CBD College

Why Should You Become a Dental Assistant? |
Dental Assistant jDental Assistant Student at CBD Collegeobs are on the rise! As of May 2016, the annual mean salary for Dental Assistants in California was $39,150, and job growth is expected to increase by 18% through 2024!* If you would enjoy providing patient care, taking x-rays, scheduling appointments, and more, then this is the perfect career choice for you!
In as little as 10 months, CBD College's Dental Assistant program will provide you with the training, knowledge, and skills necessary to start working side-by-side assisting Dentists in dental offices and clinics.

Today's Dental Assistants are responsible for many important tasks, including:

Preparing patients for treatments and procedures

Processing x-rays and completing lab tasks, under the direction of a dentist

Sterilizing dental instruments

Helping dentists by handing them instruments during procedures

Instructing patients in proper oral hygiene

Scheduling patient appointments

Working with patients on billing and payment

At CBD College, we have day and night classes available to meet our busy students’ needs. We know it’s hard to earn a degree when you may also be juggling a job and a family, so we do what we can to make it easier for you with our flexible class schedules. CBD offers a state-of-the art Dental Assistant lab that rivals that of any modern medical setting; dedicated faculty and staff; advanced, hands-on training; personalized, one-on-one tutoring; and employment assistance. At no extra cost to you, CBD will continue to offer employment assistance for the entire duration of your career, long after you’ve graduated!

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: EDOARDO CERANI, MS RT (R) (MR) ARRT
Meet MRI Program Director, Edoardo Cerani!
“I’m very excited to launch the Magnetic Resonance Imaging program at CBD College,” Mr. Edoardo Cerani said. “With jobs on the rise and growth projected for the future in diagnostic imaging, I want to be able to provide the best experience for students and help them learn and grow so they can become successful and provide an excellent service for patients.”

How did you pursue a career in magnetic resonance imaging?Edoardo Cerani
Having always been fascinated by the human anatomy and physiology, I started with a radiography (x-ray) school and then decided to specialize in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. MRI can show human anatomy in cross-sectional slices with exquisite detail, and unlike x-ray or CT it doesn’t expose you or the patient to ionizing radiation. Furthermore, I liked the constant technological evolution happening in this relatively new imaging modality.

What led you to pursue instructing?
I started “teaching” as a judo instructor when I was 17 years old, and then a language instructor and science instructor later on, right after having moved to the US, and that made me realize that teaching was my passion and that I was appreciated by my students. After having studied radiology and becoming a registered technologist in X-ray and MRI, I was frequently asked to tutor and help other students and my former instructors and Dean of Education asked me to become an MRI instructor for their College, as they recognized my skills and ability to teach even complex topics and make them understandable. Since then, I have been successfully teaching MRI – with students’ satisfaction – for 10 years. In 2009, I created the vert first Online MRI Program in the US.

When did you start at CBD College?
I started working at CBD College in September 2016, and since then I created and developed all the Curriculum, Syllabi and necessary ABHES accreditation documentation for the new MRI Programs that are about to start here at CBD.

Who has been you’re greatest inspiration or mentor?
My greatest mentor has always been my father, from whom I inherited and learned the importance of work ethics, responsibility, accountability and reliability.

How are you involved with MRI outside of CBD College?
I am always keeping myself current in the field through specialized continuing education courses, profession specific magazines, newsletters and webinars.

I often develop new teaching ideas and material when at home as well.

Do you have any advice for potential students interested in pursuing a career in MRI or healthcare in general?
Healthcare in general is a field where you will have to deal with ill people (patients) who are particularly vulnerable and in need of empathy, care and support, that always need to be delivered in a very ethical and professional way. If you feel that the virtues of patience, compassion, understanding, benevolence, responsibility, professionalism and attention to detail belong to your personality, then you could be a great healthcare professional.

For MRI in particular, being a pretty complex and vast imaging modality due to the electromagnetic physical principles on which it is founded, in order to be successful you will need to be very dedicated and committed, and make a real effort, especially at the beginning. Your instructors will always be there to guide and support you, and to give you all the tools necessary to learn and improve, but your active involvement and will to consistently study and learn will be necessary to make the results of this “team work” a productive and constructive experience that will provide you with lifelong growth, professional and personal satisfaction.

CBD College Congratulates SOTA On Their Inaugural Chapter!
The Occupational Therapy Assistant program has inaugurated CBD’s first Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA). The SOTA board is comprised of senior (Cohort 5) and junior (Cohort 6) OTA students. Elected officers are as follows; Sherry Younesi, President John LoMonaco, Vice President Veronica Ochoa, Treasurer Patrice Alexander, Secretary Kyle Kiriyama and Bianca Nguyen, Liaisons Korrina Fite and Ray Luna, Activity Directors. The inaugural SOTA board officers were eager to launch their student association once their new module started. Throughout the fall and winter months, SOTA has been active in organizing events and introducing the chapter.
Student Advocates for the Field
Additionally, SOTA serves as a liaison between fellow OTA students and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) by relaying important issues pertaining to the practice of Occupational Therapy. Currently, SOTA focuses on advocating for the recent call to action from the state reps in regards to the therapy cap. Occupational therapy practitioners advocate for clients and to protect the future of the OT practice.

