Medical assistants play an essential role in the nation’s healthcare facilities. Allied health professionals, they manage a broad range of clinical and administrative tasks in medical office settings. But their responsibilities are growing increasingly more complex as the healthcare system expands, creating a need for certifications that validate their skills. As a medical assistant, nothing is more important than the approval from the National Healthcareer Association.
What Is the National Healthcareer Association Certification (NHAC)?
Certifications are professional credentials. Granted by industry associations or credentialing agencies, they’re awarded to those who demonstrate expertise in their chosen field.
National Healthcareer Association certification is the credential you receive after passing the NHAC certification exam. After meeting the eligibility criteria and passing a comprehensive test covering the most important various aspects of medical assisting, you become a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CMMA).
Who Administers the NHAC?
The NHAC exam is administered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) one of the country’s premier healthcare credentialing organizations. Founded in 1989, they’ve awarded over a million certifications.
Why Is the National Healthcare Association Certification Important for Medical Assistants?
Industry certifications offer recipients both personal and practical rewards. Not all credentials, however, are created equal. Employers look for certifications from reputable agencies that test candidates thoroughly.
Nationally recognized, the National Healthcareer Association certification:
Validates Your Competency
Holding a recognized industry certification demonstrates proven skills. The recognition enhances your credibility and validates your professional expertise to potential employers, most of whom require or strongly prefer hiring certified candidates. In a competitive job market, it’s an edge you can’t afford to lose.
Makes You a More Valuable Team Member
You don’t need to be certified to work as a medical assistant, yet certification makes you a more valuable hire. It speaks not only to your skills but also to your dedication to the field. Turnover is costly for employers, so why train inexperienced candidates who may be less committed to medical assisting as a career?
Hiring certified employees also improves a facility’s image and reputation within the community. Patients feel better knowing that they’re being served by a highly trained and well-educated team. And employees may feel a sense of pride in an organization that values professional qualifications, further reducing turnover.
Builds Your Confidence
No training program covers everything you’ll encounter on the job as a medical assistant, there are too many possibilities. Instead, they teach you to think critically, empowering you to figure out what you haven’t been explicitly taught. Passing the NHA certification exam is a confidence-builder, confirming not only your knowledge and practical skills but also your decision-making ability.
Fast-Tracks Your Career
Certification as a clinical medical assistant is the foundation of specialty credentials. You can use it to qualify for many other certificates in specific areas of medicine, such as cardiology, geriatrics, transplantation, and mental health. You’ll climb the career ladder faster while having more access to advancement opportunities.
Facilitates Continuing Education and Professional Development
The NHA does more than certifies medical assistants, it provides them with continuous learning resources. Few organizations have cultivated such rich professional development content.
So, whether your goal is to maintain your certification through online learning or to build on your existing credentials with additional certifications, you’ll have access to educational materials only available to members.
Advances the Profession
The NHA plays a crucial role in supporting the medical assisting profession. By establishing occupational standards, they elevate the status of medical assistants within the healthcare industry.
They also collaborate with professional organizations, educators, and other industry stakeholders to advocate for the interests of medical assistants. They do this by participating in workforce development projects and legislative initiatives that recognize medical assisting as a vital role. By becoming certified, you contribute to your own success and the prosperity of others.
How Can I Prepare for the NHAC Exam?
The NHAC exam is a test of your real-world skills as a medical assistant, so getting a timely and relevant education is the key to success. Medical assistant training programs cover each of the seven domains on the test, including:
Foundational Knowledge and Basic Science — medical terminology, scope of practice, licensing and certification requirements, healthcare delivery models, basic pharmacology, and nutrition.
Anatomy and Physiology — cellular structure, body and organ systems, pathophysiology, microbiology, diagnostic measurements, and treatment modalities.
Clinical Patient Care — patient identification, exam room prep, vital signs, medication administration, first aid, CPR, EKG and laboratory procedures, phlebotomy, infection control, surgical assisting, wound care, and sterilization techniques.
Patient Care Coordination and Education — record review, preventive medicine, wellness resources, referral processes, transitional care, and patient education strategies.
Administrative Assisting — scheduling, electronic health records (EHR), filing systems, documentation rules, triage guidelines, billing, inventory management, and insurance terminology.
Medical Law and Ethics— informed consent, advanced directives, guardianship and power-of-attorney, mandatory reporting laws, privacy regulations, medical malpractice, and professional ethics.
Communication and Customer Service — telephone and e-mail etiquette, teamwork, therapeutic communication, professional boundaries, de-escalation strategies, and patient satisfaction.
Questions are developed based on employer surveys, reflecting current professional expectations.
Topics are woven into both classroom instruction and clinical experiences. The curriculum is as job-focused as the exam. Industry-seasoned instructors will help you make the most of your coursework while offering tips and tricks for passing the test.
Vocational schools recommend peer study groups, encouraging an early-and-often approach to reviewing test material. Some curricula even include an exam preparation course complete with practice tests and helpful tips. The NHA also supports certification-seekers with online study guides and test simulations.
Final Thoughts
As industries evolve and become more specialized, certifications play a primary role in ensuring a skilled and competent workforce. Employers recognize the value of certifications in maintaining high standards of performance, meeting industry demands, and driving organizational success. As a result, they increasingly seek certified employees to bring added value to their organizations. As an NHA-certified medical assistant, that could be you.
Want to Learn More?
The Medical Assistant Training Program at CyberTex Institute of Technology takes great care of you by providing hands-on training, practical experience and the support it takes to get started in a medical assisting career without spending years in school. You will learn the basics of both clinical and administrative skills, and prepare to work in physician’s offices, hospitals, and other medical facilities.
Contact us today to learn more about our Austin and Killeen campuses.