Medical Assistant Certification

Certification is defined as a formal process of making certain that an individual is qualified in terms of particular knowledge or skill sets. Certification programs are often fostered or supervised by some certifying agency, such as a professional association.

Hunter Business School works with the organizations listed below which offer certification in medical assisting.

Graduates of Hunter Business School’s Medical Assistant program are eligible to sit for any of the following exams offered by these nationally recognized organizations. On average, certified medical assistants may command a higher starting salary than those who are not certified.

NCCT

National Center for Competency Testing

Website

National Center for Competency Testing

Credential received

NCMA (National Certified Medical Assistant)

Eligibility

High school diploma, Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC™), or General Educational Diploma (GED^®) and graduate of Hunter Business School

Cost

Within six months of graduation, the student fee is $90. Otherwise, the cost is $135. These are determined and subject to change by the NCCT.

Limits

Medical Assisting candidates must take the test within five years of graduating an approved medical assistant program. They will have four opportunities to take a single exam. The waiting times are as follows: After a failed first attempt, the candidate must wait 30 days before retesting. After a failed second attempt, he/she must wait 90 days. And upon failing for a third time, the period is one year. These rules are determined and subject to change by the NCCT.

Exam Questions

150 scored questions

CEUs

To maintain certification, an individual must clock 14 continuing education hours per year.

Test Location

Hunter Business School with three hours to complete the test

Other tests

NCCT also offers tests for phlebotomy and EKG, but the NCMA certification already covers these.

AAMA

American Association of Medical Assistants

Website

American Association of Medical Assistants

Credential received

CMA (Certified Medical Assistant)

Eligibility

High school diploma, Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC™), or General Educational Diploma (GED^®) and graduate of Hunter Business School

Cost

Within 12 months of graduation, the medical assisting student fee is $125. Otherwise, the cost is $250. These are determined and subject to change by the AMA.

Limits

Medical assisting candidates can take the test at any time but will be given only three lifetime attempts to pass. These rules are determined and subject to change by the AMA.

Exam Questions

180 scored questions

CEUs

To maintain certification, an individual must attain 60 continuing education units every five years—10 administrative, 10 clinical, 10 general, and 30 more from a combination of these.

Test Location

Prometric test site with two hours forty minutes to complete the test

Other tests

Not applicable

AMT

American Medical Technologists

Website

American Medical Technologists

Credential received

RMA (Registered Medical Assistant)

Eligibility

High school diploma, Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC™), or General Educational Diploma (GED^®) and graduate of Hunter Business School

Cost

$120 subject to change by the AMT

Limits

Candidates must take the test within four years of graduating an approved medical assistant program. Otherwise, they must provide evidence of relevant work experience for three of the last five years. An applicant may take the exam up to four times, with a retake no sooner than three months from the first attempt and no later than two years after the date of the original application.. These rules are determined and subject to change by the AMT.