Vincent Bridges will defend his dissertation proposal on examining the effectiveness of medical assistant programs at three Midwestern schools in meeting stakeholder needs. The proposal will cover the problem background, purpose of the study, research questions, and literature review. Bridges will use a qualitative survey methodology to collect data from 20-25 healthcare professionals on their organizations' use of medical assistants and program competencies. The data will be analyzed for themes to provide feedback to the schools on curriculum alignment with industry needs.