Candidate Application and Handbook

Transcription

1 Candidate Appication and Handbook For the CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination The CMA (AAMA): Heath Care s Most Versatie Professiona A pubication of the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medica Assistants The Certification Program of the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medica Assistants is accredited by the Nationa Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) as a resut of demonstrating compiance with the NCCA Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs. The NCCA is the accrediting body of the Institute for Credentiaing Exceence (ICE), formery caed the Nationa Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). The NCCA Standards were created to ensure that certification programs adhere to modern standards of practice for the certification industry.

2 Tabe of contents About the examination The CMA (AAMA) credentia 3 Eigibiity, documentation, and fees 3 Appicant agreement 3 Examination information and poicies Candidate Appication and Handbook 4 Exam candidacy imits 4 Credentia expiration/recertification 4 Exam eigibiity requirements 4 Candidate eigibiity categories 4 Accreditation periods 4 Required documentation 4 Verification of program competion 4 Candidate fee 5 Ninety-day testing period 5 Appication timeines 5 Notification of appication status 5 Exam Scheduing Permits 5 Candidate name/address specifications 6 Reease of information 6 Exceptions to information reease 6 Specia accommodations 6 Grounds for denia of eigibiity 6 Exam format 7 Study suggestions 7 Faiure to test 7 Transfer to new testing period 7 Request for an appea 7 Pubic access to aggregate exam resuts 7 AAMA membership 7 AAMA contact information 7 Test center scheduing and poicies Appointment Scheduing Permit 8 Exam date scheduing 8 Test center identification requirements 8 Appointment changes/faiure to appear 8 Test centers and conditions 8 Test center canceations/rescheduing 8 Arriva and admittance 8 Test center reguations 9 Rues of conduct 9 Tutoria 9 Competing the exam 9 Post-test survey 9 Post-examination information and poicies On-site pass/fai notification 10 Officia score notification 10 Withhoding officia score notification and CMA (AAMA) certification 10 Verification of exam resuts 10 Certificate and waet card 10 CMA (AAMA) recertification requirements 10 Empoyer CMA (AAMA) status verification 10 Examination appication steps 11 Examination appication 12 Pubished by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medica Assistants Inc. 20 N. Wacker Dr., Ste Chicago, IL Phone: 800/ Fax: 312/ Website: e-mai: CMAExam@aama-nt.org Copyright 2014 by the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medica Assistants Inc. A rights reserved. No part of this pubication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieva system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, known now or in the future, incuding eectronic, mechanica, photographic or magnetic without prior written permission of the pubisher.

3 About the examination The Certifying Board does not discriminate among appicants as to age, sex, race, reigion, or nationa origin. Membership in the American Association of Medica Assistants (AAMA) is not required. Poicies of the AAMA Certifying Board and fees are subject to change without notice. The CMA (AAMA) credentia The Certified Medica Assistant (AAMA) or CMA (AAMA) credentia represents a medica assistant who has been credentiaed through the Certifying Board of the American Association of Medica Assistants. The credentia is awarded to candidates who pass the CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Exam. The credentia must be recertified every 60 months by continuing education or re-examination to give evidence of continuing competency and knowedge, and thus better protect patients. The CMA (AAMA) must have current status in order to use the credentia. Eigibiity, documentation, and fees Eigibiity category Required documentation Fee (nonrefundabe) Category 1 Competing student or recent graduate of a CAAHEP or ABHES medica assisting program Competing students may take the exam no more than 30 days prior to competing their forma education and practicum. Category 2 Nonrecent graduate of a CAAHEP or ABHES medica assisting program Category 3 CMA (AAMA) recertificant No documentation required. Your program competion incuding a practicum must be verified by your program director in order for you to receive your officia scores and certification. Officia transcript No documentation is necessary if you have provided your CMA (AAMA) certificate number and most recent certification or recertification date on the appication. $125 $125 AAMA members $250 nonmembers $125 AAMA members $250 nonmembers Appicant agreement By virtue of submitting an appication for the CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination, I certify what foows: I understand and am in compiance with the eigibiity requirements for the CMA (AAMA) Exam. I have not served as a member of the AAMA Certifying Board or AAMA Task Force for Test Construction within the 23-month period prior to the date of the CMA (AAMA) Exam for which I am appying. The information suppied in this appication is true and accurate to the best of my knowedge. I acknowedge that the AAMA Certifying Board may refuse to accept this appication and may decine to permit me to take the exam. Further, the AAMA Certifying Board may invaidate the scores on this exam if it receives evidence satisfactory to the AAMA that the statements made by me are not true and accurate or that I engaged in any inappropriate conduct before, during, or after the exam (such as giving or obtaining unauthorized information or aid). I understand and consent to the fact that if I am in Eigibiity Category 1, in order to be eigibe to receive my scores and certification, my program director must compete a form verifying my medica assisting program enroment and that I took the exam no earier than 30 days before I competed my forma education and practicum. I agree that the information I suppied on this form and my exam resuts may be reeased for the foowing purposes: (1) Statistics and research; (2) membership recruitment purposes by AAMA and state societies and oca chapters; (3) the names and exam scores of initia certification candidates wi be reeased to the officias of the medica assisting program from which each appicant graduated. If I do not want my name and exam scores sent to my medica assisting program or my information reeased to any other party, I wi instruct the Certifying Board by certified mai, no ater than 10 days before taking the exam, to withhod such information. I fuy understand that requests received after this time wi not be honored. I have read, understand, and wi abide by the poicies set forth in this Candidate Appication and Handbook. Questions? E-mai CMAExam@aama-nt.org 3

