CMA, RMA, NCMA, and CCMA: What’s the Difference?
Medical assistants are healthcare aides with medical assistant certification and form the backbone of the healthcare industry. Without them, it would be exceedingly difficult for physicians and healthcare professionals to provide effective medical care.
Medical assistants help in many ways: they can conduct tasks like patient intake, vital signs measurements, record keeping, scheduling, answering phones, or even helping with minor aspects of treatment.
Opportunities for certified medical assistants are growing rapidly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that the number of medical assistant jobs will increase by 18% by 2029. That’s far higher than the national average of 4% for all jobs during the same time.
Is this a career you should pursue? What are the different medical assistant certifications? Do you need certification to work as a medical assistant?
Should You Pursue Certification to Become a Medical Assistant?
You don’t need to be certified to become a medical assistant in most states. However, certification for medical assistants is well worth the time and effort. It demonstrates your knowledge and ability and certainly makes you more attractive to employers. A certified medical assistant can find work in a hospital, doctor’s office, or even a clinic.
Medical assistant certification also gives you an edge in your job search, makes you more qualified when it comes to managing cases and patients, and gives you a better chance to network with other medical professionals.
Certification as a medical assistant helps you to:
- Stand out from the crowd
- Demonstrate your value to employers
- Achieve higher pay
Medical Assistant Certifications to Choose From
Medical assistant certification programs are accredited by a nationally recognized organization or board. These certifications include:
- Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) from the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
- National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA) from the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT)
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA)
- Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) from American Medical Technologists (AMT)
Which you choose depends on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, and timeframe.
What Is the Difference Between RMA and CMA?
You can choose to be a Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) or a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA). There is no real difference between the two – they are simply designated differently by the national medical assisting credentialling organizations. Both designations acknowledge ability to perform all the duties (clinical and clerical) of a medical assistant.
What Is the Process and Time Involved in Becoming a CMA?
The process for all medical assistant certifications is broadly the same, though there are some key differences. Here we outline the route for CMA certification:
Typically, you must obtain a high school diploma or GED. It is best to focus on math and sciences, such as biology, physics, and chemistry.
You’ll find that volunteering at a healthcare provider or physician’s office will also help you.
Next, you will need to complete a medical assistant program. These last between one and two years. The list of approved programs depends on which credentialling organization you progress through. You should expect to learn in topics that include:
- Clinical and administrative areas
- Medical terminology
- Pharmacology
- First aid
- Lab techniques
- Administration of medicines
- Coding and insurance processing
- Record-keeping
- Medical law and ethics
The third step is to pass an exam. This should take less than a year. You will be evaluated on subjects that include:
- Human growth and development
- The stages of dying
- Nonverbal communication
- Data collection
- Interpersonal skills
- Medical law
- Therapeutic and adaptive responses to diverse populations
You will be given a maximum number of attempts to pass, and you will receive your scores and certificate a few weeks taking the exam.
Finally, you must maintain your certification status, either by examination every five years or completion of a required number of Continuing Education Units (CEU) modules.
How Do Other Routes to Certification Differ?
As we stated earlier, the exact course to certification differs between credentialling bodies. Here are the main differences:
National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA)
You must be either a current student or previously graduated from an authorized program in the past five years. Alternatively, you may have completed two years or more of relevant work experience or have attained the military equivalent of a medical assistant training program.
To maintain your NMCA, you must complete 14 hours of CEU.
Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)
You must have completed a post-secondary training program or have gained at least one year of suitable work experience.
The CCMA is valid for two years. To renew, you must complete 10 CEUs.
Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)
The RMA has the most stringent qualification requirements. To be eligible for the exam, you must have completed:
- An accredited training program (720 training hours and 160 internship hours); or
- A military medical services training program; or
- Five years of qualifying work experience in the last seven years; or
- Five years of medical assistant instructor experience
The registration must be renewed every three years by completing 30 CEUs.
Take Advantage of Your Medical Assistant Certification
Volunteering or interning is a terrific way to explore the medical field and get a sense of whether you want to make it your lifelong career. It’s not always necessary to be certified to volunteer or intern, but it does make finding work easier.
Medical assistants can take advantage of having certification because it makes them more competitive against the other applicants, leads to higher pay, and opens more exciting opportunities in healthcare. Having certification also gives you more control over shaping your career. They can decide whether you want to specialize in something that interests you, or stay generalized for now until they figure out what your specialty will be.
To learn more about taking full advantage of medical assistant certification, you can view our open Certified Medical Assistant jobs or contact Loyal Source today.