American Association Of Medical Assistants

The American Association of Medical Assistants is an organization of professional medical assistants. Organized and founded 1955 by the "Kansas Medical Assistants Society". The Kansa Medical Assistants Society initiated a gathering of medical assistants from all over the country. Seventy-eight delegates from fifteen States (Arkansas, California, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia) attended the assembly to consider a formation of a national organization. The delegates voted and officially named the organization "American Association of Medical Assistants".

A year later, 250 representatives from different State attended the charter meeting of the American Association of Medical Assistants. On the charter meeting of the American Association of Medical Assistants, it elected an officiating committee and adopted formal constitution and bylaws. American Association of Medical Assistants first president was Maxine Williams. Maxine Williams was then awarded "Life Member Award" on 1976 for her dedication on the organization. The American Association of Medical Assistants then named a scholarship fund on her name. "The Maxine Williams Scholarship Fund" aims in helping students continue their medical assisting studies.

With the increasing demand of medical assistants in the United States, the American Association of Medical Assistants keep its members ahead of the latest changes in the health care industry, protects its members in their right to practice their field and helps them make their job more easier. The American Association of Medical Assistants has designed a "Role Delineation Chart" which distinguishes all clinical, administrative and general procedures medical assistants are trained for.

The Certifying Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants is the one responsible for awarding the prestigious "Certified Medical Assistant" certificate to the graduates of the "Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs" or of the "Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools". These are accredited medical assisting programs, and those who have successfully completed the American Association of Medical Assistants "Certified Medical Assistants Certification Examination" will automatically become a member of the American Association of Medical Assistants.

American Association of Medical Assistants regularly conducts seminars and workshops on the most recent administrative, clinical and management topics for its members, local chapters and state societies. The goal of the American Association of Medical Assistants is to facilitate medical assisting professionals enhance and develop its skills, knowledge and professionalism required by employers and patients; protects the medical assistants right to practice; promote an effective health care delivery by optimizing the usage of the skills of the medical assistants.

They require Certified Medical Assistants (CMA) to recertify every five years in order to maintain their credentials. This can be done by attending CMA meetings, conventions and seminars or by retaking the initial exam in order to know that the CMA still has a certain level of knowledge.