Certified Medical Assistant Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post focuses on the job description of a certified medical assistant, to help you learn the work they do.

It highlights the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities that typically make up the certified medical assistant work description.

Please, continue reading:

What Does a Certified Medical Assistant Do?

The certified medical assistant (CMA) is a medical assistant who has obtained certification from the Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA).

To be certified or recertified (for CMAs whose certification has expired), applicants are tested in a wide area covering general medical practice, administrative, and clinical functions.

Certified medical assistants are rated higher and given greater responsibilities by the physicians and other healthcare service providers that they work with than ordinary medical assistants.

In addition to simpler tasks, by the instruction of the physician, they can perform more complex procedures such as administering of injections, phlebotomy, and EKG’s.

They therefore provide greater assistance to the physician and help in improving the productivity and effectiveness of the department.

The specific job description for a CMA would depend on the medical office they are working for.

In some offices, CMAs may be required to perform more clinical duties than administrative or general, while it may be the other way round in other offices.

It does not really matter which area an employer would want the CMA to work more, CMAs, by their training can effectively perform all tasks relating to medical assisting.

The job description shown below is an example of typical duties and responsibilities usually handed to certified medical assistants in most pediatric clinics to carry out.

Certified Medical Assistant Job Description Example/Sample/Template

• Provide assistance in the taking of patient’s personal information and medical history, including biophysical, cultural, psychological, environmental, and developmental data
• Take and file reason for patient’s visit, important signs from patient, and weight/height
• Present data in graphs
• File patient’s currently taken medications, including other information such as allergies
• Setup patient for examination and assist physician during testing, examinations, and procedures
• Follow physician instructions to complete patient’s treatment
• Take record of interventions, and ensure prescription refills are made
• Perform administrative duties like taking and returning calls from parents
• Participate in periods of emergency.
• Responsible for stocking rooms with medical supplies
• Give and record medications and immunizations to patients and report any errors that may arise
• Document patients’ allergies and unpleasant reactions to medications
• Take patients’ specimen and carry out laboratory tests
• Assist in providing information and education to patients and their families.

Certified Medical Assistant Job Description for Resume

The sample job description given above can provide the needed information in preparing the employment history section of a resume for seeking the job of CMA.

Here is an example of a good CMA resume that you can understudy to prepare your own: Certified Medical Assistant Resume Sample

Certified Medical Assistant Requirements: Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities for Career Success

Certain knowledge, skills, and abilities are required to be able to effectively perform the certified medical assistant role.

These include: good communication and customer service skills and knowledge of medical terminology; ability to use business office equipment and to remain calm during emergency; and the knowledge of ICD-9 and CPT coding.

Other requirements will be based on the type of medical service the CMA’s organization provides.

More specifically, for a pediatric clinic, the certified medical assistant will be expected to possess the following skills, knowledge and requirements:

• Essential knowledge and ability to perform pediatric examination and treatment
• Ability to perform general office duties and to use multiline telephone, computers, filing systems, copiers, and fax machines
• Ability to maintain confidentiality in filing patients’ data
• Knowledge of relevant OSHA, JCAHO, and CLIA requirements and guidelines
• Ability to use clinical equipment such as scales, thermometer, butterfly needles, stethoscope and sphygmomanometer; vision and hearing screening instrument, typanometer, pulse oximetry, and basic laboratory equipment such as microscope, hematology analyzer, and centrifuge
• Ability to collect specimen
• Experience with treatments such as dressing changes, ear irrigation, and nebulizer.