4 Examination information and poicies Candidate Appication and Handbook Keep this handbook as a resource for understanding the exam appication process unti you have received your scores for the exam. Requirements and fees isted in this handbook are subject to change without notice. Exam candidacy imits Initia candidates for the CMA (AAMA) Exam who graduate on or after January 1, 2010 have 60 months from the date of graduation to sit for and pass the exam. The candidate is aowed three exam attempts. If the candidate does not pass within the 60-month time frame, the candidate is no onger eigibe for the CMA (AAMA) credentia. Credentia expiration/recertification Effective January 1, 2010, a newy certified and recertifying CMAs (AAMA) wi be current for 60 months from the end of the caendar month of initia certification or most recent recertification. Those not recertifying on or before the expiration date of their credentia wi be considered as having an expired credentia. An individua whose credentia has expired for more than 60 months forfeits the right to reactivate the credentia by continuing education and must sit for the CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination. Payment of a $50 reactivation fee pus the recertification by exam fee wi be required. Exam eigibiity requirements To be eigibe for the CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination, you must be about to compete or have successfuy competed a medica assisting program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Aied Heath Education Programs (CAAHEP) or by the Accrediting Bureau of Heath Education Schoos (ABHES). Individuas who have been awarded the CMA (AAMA) credentia are aso eigibe to recertify by taking the CMA (AAMA) Exam. Contact the AAMA Certification Department for assistance in determining if you meet these eigibiity requirements. Ineigibe candidate refund poicy. If you do not meet the exam eigibiity requirements, your appication wi be canceed. The candidate fee, ess a $65 administrative fee, wi be refunded within four to six weeks after your appication has been reviewed. Candidate eigibiity categories Appicants must quaify for one of the foowing eigibiity categories: Category 1. Competing student or recent graduate of a CAAHEP or ABHES medica assisting program Competing students may take the CMA (AAMA) Exam no more than 30 days prior to competing their forma education and practicum. Recent graduates are those who appy for the exam within 12 months of graduation. Category 2. Nonrecent graduate of a CAAHEP or ABHES medica assisting program A candidate who appies for the exam more than 12 months after graduation is a nonrecent graduate. Note: If the candidate s graduation date is on or after Jan. 1, 2010 and the candidate has not passed the exam within 60 months of graduating the candidate is no onger eigibe for the exam. Category 3. CMA (AAMA) recertificant The candidate must be a CMA (AAMA) appying for the CMA (AAMA) Exam to recertify his or her credentia. Accreditation periods Candidates who graduate from a CAAHEP or ABHES program that was accredited at any time during the student s enroment, or who graduated within the 36 months prior to the program becoming CAAHEP or ABHES accredited are eigibe to appy for the CMA (AAMA) Exam under Category 1 or 2. The 12-month period for student or recent graduate fee eigibiity begins on the date that the program is granted CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation. Required documentation Competing students and recent graduates. No documentation is necessary; however, your program director wi be required to verify your program competion as stipuated by the CMA (AAMA) Exam appication poicies. The AAMA Certifying Board reserves the right to request an officia transcript at any time. Nonrecent graduates. Submit an officia transcript that verifies your graduation from an accredited medica assisting program. Recertificant appicants. No documentation is necessary if you have provided your CMA (AAMA) certificate number and most recent certification or recertification date on the appication. Otherwise, contact the Certification Department for assistance. Verification of program competion If you are a competing student or recent graduate, your program director wi receive a form that must be competed to verify that you fufied a forma coursework requirements, incuding a practicum, and that you did not take the CMA (AAMA) Exam more than 30 days prior to the date that you fufied a program requirements. Program directors and their designees who negigenty or frauduenty verify that an examinee has competed a program requirements as described in this appication are subject to discipinary sanctions by the Certifying Board or the American Medica Technoogists [if the program director is a CMA (AAMA) or hods an AMT credentia, respectivey] and the Certifying Board may report the fasification(s) to the Commission on Accreditation of Aied Heath Education Programs or the Accrediting Bureau of Heath Education Schoos. 4 Website:

5 Candidate fee The candidate fee must accompany the appication. If compete payment for a current, outstanding, or past due fees is not received by the AAMA, you wi not receive an exam Scheduing Permit, and you wi not be abe to schedue an exam session. Acceptance of payment by the AAMA does not impy exam eigibiity. Fee payments are nonrefundabe and are nontransferabe to another candidate or to another 90-day testing period. Do not send persona checks. Candidate fees must be paid by money order, credit or debit card, cashier s/certified check or institution check. A $25 service charge wi be assessed to you for returned institution checks, decined credit cards, and credit card chargebacks. Your appication wi not be approved unti these fees are successfuy submitted. Ninety-day testing period Each candidate is aowed a 90-day period in which to take the exam. Your 90-day testing period wi be assigned based on the testing period start date you indicate on your appication. The start date shoud be the eariest date that you wish to sit for the exam. Your 90-day testing period wi be recorded on your test center Scheduing Permit. The AAMA Certification Department reserves the right to assign a testing period start date to a candidate (e.g., if the appication is received after the required due date, no start date was given, or if an inappropriate start date was isted). Appication timeines Appications are due at east 90 days before the first of the month in which your testing period start date begins. Refer to the foowing charts for assistance in determining when to mai your appication. Onine appication timeines Appy on or between 1st to 14th of any month 15th to end of any month Eariest avaiabe testing period start date 1st of next month 15th of next month Maied paper appication timeines Appication is received on or between 1st to 14th of any month 15th to end of any month Eariest avaiabe testing period start date 1st of next month 15th of month after next Note: Appicants who must submit specific documentation must aow extra time for appication processing: Candidates requesting a waiver due to having been found guity of a feony, or peaded guity to a feony, or having a professiona icense, registration, or certification denied, revoked, suspended, or subjected to probationary conditions by a reguatory authority or certification board Disabed persons who require specia provisions on exam day Non-recent graduates who do not submit an officia transcript with their appication Appy onine on or between Maied appication is received on or before January 1-14 January 1 February 1 January January 15 February 15 February 1-14 February 1 March 1 February 15-28/29 February 15 March 15 March 1-14 March 1 Apri 1 March March 15 Apri 15 Apri 1-14 Apri 1 May 1 Apri Apri 15 May 15 May 1-14 May 1 June 1 May May 15 June 15 June 1-14 June 1 Juy 1 June June 15 Juy 15 Juy 1-14 Juy 1 August 1 Juy Juy 15 August 15 August 1-14 August 1 September 1 Eariest avaiabe 90-day testing period start date August August 15 September 15 September 1-14 September 1 October 1 September September 15 October 15 October 1-14 October 1 November 1 October October 15 November 15 November 1-14 November 1 December 1 November November 15 December 15 December 1-14 December 1 January 1 December December 15 January 15 Notification of appication status You wi receive an e-mai within five to 10 days of the date your appication has been received depending on whether you appied onine or maied your appication. Contact the AAMA Certification Department if you do not receive notification within these time frames. Registered status. If your appication is compete, your status wi be noted as Registered ; your assigned 90-day testing period wi be isted; and the avaiabiity date of your exam Scheduing Permit wi be incuded. Incompete status. If the required documentation or payment is missing, your status wi be noted as Incompete. Reasons why an appication is considered incompete incude the foowing: Nonpayment of fees, insufficient fees, or a decined credit/debit card Missing CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation code Missing officia transcript (nonrecent graduates) Missing feony waiver or specia accommodations request form and documentation Faiure to respond as requested wi deay your testing period start date and may nuify your appication so that you wi need to reappy, as we as pay the candidate fee again. Exam Scheduing Permits Permits to schedue an exam appointment wi be avaiabe to candidates who are fuy registered, have no outstanding payments, and have submitted a required documentation. You must og in onine and print out the Scheduing Permit. On your exam day, you must bring to the test center your Scheduing Permit and an unexpired, government issue form of Questions? E-mai CMAExam@aama-nt.org 5

