Medical Assisting Seniors Win First Place in Statewide Competition

Edgecombe Community College’s Medical Assisting seniors won first place in a Quiz Bowl competition at the recent North Carolina Society of Medical Assistants Convention. From left are Shirice Strickland, Azucena Valdez, Kathryn Hale, Latoya McCray, Tina Ezzell, Stacey Howard, and Tracey Williams. Shown front center is Elizabeth Sprinkle, chair/clinical coordinator of Medical Assisting at ECC. All individuals shown are CMA (AAMA). Senior Taquita Bryant, CMA (AAMA), was unavailable for the photo.

Seniors in Edgecombe Community College’s Medical Assisting program recently won first place in a state Quiz Bowl for medical assistants.

The students were attending the 51st annual North Carolina Society of Medical Assistants Convention in Greensboro held April 21-24.

Each year, the convention holds a Quiz Bowl in which community college medical assisting students from across North Carolina compete. Questions relate to the medical assisting curriculum.

Ten colleges competed in the 2016 Quiz Bowl. In addition to Edgecombe, the schools that competed were Alamance Community College, Cabarrus School of Health, Gaston College, and Lenoir, Forsyth Technical, Surry, Central Carolina, Stanley, and South Piedmont community colleges.

The winning Edgecombe team consisted of Tina Ezzell, Kathryn Hale, and Latoya McCray. They were coached by Elizabeth Sprinkle, program chair/clinical coordinator of Medical Assisting at ECC.

The Edgecombe team also brought home first place in 2013, the first year the college competed in the Quiz Bowl.

According to Sprinkle, all of the 2016 Medical Assisting seniors have taken and passed the national Certified Medical Assistant exam for a 100 percent pass rate. These students will officially graduate from Edgecombe Community College on Saturday, May 7.