HS210 Unit 1 Assignment

HS210 Medical Office Management

What is the importance of becoming a nationally credentialed medical assistant?

Being a nationally credentialed medical assistant, clearly means that one is a certified medical assistant but it also means that the one has all then necessary knowledge, training and skills for the job. If one person is thinking about being a medical assistant, I would definitely recommend doing the CMA exam because your chances of finding a job are a lot higher, as jobs prefer or even insist that you are a nationally credentialed medical assistant.

What are the requirements for obtaining and maintaining these credentials?

To obtain a medical assistant credential one must complete and graduate a medical assistant program that is accredited by either, The commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or The Accrediting Bureau of Heath Education Schools (ABHES). Once the person has done that, then they have to take and pass the CMA certification exam. In order to maintain the credentials, every 5 years you must take 60 points worth of continuing education or pass the CMA exam again to be recertified.

What are the national credentialing requirements for your particular State?

There are many states that do have requirements, but in Wisconsin there is none that are specific. Wisconsin students should have their high school diploma or GED. They do not have to have any education or training prior to becoming a medical assistant. Although it will improve your chances of finding a job, you are not required to take the CMA.

What is the scope of practice for medical assistance in your state (ie: what specific duties might be allowed/prohibited)? Medical assistants have quite a range of clinical and clerical tasks, and do daily tasks such as taking vital signs to ordering office supplies. They are not considered to be a nurse as they don’t have the extensive knowledge as nurses do. Although under the Wisconsin Statue 448.03 it grants medical assistants the right to provide patient services as supervised and directed by a physician.

Medical Assistant Certification in Wisconsin. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2019, from https://www.medicalassistantcertification.org/states/wisconsin/

Medical Assistant Certification. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2019, from https://www.medassistantedu.org/certification/

Medical Assistant Programs in Wisconsin. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2019, from https://www.healthcarepathway.com/medical-assistant/wisconsin-medical-assistant-programs.html