted to move up in health care, I enrolled in the online Health Care Administration program. Getting your associate degree while working in the field makes it easier as you’re able to apply what you’re learning. Currently, I am a Transplant Program Assistant at Virginia Mason. My responsibilities include initiating recipient referrals, scheduling recipient and donor evaluations and overall administrative support for nurses, social workers and financial coordinators.
My job is very rewarding. Every year I increase my skills to obtain more credentials, I become more valuable and my pay rate goes up. Healthcare is where it’s at!”
Do you want a fulfilling career in health care? Take the first step now!
