This competency-based, individualized learning package, consisting of 50 learning guides, is designed for use by students who are studying to become medical assistants. Included among the topics addressed in the individual learning guides are the following: using and caring for microscopes, understanding medical ethics and law, developing communication skills, performing hemoglobin determinations, cleaning and wrapping instruments, autoclaving, changing dressings, removing sutures, preparing patients for medical examinations, assembling patient records, performing restraints for children, setting up for draining abscesses, assisting with Pap smears, measuring height and weight, preparing patients for minor office surgery, assessing pulse and body temperature, measuring blood pressure and respiration, explaining diets, using the Physician's Desk Reference, performing various laboratory tests, administering different types of injections, and executing a variety of laboratory procedures on blood. Each learning guide contains some or all of the following: a task title, a statement of purpose, an estimated time for completion of the guide, performance objectives, a learning contract, learning steps, resources, one or more information sheets, one or more activity sheets, a performance checklist, and a criterion-referenced exam. (MN)