What is a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant?
Certified Clinical Medical Assistants (CCMAs) are masters of a wide range of skills and assist with both clinical and administrative tasks. These tasks include scheduling appointments, filing and updating medical charts, taking vital signs, and drawing blood.
Patient Advocacy
CCMAs communicate between doctors and patients and play a significant role in patient advocacy.
They are often the first and last person the patient comes into contact with; CCMAs interview patients on their medical history prior to a physical examination or procedure and help patients understand their treatment plans from their doctors.
Clinical Responsibilities
- Recording symptoms and updating medical histories
- Giving injections and immunizations
- Collecting and preparing laboratory samples or performing basic lab tests
- Assisting doctors during physical exams
- Discussing prescription and dietary changes with patients
- Performing vital signs
- Handling prescription refill requests
- Removing stitches or changing wound dressings
- Drawing blood for lab tests
- Doing electrocardiograms (heart test) and other medical tests
Administrative Duties
- Answering phones and scheduling appointments
- Greeting patients and their families
- Filing and updating medical records
- Coding and completing insurance forms
- Scheduling hospital procedures or special laboratory tests
- Handling billing, bookkeeping, and general office mail
- Utilizing EHR (Electronic Health Records) to navigate through patient charts
Is this the Career Path for You?
Short training
Our 7-month (28 week) training is a focused educational experience designed to teach the necessary coursework and skills to sit for the CCMA exam.
Daily responsibilities
CCMAs perform a variety of both administrative and clinical tasks, therefore each day looks different. If you like to keep your mind engaged and enjoy learning new skills, this could be the career path for you.
Work Hours
Hours for CCMAs depend on the medical facility, but are typically are based on a 40-hr week. Some assistants may work evenings, weekends or holidays.
Interpersonal
CCMAs work on a team with other assistants, nurses, doctors, and healthcare professionals. They also work directly with the public, greeting patients and performing clinical duties. This profession is for people who enjoy working in a collaborative environment and interacting with a diverse population of people.
SKILLS
Our program prepares students to perform many clinical medical skills. Candidates interested in the profession should be comfortable with learning to draw blood, give injections, perform testing on laboratory samples, and dress wounds. In addition to clinical skills, CCMAs should be able prepared to treat patients with empathy and understanding, regardless of their background. CCMAs often advocate for patients and make them feel at ease during their appointments.
Opportunities for advancement
Once in the field and gaining experience, CCMAs can move into leadership roles. Some assistants may also choose to pursue further educational opportunities such as specialist certifications, or obtaining their associate or bachelor’s degree to advance into medical professional roles (e.g. a registered nurse, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner).
Healthcare field
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics measures the healthcare field as a growing industry. “Overall employment in healthcare occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations; this increase is expected to result in about 2 million new jobs over the decade.”
Job Outlook
Medical Assistants are trained to work in many different healthcare settings, including physician offices, clinics, group practices, and outpatient facilities.
Employment of Medical Assistants is projected to grow 18 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. The average salary for a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant in Pennsylvania is $17.67/hour.
