Certified Medical Assistant Exam

Summary: Passing the certified medical assistant exam means greater regard among peers and employers and better job security and greater career advancement opportunities.

If you want to take advantage of the fast growing health care industry, you might want to consider becoming a medical assistant. Employment of medical assistant is projected to greatly expand because of technological advances in medicine and the growth and aging population. The continuous increasing demand of medical assistants in the swiftly growing health care industry will further rouse job growth.

Taking into consideration the preference of many health care employers for trained staff, job prospects should be best for medical assistants with formal training or experience, specifically for those with certification. Therefore, to build a promising career in the health care industry, you have to be a certified medical assistant (CMA) first. And to become a certified medical assistant, there are only two things that you have to accomplish: first, graduate from an accredited medical assisting program, second, is pass the American Association of Medical Assistant Examination.

To receive the CMA credential you must first enroll in and graduate from a medical assisting program. This program must be accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Allied health Education programs or CAAHEP or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools or ABHES. You also must accomplish an externship which is part of the program.

Once you graduate from the program and finished the training, you must take and pass the certified medical assistant exam. This AAMA certification examination is offered three times a year, which is in January, June and October. Eligible candidates can take the exam either on the last Friday of January, last Saturday of June, or the fourth Friday of October. The application deadline for CMA exam for the month of:

o January is October 1 of the preceding year
o June is March 1 of the same year, and
o October is July 1 of the same year.

If you meet the criteria for any of the following categories, then you are eligible to take the certified medical assistant exam:

* Category 1. Graduating students of recent graduate of a CAAHEP accredited medical assisting program
* Category 2. Non-recent graduate of a CAAHEP accredited medical assisting program
* Category 3. Graduating student or graduate of ABHES accredited assisting program.

Besides filling out an application form to take the certified medical assistant exam, you must also provide certain documentation and pay the enrollment fee. The required documentation depends on your enrollment category. Enrollment fee for the AAMA and CAAHEP graduates is $ 95; all others will pay $ 170.

After the AAMA accepts your exam application, you will be notified of the location of the testing center 6 weeks before the examination date. The best you can do before the day of the exam is study. You can even take CMA exam review offered in your area. The certified medical assistant exam is your chance to get a better job security and greater career advancement opportunities.