Bridging Theory and Practice: Inside Glocal Institute's Virtual Lab Experience

Gowtham Vijayakumar
May 2
4 min read

One of the significant obstacles online health education faces is the provision of hands-on practice. Glocal Institute innovatively solves this conundrum by introducing a virtual lab experience to blend classroom concepts with real-world skills. If you are looking at online medical assistant programs in Michigan best suited for you (if looking for online medical assistant programs anywhere), check out Glocal's virtual labs and how they prepare you for success.

A healthcare professional engages in a video consultation with a doctor, utilizing telemedicine technology within a clinical setting.

Why Virtual Labs Matter?

Traditional medical assistant programs require tons of in-person laboratories, but scheduling conflicts, transportation issues, and geographic barriers have made access a challenge over the years. Virtual labs would place no hindrances to provide:

24/7 Accessibility: Train anytime that is convenient for you - be it early in the morning, late at night, or weekends.
Zero Risk: Hone your skills without anxiety over patient safety or mistakes.
Immediate Feedback: Understand when you are doing something correctly and receive guidance on how to correct it the instant you are not.

For busy residents of Michigan-Whether they are in Detroit, Grand Rapids, or the outer regions-Glocal's virtual lab courses ensure that wherever they are located, they can gain some all-important clinical experience.

Virtual Labs at Glocal are critical components.

Here are some:

Interactive Clinical Simulations

In a virtual laboratory, one can experience scenario-based simulations that mimic common tasks in a medical office, such as:

Recipient of patients: Practice greeting virtual patients, verifying their identity, and recording medical histories.
Vital Signs: Show real-looking displays of blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, and pulse oximeters.
Basic Procedures: Simulate tasks like drawing capillary blood samples, applying bandages, and preparing exam rooms.

Each scenario is molded according to your input in interaction, allowing you to learn thinking on your feet and confidence in clinical decisions.

Step-by-step combination on skills

With Glocal's multimedia tutorials that break down each procedure step by step, students can first be guided through instructors before attempting simulations:

Videos: Each step will be depicted in HD and detailed through narration by an experienced medical assistant.
Annotated Guides: Greater detail in drawing and checklists to supplement on technique and terminology.
Knowledge Checks: Small quizzes after each walk through that seal for your knowledge.

These all make sure that you are ready to fit yourself before you step into the simulation environment.

Live Lab-Virtual Sessions

Real-time instruction is very important, even for online programs. Glocal Institute conducts live virtual lab sessions so you can:

Watch the instructor perform procedures live via video streaming, with multiple angles and camera views for every detail.
Ask questions as they come up. You can use chat functions or voice to communicate with your instructor and the rest of the class.
Practice together: These are full-fledged group labs where you perform the same simulations simultaneously before going through any challenges and best practices.

These sessions replicate all of the interaction of an on-campus lab and foster a community and collaboration.

Performance Tracking and Remediation

We know that each student goes through their concepts at their own pace. Glocal tracks your performance through its lab platform:

Skill Mastery Dashboards: Here you can see the percentage of successes in each of your clinical tasks, from positioning the patient to the handling of specimens.
Targeted Remediation Plan: Should you have difficulty with any procedure, the application recommends some specific tutorials or repeated exercises based upon that failure.
Progress Milestone: When you demonstrate mastery of a key skill, celebrate-it will keep your motivation high throughout your Michigan medical assistant training program.

From Virtual to Real: Preparation for Externships

These virtual labs give only a taste of what an externship is about. Glocal Institute maintains arrangements with healthcare providers across Michigan where externships are possible so that you can:

Practice Virtual Skills Live: Convert easily from simulation to real clinical environments.
Build Linked Professional Relationships: Get to know some of your possible future employers during your externship rotation to marry networking with job prospecting.
Earn Clinical Hours Face to Face: Satisfy required contact hours for internship eligibility in the certification programs like NHA CCMA or CMAA.

Most commonly, students tell us that by the time they get to their externship, they are well prepared, often better prepared, than students coming from more traditional bricks-and-mortar schools into their externship.

Success Stories- Impact of virtual lab graduates

"I never thought online learning could feel so hands-on. The virtual labs were so plugged in that while I was externing at a local clinic in Lansing, I performed procedures without holding back."

- Carlos M., Glocal Graduate

"Glocal's remediation tools really came through for me. When I really struggled with my venipuncture drills, the system was able to identify my mistakes and even suggested targeted tutorials on how to perform it correctly."

- Priya S., Glocal Graduate

These narratives present the evidence of how well-equipped Glocal's students are, through the virtual lab setup, to practice skills before they ever set foot in a real clinic.

Enroll Today & Experience Glocal’s Virtual Labs

If you are searching for medical assistant classes in Michigan that truly prepare you for a career, look no further than Glocal Institute online medical assistant programs in Michigan. The innovative virtual labs offer: