2016 grad working as a clinic supervisor at BFP and TCO
Megan Ewing, 32, earned her Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in the Medical Assistant program at Dakota County Technical College. Megan graduated from DCTC in May 2016. She then joined the staff as a certified medical assistant (CMA) at the Allina Health Shakopee Clinic. She completed her required program practicum at the Allina Clinic in Eagan.
Today, Megan serves in a clinic supervisor role at Burnsville Family Physicians (BFP) and Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) in Burnsville, Minnesota. She started at the clinic in 2018 and was previously the lead of CMAs. She is looking forward to advancing her career as a healthcare management professional.
“I would like to continue my education in this area,” Megan said, “and one day become a district manager overseeing multiple clinics.”
During her time at DCTC, Megan carried a full load of courses and worked full-time all while caring for her daughter as a single mother. She was inspired to enroll in the Medical Assistant program for a number of reasons.
“I had been in retail sales for so long and absolutely loved working with people, but I wanted to try something different rather than sales,” Megan said. “I have always cared a lot about people, and healthcare interested me. My friends and family were telling me they always thought I would end up in healthcare with my people skills and the empathy I showed.”
Kathleen Paukert
Kathleen Paukert, CMA (AAMA) BAS, serves as the Medical Assistant program director at DCTC. She appreciated Megan’s focus and abilities as a student and continues to work with her to create on-the-job learning opportunities for current Medical Assistant students.
“Megan was a great student and dedicated to her education,” Kathleen said. “She had a natural ease with patients and excelled at hands-on skills. When Megan reached out about hosting our students for practicum, I was thrilled. She hosted our first student this past summer, and the student really enjoyed the experience. It has been great working with her at Burnsville Family Physicians and Twin Cities Orthopedics, and I’m excited to see how this relationship develops.”
More about Megan…
Originally from Burnsville, Megan graduated from Apple Valley High School, Class of 2009. She has been married to her husband, Kevin, for six years (they’ve been together for 10 years). Kevin works as a barber. Their daughter, Madison, is 12 years old and in the 7th grade at St. John the Baptist Catholic School.
The family has two Rottweilers, Rocko and Remedi. Kevin recently started his own dog breeding kennel with their Rotties and has plans to purchase a few more dogs as well.
Megan has worked as a seasonal sales associate at Kay Jewelers in Eagan since 2014. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family. She also loves reading, watching movies, and going out to dinner.
Megan resides with Kevin, Madison, Rocko, and Remedi in Burnsville.
Megan family gallery
One word that best describes your experience at DCTC:
AMAZING!*
* I absolutely loved my time at DCTC. The staff and professors were always so helpful and kind; they made you feel right at home.
Megan Ewing • Q & A
Megan Ewing
What did you like best about the Medical Assistant program?
I loved the lab part of things along with learning injections—I always thought this was so interesting and a fun part of school. I also liked to learn medical terminology and pharmacology.
What advice would you give students thinking about a career as a medical assistant?
I would say absolutely go for it! It is a very rewarding career to get into, and you can use the skills as a CMA to further your education in the healthcare field. The hours are great as well if you are looking to have weekends off and a 9-to-5 schedule during the week (of course, there are some clinics that have different hours).
What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of working as a medical assistant?
I would say the most rewarding thing is being able to make a difference in patients’ lives. I love working in family practice because I get to build rapport with our patients. I love being able to make a difference in their lives just by showing compassion for them and their healthcare needs.
The most challenging aspect can sometimes be working with many different personalities within the other staff and doctors, but of course this can happen at any workplace.
Three words that describe you as a healthcare professional:
DEDICATED. KNOWLEDGEABLE. EMPATHETIC.
What area of healthcare do you find the most interesting and why?
Family practice for sure—you get to see a little bit of everything and you learn so much. I have also worked in other specialties such as ortho, plastic surgery, infectious disease, mental health, nephrology, internal medicine, and OBGYN. I was able to learn new skills and techniques while working in these specialties and got the chance to see many different minor procedures.
What person has influenced your life the most and why?
My daughter has influenced my life the most. She has been my biggest motivation and has cheered me on the whole way throughout my healthcare career. I want to be a good role model for her as she wants to go into the healthcare field as well. Every time things became hard, she was always right there to let me know not to ever give up and that I could do this.
Where do you hope to find yourself in 20 years?
I would like to be overseeing and supporting multiple healthcare clinics and be able to share my knowledge and skills that I have been fortunate enough to learn over the years.
Megan Ewing • 12 Answers
- Favorite sport or physical activity: Soccer
Place you would most like to visit: Venice (honestly all over Europe)- Most exciting thing you’ve ever done: Snorkeling in Jamaica! It was amazing!
- Three things you would do if you won a $1 billion lottery: 1) Donate to different cancer foundations 2) Travel the world and learn how medicine is done in other countries 3) Buy tons of toys and other fun things and go around to as many children’s hospitals as I can to pass out the gifts
- Best book or movie you’ve read or seen lately: I love all James Patterson books! I love all crime solving/mystery shows and movies
- Time period (past or future) you would explore if you could time travel: 1800s
- One thing you most want to accomplish in your life: To be remembered as a hard worker, good friend and family member, and amazing mother
Your national bird if you were your own country: Northern cardinal- Dream occupation: CEO of a healthcare system
- Person you would most like to meet: Ben Carson
- Skill you would most like to learn and master: To be the best manager I can be now and going forward. I hope to learn new things every day that I can teach others and help them become confident in what they do. Training is one of the best parts of my job—I truly enjoy it!
- Most important issue or problem facing humankind: Overpopulation due to climate change
Learn more about the Medical Assistant program at DCTC by contacting:
Kathleen Paukert, CMA (AAMA) BAS
Medical Assistant Program Director
Kathleen.Paukert@dctc.edu
651-423-8421
Admissions
admissions@dctc.edu
651-423-8266
Room 2-110
More about the Medical Assistant program…
Help others in the career that cares
Working alongside doctors in medical offices and clinics, typically during normal business hours, medical assistants are in high demand. This program offers you maximum flexibility, including an online option combined with evening on-campus, hands-on skills practice.
Put your empathy to work in healthcare. Your new career can start with the Medical Assistant program at DCTC.
Overview
The Medical Assistant program trains you to work alongside physicians in medical offices and clinics. A medical assistant’s expansive cross-training includes duties such as taking medical histories, preparing patients for procedures, administering medications, drawing blood, obtaining vital signs, scheduling appointments, and collecting and testing lab samples.
The goal of the program is centered on preparing you to become a competent entry-level medical assistant in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains.
Employment in this field typically requires successful completion of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) certification exam.
Accreditation
The Medical Assistant program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
25400 U.S. Highway 19 North, Suite 158
Clearwater, FL 33763
727-210-2350
www.caahep.org
Medical Assistants
Handle administrative and clinical tasks in healthcare settings.
WAGE
This career pays above the statewide median of $23.81/hour
Minnesota
Median: $24.05/hour
High: $24.70/hourSeven-county Twin Cities metro
Median: $24.41/hour
High: $24.81/hourOUTLOOK
In Minnesota, there are 10,830 workers employed in this large career, which is currently in very high demand and is seeing very high growth compared to other careers. Growth rate is 16.1 percent in Minnesota, or well above the statewide average.
There will be a need for about 13,155 new Medical Assistants to meet market demand between 2020–2030 This includes the demand due to replacement (workers leaving the occupation or retiring) as well as growth.
— Minnesota State CAREERwise Education (January 11, 2023)
