Ultimate Medical Academy Recognizes Georgia Graduate

January 25, 2017, Tampa, Fla. — Ultimate Medical Academy is proud to highlight Candace Phillips, a resident of Albany, Georgia and a graduate from UMA’s online Medical Administrative Assistant diploma program. With the help of UMA’s Career Services, Phillips landed a healthcare position before she graduated in March 2016. While launching her career in healthcare, Phillips is also continuing her UMA online education and is on schedule to earn a Medical Administrative Assistant associate degree this year.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” Phillips said. “It has been one of my life-time goals to have a career in the medical field. Thanks to UMA, I have completed that goal. Since receiving my diploma, I have been offered so many opportunities at school and at work, which is just fantastic.”

On Feb. 2, 2016, she joined Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital as a Patient Access Specialist. In this role, Phillips is responsible for electronically documenting patient demographics, insurance information, codes, and payments into patient’s medical records. This includes verifying insurance and collecting and posting co-payments and reconciling them daily. She also schedules physician appointments, answers phone calls, scans physician orders, and makes copies of medically related documents.

While earning her diploma at UMA, Phillips maintained a 4.0 GPA, was on the Dean’s List every semester and graduated with High Honors. Her Dean’s List certificates hang proudly in her living room and serve as an inspiration for both Phillips and her nine-year-old daughter.

“While I was making a 4.0 at UMA, my GPA motivated my daughter to make all A’s on her report card too,” Phillips said. “I wanted my daughter to see that no matter how old you are, never give up, and continue to work toward that goal you have always wanted. That’s what I did.”

While Phillips strives to be a role model for her daughter by setting a stellar example that you can achieve your goals through hard work, she in turn derives great motivation from her daughter’s unwavering support – support that only a young girl can provide a proud mom.

“My daughter has served as my main inspiration through this entire journey,” Phillips said. “She has encouraged me to do my best and when I received my diploma she was so proud of me.”

UMA President Derek Apanovitch said, “Stories like Candace’s are what inspire us to do as much as we can for our students at Ultimate Medical Academy. We offer a wide variety of student services and alumni career resources to ensure that our graduates are on a pathway to success during and after attending UMA. We want them to succeed in their new careers in healthcare.”