Many may desire to be in the medical profession but a lot may not succeed due to some reason or other. An alternative would be that of the medical assistant; it allows one to be involved in the medical environment without as much indulgence required as that of a medical professional.

A medical assistant, or MA, is one who assists the attending physician in patient care but not directly involved in the administering of medical diagnosis or care. An MA performs more of the administration duties in patient care such as recording of patient information, billing and insurance procedures.

Education program

A formal education is required to qualify as an MA which takes about 2 years of studies that is available in community colleges, vocational schools, junior colleges, technical institutes and even through the Internet online programs.

Any formal education for MA must be accredited as required by law. There are 2 such accreditation bodies: CAAHEP, or the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Program, and ABHES, or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.
 
These accreditation bodies assure the public and the medical profession that the MA graduates are qualified after the completion of their academic courses to serve in the health care industry. The MA is a growing profession today with over six hundred CAAHEP accredited programs offered by 500 places of study while ABHES accredits 200 institutions on its MA programs. All MA related programs must involve sufficient a number of hours in the classroom and laboratory to qualify for accreditation.

Certification
 
Currently there exist 4 organizations that provide for a professional certification to MA as many potential employers as well as certain states prefer certified MAs on top of the academic qualifications.

The AAMA, or American Association of Medical Assistants, and other reputable certification agencies encourage certification to ensure the MA’s competency as they enter the workforce.
 
The process of certification is quite simple; one just has to take on an extra exam, the CMA which is certified by AAMA who works with the National Board of Medical Examiners. An MA graduate with either a CAAHEP accredited program or a ABHES accredited program on MA is eligible to sit for the CMA exam administered by AAMA which can be easily available at many U.S. computer-based testing centers any time of the year, whenever the MA is ready or wants to take the certification. But the CMA (AAMA) certification requires re-certification every 5 years to ensure updated knowledge and competency.

Another certification body for the MA is the AMT, or the American Technologists, which offers the Registered Medical Assistant certification. AMT certification began in 1972 which requires its candidates to have an accredited academic qualification related to medical assisting or at least 5 years of work experience.
 
A third certification body is the National Health Career Association, or NHA, that has grown in popularity for its highly demanded certification of Certified Clinical Medical Assistant and Certified Medical Administrative Assistant.

The last, but not least, certification body is the National Center for Competency Testing, or NCCT, which offers the National Certified Medical assistant  certification. NCCT was established in 1989 as an independent certification body with a stringent re-education certification process. NCCT offers certification for ECG Technicians, Pharmacy Technicians and Phlebotomy Technicians positions.

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Welcome to Certified Medical assistant schools. Learn more about how to get Medical Assistant Certification and best Medical assisting Diploma online and also read my other articles at Alvin Brooke.

You can also read my other articles at Alvin Brooke.

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