About NIMAA
The National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA) is a nonprofit education institute that trains Medical Assistants to work effectively in today’s high-performing primary care settings. NIMAA was created by community health centers to provide access to education and employment opportunities in the communities they serve, while addressing a critical workforce shortage.
NIMAA’s innovative training model combines extensive in-clinic experience with concurrent flexible on-line learning at an affordable cost.
Students complete our 8-month post-secondary program prepared for meaningful entry-level employment in team-based primary care settings.
NIMAA is a collaboration between two of the nation’s leading Federally Qualified Health Centers, Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC) in Connecticut providing care to 145,000 patients and Salud Family Health Centers in Colorado, serving more than 70,000 patients. Both organizations are recognized by the National Committee on Quality Assurance as Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes, using teams to provide comprehensive medical, dental and behavioral health services to the medically underserved in the communities they serve.
NIMAA started in August 2016 and offers a unique medical assisting curriculum that includes person-centered care with student externship embedded in the integrated health care team. NIMAA graduated its first class of “Pioneer Partner Students” in April 2017. In September 2017, we started our second cohort in Colorado, Connecticut, and Hawaii with five health centers providing externships in 18 clinics.
NIMAA is currently enrolling students in Connecticut and Colorado for classes beginning September 2019.
Mission and Objectives
NIMAA’s mission is to provide educational opportunities that address critical workforce shortages in primary care.
NIMAA’s objective is to enable graduates to gain the competencies and knowledge to be eligible to apply for an entry-level position in the medical assisting profession.
Get involved in learning!
Become a NIMAA student – Do you want to learn how to become a vital member of a health care team? NIMAA's 7-month program combines online learning with hands-on skill practice rooted in the health care setting. NIMAA students learn concepts in the online portion of the course and practice their skills onsite in a participating NIMAA Externship Site.
Become a NIMAA Externship Site – Do you want to help NIMAA learners become highly qualified medical assistants and effective members of the integrated health care team? A NIMAA Externship Site serves as the stage for practice and observation of team-based care for MA students. NIMAA includes training for your preceptors, and as an externship site, your team gains the benefits of getting to know students for an extended period of time. NIMAA serves as your recruitment tool and will potentially lower your training costs because the externship becomes a pipeline to your employment opportunities.
Would you like to join the NIMAA mailing list? Email us at info@nimaa.com.
Founding Partners:
