Professional Organizations and Credentialing Examinations the American Association of Medical Assistants & the American Medical Billing Association
| Professional Organizations and Credentialing Examinations | The American Association Of Medical Assistants & TheAmerican Medical Billing Association
Introduction Throughout the medical community there are a growing number of organizations whom offer certification exams for those looking to enter the medical assisting field or other allied health profession. Few of these organizations offer the high standard of quality and largely respected and recognized credentials as that of The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and The American Medical Billing Association (AMBA).
The American Association of Medical Assistants The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1955 by The Kansas Medical Assistants Society. Over the last fifty-seven years the AAMA has been steadily growing with over 20,000 members to date. The goal of this organization is “to provide the medical assistant with education, certification, credential acknowledgment, networking prospects, scope-of-practice protection, and advocacy for quality health care.” (AMAA, 1996-2012, Mission and Core Values)
The AAMA administers the CMA certifications exam that is overseen by the National Board of Medical Examiners. This exam includes approximately 200 multiple-choice questions which are broken into a total of four 40-minute sections. The maximum allotted time for completion of this exam is 195 minutes. The certification that comes along with passing this exam is known to be the premier credentialing when it comes to the medical assisting field due to the AAMA’s diverse and on-going training requirements even after the CMA exam has been successfully completed. Each and every person that has earned the CMA(AAMA) credentialing must complete sixty hours of Continuing education units in the three required categories every five years and
Introduction Throughout the medical community there are a growing number of organizations whom offer certification exams for those looking to enter the medical assisting field or other allied health profession. Few of these organizations offer the high standard of quality and largely respected and recognized credentials as that of The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and The American Medical Billing Association (AMBA).
The American Association of Medical Assistants The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1955 by The Kansas Medical Assistants Society. Over the last fifty-seven years the AAMA has been steadily growing with over 20,000 members to date. The goal of this organization is “to provide the medical assistant with education, certification, credential acknowledgment, networking prospects, scope-of-practice protection, and advocacy for quality health care.” (AMAA, 1996-2012, Mission and Core Values)
The AAMA administers the CMA certifications exam that is overseen by the National Board of Medical Examiners. This exam includes approximately 200 multiple-choice questions which are broken into a total of four 40-minute sections. The maximum allotted time for completion of this exam is 195 minutes. The certification that comes along with passing this exam is known to be the premier credentialing when it comes to the medical assisting field due to the AAMA’s diverse and on-going training requirements even after the CMA exam has been successfully completed. Each and every person that has earned the CMA(AAMA) credentialing must complete sixty hours of Continuing education units in the three required categories every five years and
References: American Association of Medical Assistants (1996-2012) Mission and Core Values. Retrieved September 28, 2012 , from American Association of Medical Assistants. http://www.aama-ntl.org/about/mission.aspx American Association of Medical Assistants (2007-2008) Occupational Analysis of the CMA (AMAA) Retrieved September 28, 2012, from American Association of Medical Assistants. http://www.aama-ntl.org/medassisting/OA.aspx American Medical Billing Association (1998-2012) Information on Joining AMBA Retrieved September 28, 2012, from American Medical Billing Association (AMBA) http://www.ambanet.net/ambainfo.htm American Medical Billing Association (1998-2012) Certified Medical Billing Specialist Retrieved September 28, 2012, from American Medical Billing Association (AMBA) http://www.ambanet.net/CMRS.htm Turley, S.M. (2011). The Structure of Medical Language, Medical Language Immerse Yourself (2nd ed). (p. 2) New Jersey: Pearson