Medical assistant certification
It is not required by any agency that a person working as a medical assistant be certified. There are some tasks that medical assisants are required to do that the assisant may need to be certified to perform. These tasks may include performing x-rays or drawing blood. Additionally, employers occassionally require certification as their own employment requisite.
The two different types of medical assistant certification are Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) and Certified Medical Assistant (CMA). A person seeking ceritfication can pursue either option to become certified.
The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP) and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) are the two institutions that award accreditation to medical assistant schools. In order to get an RMA or CMA certification, a medical assistant must graduate from a program accredited by one of these two different institutions.
The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) is the institution that awards CMA’s. In order to obtain a CMA (AAMA) you must graduate from an accredited medical assisting program and pass the CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination.
Among many other subjects, one can expect to receive training in areas such as laboratory techniques, clinical procedures, and pharmacology while completing a medical assisting program.
Once you complete a training program you can schedule and complete the certification exam for the CMA. The AMAA website has helpful information about finding an accredited program and everything you need to know about the exam.
The other type of medical assistant certification, RMA, is awarded by the Americal Medical Technologists (AMT). AMT has a list of pre-requisites that must be completed before being allowed RMA certification, along with applying for and passing their certification exam. The pre-requisites for RMA certification are:
A. applicant must be of excellent moral character
2. meet one of the 3 following requirements
A. applicant must have graduated from either a United States Armed Forces or from an accredited medical assistant program;
2. have held the position as a medical assistant for five years; or
C. acheived a passing grade on an exam offered by a different institution that also awards medical assisting certification.
For more detailed information about the receiving RMA (AMT) certification, visit AMT’s website.