In an effort to bring the students in the OTA program together, SOTA held their first social event during the last week of classes before Christmas break. The Holiday Pizza Party was an event planned for all cohorts in the OTA program. The idea was to welcome the newest OTA cohort 7 allowing them the chance to mingle with fellow classmates across all cohorts 5 and 6, and to bring all students together. The SOTA board received great feedback from several students. Students shared their experiences in previous classes and helpful study tips with one another.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: GUADALUPE CALDERON
Tell us more about yourself, your background and what brought you to CBD College.
Well, everyone calls me Gigi. I came to the country when I was 7 years old; my parents are both immigrants. They brought me here for a better life. I’ve always wanted to help people, even as a little girl. The medical field was the answer. I researched a couple schools, but CBD was the one that caught my attention – amazing reviews, the area is nice. When I spoke to Admissions, I knew this would be the perfect fit. CBD College is non-profit, and the Medical Assisting Program actually includes the board exam. Other schools charge you extra for that. I love how neat and clean the building is. When I spoke to Mrs. A, our program director, it all just seemed like everything I was looking for.

What was CBD like when you started?guadalupe calderon
I started in November of 2016. When I first got here the environment was really friendly, I made a lot of good friends that I’m still in touch with. The instructors were so sweet and so friendly, yet so knowledgeable. I loved it. The first day I got here she said, “You guys are going to poke each other with needles.” I was freaking out! I was also really excited and just said: “Yes, let’s do this.” It was so hands-on.

Tell us about your current job.
I’m working in vascular surgery. It’s really cool. When I first got to the clinics, the surgeon was looking for medical assistants because he needed someone to be his personal assistant, but also scribe during the surgery. I always pictured myself at a clinic, that’s where an MA usually works. However, the surgeon liked the leadership and initiative I displayed. He said he was going to give me one shot – one day that’s it. Most people fear him because he’s an internationally known surgeon, he used to be chief of heart surgery at a hospital – he has quite the resume, so a lot of people are intimidated by him. I saw this as a perfect opportunity. I took the chance, and I loved it. Surgery is completely different than working in a clinic because I’m literally in the operating room, assisting the nurse, the surgical techs, the surgeon and the patient. It’s one on one with the patient.

What do you find most interesting about your job?
It’s interesting because time seems endless, but it also goes by so fast in the OR. I love the adrenaline. It’s there I realized I want to go back to school to be a surgical tech. It just goes to show you, you think you’ll end up in one place, but you take a completely different route to get there.

The best part is definitely saving lives — the fact that we complete a surgery, and we know it was successful. I mainly work in Vascular and many of the patients we get are older, many of them can’t work or can’t use their legs. The feeling of knowing we helped them walk or open up their arteries and get to keep both of their legs is amazing. Even when we’re tired from being up since 6:30 in the morning, and haven’t eaten all day and just need a break after a 12-hour day, it feels amazing because we saved someone’s life today. I’m blessed that CBD placed me at this site.

What is your most memorable moment at CBD College?
Lab. Lab was awesome. Most schools are lecture only and books, but doing lab helped me meet my best friends Jamie and Byron. I made a lot of great friends in lab and we challenged each other.

Who/what is your biggest inspiration/influence?
Mother Theresa. She was so selfless and lived just to help people. It was a lonely journey for her, but she gave all of herself. It wasn’t easy all the time, going to places where she wasn’t wanted or where people didn’t want her help. She never gave up and that’s exactly what she did despite the obstacles.

What is your motto?
If you aren’t happy, do something about it. And if you can’t do something about it, let God deal with it. I feel like most people are so afraid of change, even though the situation they’re in is hindering them. You only have one life to live, so live it.

For more information on the Medical Assistant program or to schedule a tour, call 213-247-2200 or click here!

At CBD College we have day and night classes available to meet our busy students’ needs. We know it’s hard to earn a degree when you may also be juggling a job and a family, so we do what we can to make it easier for you with our flexible class schedules. CBD offers an imaging center that rivals that of any modern medical setting; dedicated faculty and staff; advanced, hands-on training; personalized, one-on-one tutoring; and employment assistance. At no extra cost to you, CBD will continue to offer employment assistance for the entire duration of your career, long after you’ve graduated!
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography program at CBD College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Joint-Review Commission on Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS).