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HOW TO BECOME A MEDICAL ASSISTANT
New jobs are being added to the healthcare industry as most fields within the industry are seeing rapid growth and higher salaries, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
They project employment in all healthcare occupations will “grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2032 and that about 1.8 million openings are projected each year, on average, due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the field permanently.” Demand may also fueled by aging WWII baby boomers who will need more care, as well as our post-pandemic climate.
For these—and more personal or philanthropic— reasons, you might want to consider medical assisting as a career.
What is a medical assistant?
Many positions may be familiar to you, such as nurse, doctor, and even hospital administrator. A medical assistant, however, is not quite as clearly defined. In a nutshell, a medical assistant is a jack-of-all-trades who works in a doctor’s office or some other healthcare organization, including clinics and hospitals.
The multi-faceted nature of the position leaves a lot of room for interpretation and variance. An MA in one office might have completely different duties from his cohort in the hospital down the street, yet both have the same title. This page hopes to clarify the career a bit, and also show how a career as an MA can suit a diverse group of people.
Four steps to becoming a medical assistant
Though becoming a medical assistant may seem like a straightforward process, there are a few steps to consider along the way. When you follow this process, you will be preparing yourself for a fulfilling career in healthcare that not only helps others—but your own quest to better your and your family’s life.
STEP 1
Determine if medical assisting is for you
Ask yourself if you want to work with ailing people every day. Do you have the empathy and patience it takes to work with people who are struggling very hard? A few items to consider include the following:
- Are you squeamish around blood or other bodily fluids? You will probably need to collect blood samples.
- Are you interested in science and laboratory procedures?
- Can you communicate with a broad range of personalities? You’ll interact with everyone from doctors, nutritionists and administrators to other clinicians such as nurses and lab techs.
- Are you a multitasker? Medical assistants wear a variety of hats every day.
STEP 2
Pursue the right education
Though you might be able to find a position that will train you on the job, when you have a solid education no one can ever take that away. While you can get started with a post-secondary certificate, if you complete an associate degree, you will have a solid set of credentials that you can build on later.
STEP 3
Sit for the professional CMA examination
When you call yourself a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) your earnings, potential opportunities and overall job satisfaction may improve.
STEP 4
Find a medical assisting position
You can start looking for your first job as soon as you have completed your education. Your program should have resources, such as a career office or job board, to help you prepare your resume and get ready for the interview process.
Types of MAs
Being an MA entails two broad areas: the clinical and the administrative. Some medical assistants may choose to spend their days balancing their time between the two areas. For example, mornings may be spent answering phones and performing administrative tasks, but later in the day they might need to assist with a surgery or take over patient intake for another MA.
There are also medical assistants that specifically choose to specialize in one area or the other. For instance, some might choose to pursue a license in ultrasound technology or another diagnostic field. Others may be more drawn only to the administrative side and work exclusively in billing and coding or healthcare insurance.
Take a look at the three areas you can work in:
Clinical Medical Assistants
If you love interacting with patients, this path may be for you. Clinical MAs spend their time with patients and function in a very similar way to nurse’s assistants. They draw blood, measure blood pressure and administer EKG tests. To succeed on the clinical side you must first overcome any misgivings you may have regarding blood or other fluids. You may also need to handle other bodily fluids and work with them in the laboratory.
Clinical MAs may also need to administer some simple treatments and gather patient vitals or be a doctor’s assistant during an examination.
Administrative Medical Assistants
Although they may not work in the clinic with the fluids and hands-on patient care, medical assistants in the office are just as vital to patient care—and the overall health of the medical practice. These professionals see to the billing, communicate with patients on a regular basis and keep supplies stocked throughout the practice— even in the clinical areas.
Unless your skills are better utilized doing the bookkeeping or billing or other non-patient tasks, you will likely still have lots of contact with patients in an administrative role. You may need to answer questions related to medications, appointments or any variety of healthcare concerns as anyone who has even minimal contact with patients should have some basic knowledge of medicine and patient care.
Specialized Medical Assistants
If you have already completed your training to become an MA, and even passed the examination to become fully certified, you may wish to continue your education and become certified in specialty areas. Some specialty areas include:
- Registered Medical Assistant
- Phlebotomy Technician
- Medical Administrative Specialist
- Dental Assistant
- Medical Technologist
- Medical Laboratory Technician
- Medical Laboratory Assistant
- Certified Laboratory Consultant
- Allied Health Instructor
Each of these specialties requires education that is fully accredited and accepted by the American Medical Technologists (AMT) whose certified professionals are recognized nationally and internationally for excellence.
You may want to first pursue your general certification as a Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) and then discover what specific area of healthcare you would like to specialize in later. Some choose family medicine, OB/GYN, oncology, pulmonary medicine or transplant surgery.
Why choose medical assisting?
If you’ve decided to return to—or begin— school, you know that you’ve chosen to do so because you want to improve your life, earn more money and have a trusted skillset under your belt—one that you enjoy performing on a daily basis. If you like to help people, a medical assisting career presents a lot of opportunities. Here are just a few good reasons for getting an education to become a medical assistant:
- Your education may take less than two years—including certification.
- You’ll enjoy a much faster than average job growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In fact, the BLS predicts an 13.9% job growth for medical assistants through 2032, which surpasses the national average for jobs in general.
- With medical assistants in the field approaching retirement and beyond, you may find career stability. The healthcare industry needs qualified medical assistants—as well as other healthcare professionals—all year round to satisfy demand for quality care.
- If you’ve considered traveling, a medical assistant career post may provide that opportunity. Because of the demand for healthcare professionals you may be able to find a position in another state or perhaps even another country.
- If you don’t want to work in a hospital, you can find medical assisting positions in private practice doctor’s offices, clinics, outpatient care facilities, long-term care facilities and emergency clinics.
- You may be able to move up. Once you become a CMA you’ll have the option to continue your education and think about other career possibilities, such as administration or becoming an RN. A medical assistant certification may be a solid foundation for your future and could help open doors to other types of roles within the industry.
Education paths
There are two ways you can become qualified to perform the duties of a medical assistant. The job doesn’t require a lot of education you may find on-the-job training is an option in some circumstances, however, it is advised that you complete as much education as you possibly can to increase your value as an employee and possibly create opportunities for your future.
PATH 1
Learn on the job
Once you graduate from high school or earn your GED, you could seek work in a doctor’s office. This way you can quickly get to work on your career path without spending time in a classroom.
However, it may be difficult to find a doctor willing to employ you without any formal medical assistant education though you may be able to find an entry-level job in the administrative side of a medical office and learn as you go. You’ll need to show an interest in the clinical work, have some knowledge of medical procedure and be eager to take on new tasks.
PATH 2
Formal education
This is the more accepted route and these days there are more and more educational institutions that offer traditional and online programs for aspiring medical assistants. There are different routes you can choose: certificate and diploma and associate degree.
Certificate and diploma programs are the quickest route, as they only take about a year to complete. You might find a suitable program through your local community college or online or classroom-based university. These certificates should teach you everything you need to know about your chosen career.
If you successfully complete a two-year program, you’ll earn an associate degree. With a two-year degree from an accredited college, you’ll have the foundation in place for more education later. Your future schooling might result in a four-year bachelor’s degree, or an additional professional certification which could help you specialize.
One thing to keep in mind when pursuing formal education is whether your school is accredited. You should be able to find this information on the school’s website. If not, discuss this issue with your admissions counselor.
Make sure that you ask about the medical assistant program itself, not the school as a whole. In particular, make sure that the program is accredited by either the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). When your program has this level of accreditation, you will be sure to have both the knowledge and skills you need to thrive, but also a strong foundation upon which to build a career.
Accreditation may also make you eligible to apply for federal financial aid to help you pay for your education. It’s also important to note that you must also be a graduate of a CAAHEP or ABHES program to qualify to sit for national certification. The Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) only recognizes appropriately accredited programs.
However, once you have completed your education, you can sit for the AAMA examination which, once you pass, allows you to use the title Certified Medical Assistant (CMA). Once you add those professional credentials to your resume, you will have proven that you care about your career field and agree to follow its rules, ethics and standards.
About CMA certification
The CMA exam offered by the AAMA is a rigorous, broad and up-to-date exam consisting of general medical, clinical and administrative topics. The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions which will be given in four, 40-minute segments. You must verify with the board that you are eligible to take the exam and then follow the steps to sit for the test itself.
Steps include the following:
- Gather the appropriate documentation in your eligibility category.
- Review the CMA exam policies and provisions and accept the terms.
- Determine the exam date for your 90-day testing period.
- Monitor your email to receive notification.
- Apply to take the exam and download the official handbook. The handbook contains the application form you’ll need to fill out prior to taking the exam. The exam fee is currently $125 for AAMA members and $250 for non-members.
- Schedule your exam date as soon as you print your scheduling permit.
- Study, study, study!
- Take the test and check your pass/fail notification.
- Get your official score report, which will arrive within 10 weeks of taking the exam.
- Watch for your certificate.
- As a CMA you will need to continue your education by earning CEUs. Your certification must be renewed every five years either by earning continuing education units or re-taking the exam.
Other medical assistant certification options
The CMA designation is just one certification you can earn in the medical assisting field. Take a look at some of the other credentials available to medical assisting professionals:
Registered Medical Assistant (RMA): This credential is offered through the American Medical Technologists association and you must have worked as a full time medical assistant for five of the past seven years before you are deemed eligible to take the RMA exam.
National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA): You must meet one of the National Center for Competency Testing criteria to sit for this exam. Criteria choices include being a current student or recent graduate from a medical assistant program authorized by the NCCT; a foreign physician or RN; a medical assistant instructor with 10 or more years’ experience; or two years of full-time medical assistant practitioner experience within a 10-year period.
Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA): The CCMA exam is offered through the National Healthcare Association, and to qualify you must have successfully completed a medical assistant training program or have one year of verifiable work experience in the field.
Final say
When you complete the steps toward becoming a medical assistant, your days will be full and there may also be hardships to witness, but even those experiences can be valuable to you as a professional and as a human being. If you’re committed to a career field that offers stability, variety and helping others, why now take the very first step toward finding the education you’ll need to get there. All it takes is one click on the Find Schools button to begin researching accredited programs online or near you.