I am a graduate of a college in Oregon. I took the AAMA's certification to become a CMA. I thought it was good nation wide. I am now seeing job postings for Washington that say Washington Licenced MA. Is there something I need to do to become licenced for Washington or does my AAMA certification cover me everywhere?
IMA MA's ANSWER
Dear Danielle, Obtaining your CMA is voluntary and not required by law except in a few states like California and New York. The credential is recognized nationwide and in many instances, is the only credential of education competency and achievement that employers will accept. Congratulations! The Washington State licensure that you are seeking to have clarification of is a state registry where employers apply to have their medical assistants registered in Washington State to peform invasive procedures, such as injections and blood draws, under the liability of their provider's medical licensure. Your employer is required by law to register you and process the application, not you. You are responsible to meet the requirements of being registered, which includes graduation from a post secondary education institution. If you would like more information and have further questions, please go to www.doh.wa.gov and click on "Certification/Licensure" and look under "Health Care Assistants".
I hope this has helped! IMA MA
Question from Tonya
Tonya Asks:
I have a membership with the AAMA, but it doesn't seem to like my e-mail address when I sign in at this site. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Tonya
IMA MA's Answer
Tonya, The WSSMA website is a separate party from the AAMA website (www.aama-ntl.org). Your AAMA membership password does not allow access to the WSSMA member pages on our website. Please go to the "Request a Member Password" on the www.wssma.org homepage and send us your request! The webmaster will process your request within 2-4 days.
Question from Jamie
Jamie Asks:
How does the HCA law affect the Medical Assistant with it's new changes in 2 weeks?
Ima MA's Answer
DOH has currently not given us any information on implementation of this new section of the law. In general any new meds you might be giving needs to be updated on your medication list that you filed with the DOH at the time of your registration or renewal. We would suggest you just go ahead and send in an updated list if you are administering the new oral vaccine or the nasal flu vaccine. To our knowledge there is not any fee for updating your list. You should probably copy your current registration and print a med form from the licensing website https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/hps7/Health_Care/documents/HCAapp.pdf (page six of the application form). List all meds you give and attach it to your current registration before sending it in. If you are not going to be administering any of these new items and your current list is up to date you don't need to make any changes with your current registration.
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