Information for Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) Certification
A medical assistant is a healthcare professional who works in a medical office, clinic, or hospital setting where they help with a range of clinical and administrative duties. As a medical assistant, you may be responsible for taking patient histories, taking vital signs, assisting in physical exams, and administrating medications or injections. On the administrative side, you might schedule appointments, update electronic health records (EHRs), code medical files, and fill out insurance forms. There are also specialized medical assistants who work in specific medical fields, such as podiatric medical assistants, who work with foot doctors and are tasked with making casts and taking X-rays, and optometric medical assistants, who work with eye doctors.
To become a medical assistant, you generally must complete a postsecondary educational program. These types of programs can lead to diploma, a certificate, and sometimes an associate degree. Although certification is not required in most states, medical assistants usually choose to earn the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) certification, as most employers require certification and having this credential can boost your job prospects.
List of Online North Carolina CMA Programs
Students wanting to complete a medical assistant training program in North Carolina in an online format have limited choices. Further, these online programs cannot be completed fully online, as they require significant in-person clinical training. To apply to a medical assistant program, you typically need a high school diploma or its equivalent, and you may need to pass a background check, have your immunizations, and complete a physical exam.
Wake Technical Community College
Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh offers a hybrid Medical Assisting Diploma program that features online, hybrid, and on-campus seated classes. This Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education (CAAHEP)-accredited program also requires that students complete an in-person, supervised clinical practicum that could take place at a hospital, clinic, or physician's office. Coursework in this program is designed around the CMA credentialing exam, and students take classes that center on medical laws, medical terminology, insurance coding, and drug therapy.
South College
South College, which has a campus in Asheville, has a partially online Medical Assisting Certificate program, which prepares students to become a CMA and can be completed in only 9 months. This CAAHEP-accredited certificate program features a format of online instruction, on-campus lab courses, and a practicum that places students in a supervised medical setting. Further, students can also choose to take an IV prep course through a partnership with the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) and can also decide to further their education by applying their certificate credits to an Associate of Science in Medical Assisting degree, which is not available online.
Miller-Motte College
Miller-Motte College offers a Raleigh-based Medical Clinical Assistant Diploma program that includes online coursework that utilizes discussion boards, video, and audio technology and in-person clinical training sessions that take place on-campus. Students take a range of courses that cover such topics as pharmacology, medical insurance billing, and legal/ethical regulations. This program can be completed in 15 months, and it prepares students to take the CMA exam as well.
Requirements for CMA Certification
The Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) certification is offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), which is an organization that provides medical assistants with educational resources, continuing education programs, networking opportunities, and certification credentials. To earn CMA certification, you must pass the CMA Certification Exam and then you must keep your certification current by completing continuing education.
CMA Exam Eligibility
To qualify for the CMA Exam, you must be completing or have already graduated from a medical assistant training program that has been accredited by either the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES).
CMA Exam
The CMA exam is made up of 200 multiple-choice questions, and you have 160 minutes to answer all questions. The content of the CMA Exam covers a range of topics, including:
- Patient intake
- Medical law/regulatory guidelines
- Medical terminology
- Medical reception
- Scheduling appointments
- Pharmacology
- Diagnostic testing
CMA Recertification and Continuing Education
Your CMA certification must be recertified every 60 months. There are two ways that you can complete this recertification process. First, you can retake the CMA Exam. Second, you can earn 60 recertification points by completing continuing education courses and contact hours.
In North Carolina, there are some options for students wanting to complete a medical assistant training program in a partially online format. After completing their program, students can go on to earn the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) certification.
