Association of Medical Assistants
Association of Medical Assistants
The health care service industry of today is constantly expanding. It is due to the constant technological advancements of medicine and the constant needs for health care service of the aging generation. These are the factors of why the employment growth of the medical assistance profession is rapidly increasing. According to the United States Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment growth of the medical assistance profession will continue to increase until the year 2012 because of the continued expansion and development in hospitals, practices, medical facilities, clinics and health care centers.
In the early years, medical assistants are exclusively found on ambulatory care facilities, urgent care centers and clinics of physicians. In the early fifties, a collection of “trained on the job” medical assistants in the United States convened together to form a professional organization. With the encouragement by the American Medical Association, the American Association of Medical Assistants was created. Later on the year 1978, the United States Department of Education formally recognized the medical assisting as a profession.
Today, those who want to have a career in the medical assistance field can get formal trainings of medical assisting courses and programs on vocation institutions, technical schools, community colleges, private and public high schools and junior colleges. The American Association of Medical Assistants is responsible for awarding graduates of medical assistance courses and programs the “Certified Medical Assistant” award or credentials.
Graduates of medical assistance courses or programs may choose to apply for certification or not. However, the certification is strongly supported by the American Association of Medical Assistants. In order for an individual to be qualified for certification, one must take formal training on medical assistance on schools that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools. The certification examination for medical assistants is issued by the American Association of Medical Assistants or the National Board of Medical Examiners or the National Healthcare Authority or the American Medical Technologists. The certification examination is held twice a year. Once the graduates of medical assistance course have successfully completed the certification examination, the graduates will be given the credentials to become Certified Medical Assistant. Recertification is needed every five years in order to attest if level of knowledge and skills of the medical assistant is competent enough to keep up with the advancement of the field of medicine. This can be done by either retaking the initial exam or by attending CMA meetings, seminars and conventions.
The American Association of Medical Assistants has chapters on almost every State in the United States. The American Association of Medical Assistants provide its members the latest in the medical assisting news and education articles to keep the professional edge of their members.
