Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)

Certification of medical assistants is handled by a number of organizations which provide different credential. One of these certifying organizations is American Medical Technologists (AMT). AMT is founded in 1939 and it’s accredited by National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) to provide certification for allied health professionals.

Medical assistant, who gets certified by AMT will be given a unique credential: Registered Medical Assistant. To become RMA, the main requirement is that you attend medical assistant training in colleges or schools that are accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES and pass the certification exam which is provided by AMT.

AMT also accepts applicants who complete a formal medical services training program of the United States Armed Forces and students who complete medical assisting training programs which are accredited by Regional Accrediting Commission or by a national accrediting organization approved by the U.S. However these trainings need to cover at least 720 clock hours of class room training and 160 clock hours of clinical externship.

Students who have completed medical assistant training or soon to complete need to apply for the certification exam right away or they will be required to submit proof of work experience if they apply after three years of being out of school. Medical assistants who are trained on the job can also apply for the certification exam if they meet AMT’s work experience related requirements. You should contact AMT to find out what their current requirements like for experienced medical assistants.

About RMA Certification Exam

Registered medial assistant certification exam can be taken online or at one of Pearson VUE testing centers or DANTES sites in a traditional paper and pencil format. Both exam formats takes equal amount of time, 2 hours to be exact, and the question format is also the same. If you take the exam online, you will get your result right away, however for paper format, you have to wait for the result to come through mail.

First attempt of RMA certification exam costs $95 and $70 for subsequent attempts. One more attempt is allowed with one application. Exam retake is only allowed after 90 days of the first exam date and you can take the exam within two years if you want to wait longer. But after this period has passed, applicants need to start the process all over again with new exam application.

The exam contains three main sections and they share the indicated percentages of the total questions:

  1. General Medical Assisting Knowledge (41% of the total questions)
  2. Administrative Medical Assisting (21% of the total questions)
  3. Clinical Medical Assisting (35% of the total questions)

How to Prepare For the Exam

To prepare for registered medial assistant certification exam, you should take the practice test provided by AMT. The practice test gets you familiarized with the exam style and provides you with half the total number of questions you may find on the actual exam. AMT sells the practice test for $15 and you can get it on their website.

Keeping Your RMA Certification Current

Once you become registered medical assistant, AMT will also grant you membership. To maintain your certification active, AMT requires that every RMA to pay $50 annually. You are also required to submit attestation through Certification Continuation Program (CCP) that you have earned few hours of continuing education credits. Please contact AMT for the exact number of required CE credits.