What Is a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)?

If you think a medical assistant career path may be a good fit for you and you're trying to learn what this role entails, you may notice that it has a few name variations. You can enroll in a Clinical Medical Assistant program, for instance. Or you may see job posts for certified clinical medical assistants, or CCMAs. All these terms can be confusing to understand. So, we want to break down what a certified clinical medical assistant is, as well as steps you can take to prepare for this credential.

CCMA Meaning

In healthcare, CCMA stands for Certified Clinical Medical Assistant. This credential is offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) and involves passing a test that assesses the medical assistant's proficiency in clinical patient care.

Breaking Down the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant Role

A certified clinical medical assistant is a medical assistant with an advanced level of clinical patient care training and expertise. As the designation of "certified" in the title suggests, someone with this credential has taken and passed an exam that assesses their knowledge and skills in this area, commonly referred to as a certification exam.

The CCMA certification can help validate a professional's competency in clinical medical assistant duties. It may also help them stand out from job applicants without this credential. Additionally, some states and employers may require certification for individuals working in these roles.¹

CCMA Duties and Responsibilities

Medical assistant job duties can be divided into two distinct categories: clinical and administrative.

Clinical job duties

Medical assistant job duties that involve direct patient care (a.k.a. clinical functions) can include:²

• Measuring and recording vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, etc.)
• Drawing blood or collecting other specimens for testing
• Assisting physicians with patient exams
• Sterilizing medical instruments
• Disposing of contaminated supplies
• Administering medications, as permitted by state law

Medical assistant training that focuses on clinical care can also help prepare these professionals to assist with minor surgeries and more advanced lab procedures, as well as to understand proper EKG placement and rhythm strip identification.

Administrative job functions

Some tasks assigned to medical assistants, including clinical medical assistants, are more administrative or office-based. These can include:

• Keeping patient records
• Scheduling appointments
• Filing and processing insurance claims

Because of their advanced clinical capabilities, CCMAs may be responsible for more patient care functions than those that are administrative in nature, even though they can perform both.

About CCMA Certification

Obtaining the title of Certified Clinical Medical Assistant or CCMA requires that you pass a certification exam. Therefore, it can be helpful to learn more about this test, including what it covers and eligibility requirements.

CCMA Exam Basics

The CCMA exam is administered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) and consists of 30 pretest items and 150 scored items. You have three hours to complete it, and it covers seven domains:³

• Foundational knowledge and basic science (15 examination items)
• Anatomy and physiology (8 examination items)
• Clinical patient care (84 examination items)
• Patient care coordination and education (12 examination items)
• Administrative assisting (12 examination items)
• Communication and customer service (12 examination items)
• Medical law and ethics (7 examination items)

The 84 clinical patient care examination items assess your knowledge in patient intake and vitals (14 items), general patient care (28 items), infection control and safety (15 items), point of care testing and laboratory procedures (9 items), phlebotomy (12 items), and EKG and cardiovascular testing (6 items).

Qualifying for the Exam

When in your medical assistant career path do you take the CCMA exam? To be eligible for this test, the NHA requires that you either 1) possess a high school diploma or GED (or plan to earn one in the next 12 months) and have completed a medical assistant training or education program within the previous 5 years, or 2) possess a high school diploma or GED and have one year of supervised experience in the medical assisting field within the last three years or two years of supervised experience within the past five years.⁴

To learn whether you qualify for this exam, you can check your CCMA exam eligibility on the NHA's website.

Is a Medical Assistant Career Path Right for You?

The medical assistant role may be a good fit for individuals who want more advanced training and knowledge in medical assistant functions. This can enable you to be more involved in direct patient care, which may be preferred if you want a healthcare position that involves a greater amount of patient contact as opposed to working behind the scenes.

Earning your CCMA certification can help validate your knowledge in this area. To apply for this credential, you must meet the NHA's clinical medical assistant training and/or experience requirements.

UMA Offers a Clinical Medical Assistant Program With CCMA Prep

If you're ready to pursue a career in this healthcare field, Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) offers a Health Sciences – Clinical Medical Assistant Associate of Science / Associate of Applied Science Degree program for Florida residents. This program can be completed in 18 months or more,⁵ and covers medical terminology, phlebotomy, lab procedures, medical office administration, and other key topic areas.

Learners at UMA also gain the opportunity to engage in a medical assistant externship. This provides you with supervised, hands-on experience in a healthcare setting so you can build your knowledge and skills.

Why Choose UMA for Medical Assistant Training?

As part of our medical assistant career training program, learners also receive certification preparation. This helps prepare you to sit for the CCMA exam, in addition to helping prepare you for the CMA and RMA certification exams, should you decide to pursue those credentials.⁶ This enables you to select the designation that aligns with your career goals.

UMA is an allied healthcare institution that prides itself on its student services. Whether you need academic support, want guidance with your career, are unsure of your financial aid options, or something else, we're here to help you get answers.

Contact us to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions About Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA)