Angel Dutton: Becoming a Medical Assistant to Keep a Promise

When Angel Dutton’s grandmother suffered a brain aneurysm and spent months in a coma before needing full-time care in a nursing facility, it more than rocked Angel’s world. It changed the trajectory of her life.

“As a kid, I watched my grandmother get neglected in the care facility she was in all the time, and it was awful,” Angel says. “Before she passed away, I promised her I would enter the medical field and be that one person who made a difference in someone’s day.”

In her mid-20s, Angel went to school to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. And in 2012, when Angel and her husband moved to Arizona, she continued on her healthcare journey and completed training to become a Medical Assistant. She was providing valuable services, helping others, making a difference, and fulfilling her promise.

But in 2017, Angel moved back home to Utah to be with her mother as she tried to battle ovarian cancer. She still wanted to work as a Medical Assistant but discovered her Arizona Medical Assistant credentials wouldn’t transfer. If she wanted to continue to pursue her passion, she’d need to retrain.

“When I moved back and tried to find work as a Medical Assistant in Utah, I was basically told that I had to start all over again,” she explains. “It was frustrating and I even felt like giving up.”

For several years, Angel worked in retail and customer service, but she did not get the fulfillment from these roles as she did in the medical field. It was her husband who encouraged her to get back to what she loved.

“He told me, ‘Enough’s enough—you need to be in the medical field where you’re happy,’” Angel explains.

Discovering Charter College Salt Lake City for Medical Assistant Training

Angel began researching schools to find the best option to continue her Medical Assistant career, but she faced some dead ends with the local programs in her area.

“I tried contacting one school and couldn’t get anyone in admissions to talk to me,” she recalls. That’s when I came across Charter College’s Salt Lake City Medical Assistant Program.”

What really sold Angel on the program at Charter was the fact that she could graduate in under a year and become nationally certified through the National Healthcareer Association.

“The national certification was huge for me. I didn’t want to finish school and then have to figure out how to get certified later if I were to move to another state again.”

Balancing Work, Family, and School

As someone balancing work, family, and school, Angel says the blended learning model at Charter College made her goals achievable.

“In my old program, I had to be on campus Monday through Friday, so I couldn’t work full time,” she explains. “At Charter, I had in-person classes a few days a week and the rest online. That flexibility allowed me to keep my retail job while studying and earning my certification.”

Angel says the program was also a great refresher for her existing skills. And while some of the program courses were a great review, she also learned new skills like phlebotomy for the first time, expanding her abilities for future roles.

Angel Follows Her Dream to be a Medical Assistant

Now, as a Medical Assistant at Intermountain Healthcare, Angel feels fulfilled in her role.

“My goal for the next five or so years is just to hone my skills as a Medical Assistant,” she says. “My employer offers advancement opportunities for me to move forward, but for now, I’m perfectly happy where I’m at now following my dreams.”

Angel says Charter College not only helped her build her skills, but also reignited the passion she had to keep her childhood promise. “Charter gave me the chance to restart my career and reminded me why I chose this field in the first place and that’s to help people,” she says.

Angel’s advice for others considering a career in healthcare is: “Follow your dreams.” While the path may seem difficult at first, she encourages other aspiring Medical Assistants to stay focused and keep studying.

“The medical field is always changing, but it’s one of the most rewarding careers you can have,” Angel says.

Do you want to hear more about our amazing Medical Assistant graduates and instructors? Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more!