The Value of Recognized Medical Assistant Certification 

Medical Assistant RMA Certification

Think about it: the healthcare industry is booming and every day new medical assistants enter the highly competitive job market--that's an endless stream of trained professionals competing for the same jobs like you are applying for!!! How will you prove to a potential employer that you are the most qualified for the position? The key is toset yourself apart from the rest, especailly when there also are so many misconceptions about medical assistant certification.

Your Certification is Important
Find out about recognized Medical Assistant certifications!


 

Certification Opens MANY Doors!

While we cannot give you the exact medical assistant certification exam questions that will be in the medical assisting certification exam, we can give you an idea what it will be like. The exam covers a broad range of medical assisting areas of knowledge to assure proficiency and competency in all areas of general medical assisting, clinical and admin.

Still Hopeful in Florida tells us in our Medical Assistant forum:
I was surprised that about 85-90% of the test was on the administrative (billing, coding, insurance) and not the clinical. Sure there were some questions on clinical but it did not seem like much... make sure you know your terminology, body planes, basic math that was covered in Pharmacology. There were a couple of questions regarding that. Anyway think of it this way... how did you do in school? Were you a top student? If so then you will do great!" ~Still Hopeful in Florida

Prometric Medical Assistant Certification Exam

The exam typically is timed and consists of multiple choice questions taken either on paper in writing, or electronically through Prometric testing services, which takes place in a computer-lab type cubicle where the questions appear on a screen and you use a keyboard to submit your answers. The results will be instantly logged.

We were also told that at the Prometric testing center you are given 40 minutes to answer 50 questions at a time. Once the time is up you are immediately taken to the next 50 questions. To practice you can request the certification sponsor's practice exams and use your own notes, quizzes, and tests from class. Buy a good medical assistant certification review textbook with a practice CD and request the AMT's and AAMA's 50-question anatomy and physiology practice exam and the medical terminology practice test from the AAMA website.

Practicing for the Medical Assistant Certification Exam

Simulate the testing environment by answering the practice questions in a quiet room, free of any distractions. Use a timer to time yourself. Create your own mock tests and make it your goal to answer 50 questions in 40 minutes. Very likely there will be multiple choice questions around topics such as:

• urinalysis, and where the urine sample is a certain color
• what medications the patient probably took
• and what to do next with the urine sample
• whether 90716 is a CPT or ICD-9 code
• basic pharmacology math and conversions, such as 6 kg = 6000 g
• what type of medication is prescribed for pain (analgesics)
• which part of the prescription form gives specific directions for the pharmacist?

Also, know your anatomy and medical terminology that goes with it, the body planes, positions and directions (e.g. lateral, distal, medical, and prone, supine, proctologic, Sims', Fowler's, Trendelenburg's position), normal vital sign and measurement values, EKG leads, types of medication, basic pharmacology calculations and parts of a prescription, names of surgical instruments, asepsis and sterilization procedures, basic medical coding and billing principles, including the difference between CPT and ICD-9 codes and what they look like (CPT code 99214 may be used for a physical; 90658 indicates a flu shot), health insurance types, bookkeeping procedures and types of filing systems (alphabetic, numeric, alphanumeric, by name or chronologically).

• Medical Assistant Certification Misconceptions | Requirements
  
  Requirements to sit for the nationally recognized medical assisting certification... obtained your medical assistant vocational training diploma from an accredited school.
• RMA or CMA? Which is Better?