subject: Prestigious Medical Assistant Certifications [print this page] Prestigious Medical Assistant Certifications
Many choose to be a medical assistant to be part of the medical industry as it does not require a formal degree or certification according to the law. But today, many employers prefer their employees to posses a higher qualification such as a medical assistant certification. Employers' today look upon this certification as one of employment pre-requisites. Moreover, there are some tasks that require a medical assistant in certain states to possess a medical assistant certification such as drawing blood and taking X-rays.
Types of Certification
Medical assistant certifications can be of 2 types: Certified Medical Assistant, or CMA and Registered Medical Assistant, or RMA. These certifications can be obtained after a successful completion of a medical assistant program that is fully accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools or abbreviated as ABHES. Full accreditation can also be obtained through the Accreditation of Allied Health Programs Commission or better known as CAAHEP.
The renowned American Association of Medical Assistants, or more commonly known as AAMA, is the awarding institution for the CMA certifications. A certification of an AAMA Certified Medical Assistant is conferred only to the graduate who passed the relevant certification or recertification exam provided that the graduate had successfully completed his medical assistant certification course from an approved or accredited program.
When you have completed the medical assisting program, you may schedule for the certification exam. A lot of helpful information about the accreditation and the exam can be obtained from the AMAA website.
The RMA certification is awarded by the American Medical Technologists, or commonly known as AMT. There are pre-requisites to be fulfilled before one can receive the RMA, which include good morals and character and one of the following: a recent graduate of an approved medical assisting program (even from the USAF), has been a medical assistant for 5 years or has passed another certification exam by another accreditation organization.
When the pre-requisites have been met, the candidate may put in an application to sit for the RMA exam. The certification will be awarded upon passing the exam.
Syllabus Coverage
An approved or accredited program in the medical arena will cover many areas which will help the medical assistant in his job. These areas include physiology, anatomy and medical terminology, pathology, accounting and keeping of records, lab techniques, coding, insurance processing, clinical procedures, pharmacology, diagnostic procedures, medication administration, office practices, first aid, patient relations, ethics and medical law as well as word processing skills.
Hence, it is worth the medical assistant's time, money and effort to obtain a medical assistant certification for his bright future.