6 Examination information and poicies (continued) identification (ID) that incudes both your photograph and signature (e.g., a driver s icense or passport). Candidate name/address specifications Exam notices wi be sent to the e-mai address you provide on your appication. You must incude a vaid e-mai address. The exam Scheduing Permit wi be accessibe 20 days prior to the start of your 90 day testing period. The name on your Scheduing Permit wi appear as written on your appication. The name on your appication, therefore, must exacty match the name on the ID you present at the test center. (See Test center identification requirements. ) You are responsibe for providing updates to your e-mai and maiing addresses. The AAMA is not responsibe for correcty addressed items that, for any reason, are not deivered to you. Take these precautions to hep ensure you receive important notifications: Use an e-mai address that wi be vaid for the next year (schoo addresses often are cosed after graduation). Add CMAExam@aama-nt.org to your approved e-mai ist. Check your spam or junk e-mai foder for CMA Exam e-mais. Access to a vaid e-mai address, a computer, and a printer are necessary to register for the exam. You must og in onine and print the Scheduing Permit and bring it to the test center. You cannot print your Scheduing Permit at the Prometric Test Center. You wi not be aowed access to the test center without your Scheduing Permit. Compete instructions on how to access the Scheduing Permit wi be e-maied to approved appicants 20 days prior to the beginning of their 90 day testing period. Reease of information Certification status is a matter of pubic record and may be reeased. The foowing information is not of pubic record, and cannot be divuged without the written permission of the appicant: Exam enroment status Certification date Certificate number Exam score Number of exam attempts Exam eigibiity category Number of recertifications Number of activities isted in continuing education registry Persona information, such as contact information Exceptions to information reease Refer to Appicant agreement for imited exceptions to the reease of information. Specia accommodations Disabed persons who require specia provisions on exam day must submit a Request for Specia Accommodations form (avaiabe at with the appication, candidate fee, and written documentation of the foowing: A forma diagnosis by a skied evauator (e.g., a psychoogist) The credentias and documentation of the expertise of the evauator providing documentation referenced immediatey above Specific findings in support of the diagnosis Current functiona imitations Expanation of the specific requests for specia accommodations Whie the Certifying Board wi make every effort to fufi specia accommodation requests, it reserves the right to deny or postpone requests which are not submitted as specified above or which, in the judgment of the Certifying Board, woud jeopardize the security of the exam materia or the integrity of scores derived from the exam. Written notification wi be provided to the candidate detaiing the accommodations and any procedures that must be foowed to ensure the test center can accommodate the stated needs on the test date. Grounds for denia of eigibiity The foowing are grounds for denia of eigibiity for the CMA (AAMA) credentia, or for discipine of the CMA (AAMA): Obtaining or attempting to obtain certification or recertification of the CMA (AAMA) credentia by fraud or deception Knowingy assisting another to obtain or attempt to obtain certification or recertification by fraud or deception Misstatement of materia fact or faiure to state a materia fact in appication for certification or recertification Fasifying information required for admission to the CMA (AAMA) Exam, impersonating another examinee, or fasifying education or credentias Providing or receiving unauthorized advice about exam content during the CMA (AAMA) Exam Unauthorized possession or distribution of exam materias, incuding copying and reproducing exam questions Generay, individuas who have been found guity of a feony, peaded guity to a feony, or had a professiona icense, registration, or certification denied, revoked, suspended, or subjected to probationary conditions by a reguatory authority or certification board are not eigibe to take the CMA (AAMA) Exam. However, the Certifying Board may grant a waiver based upon mitigating circumstances. If you wish to request that the Certifying Board 6 Website:

7 permit you to take the test, you must submit a Request for Waiver form (avaiabe at and written evidence that demonstrates your feony conviction or pea shoud not prevent you from taking the CMA (AAMA) Exam. See the Request for Waiver form for important detais. Exam format The exam consists of 200 mutipe-choice questions. Of these, 180 questions wi be scored and 20 wi be pretested. The pretest questions are incuded for evauation and possibe use as scored questions on future exams. These pretest questions are randomy paced throughout the exam and cannot be identified by the candidates. A candidate s score is based on the number of correct responses to scored questions ony. The pretest questions are not counted towards a candidate s score. (Refer to Competing the test for exam ength.) Study suggestions Areas of knowedge and topics covered in the exam are isted in the CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination Content Outine, which can be found on the AAMA website at org. The CMA (AAMA) Exam is based on the Content Outine which is deveoped in reation to the AAMA Occupationa Anaysis of the CMA (AAMA). Examinees shoud be famiiar with the subject matter and topics isted in the Content Outine. Review current pubications that cover administrative and cinica content for medica assisting, anatomy and physioogy, medica terminoogy, aboratory, and heath care aw and ethics to prepare for the exam. Visit the AAMA website for study resources, incuding practice tests on anatomy and physioogy and medica terminoogy. Faiure to test If you fai to schedue, appear, test, or compete a required components of the exam during your 90-day period of eigibiity, you wi forfeit your candidate fee. If you choose to reappy at a ater date, you must submit another appication and the appropriate exam fee. Transfer to new testing period For a $65 fee, candidates may transfer their testing eigibiity period to incude the next immediatey avaiabe 90-day testing period. Requests must be submitted in writing to the AAMA Certification Department at east 30 days prior to the end of the origina testing period. Ony one transfer is aowed and ony for the originay enroed candidate. Request for an appea Exam appicants may appea a decision of the AAMA Certification Department to the AAMA Certifying Board by submitting written evidence demonstrating a reasonabe doubt in a determination of the Certification Department. Pubic access to aggregate exam resuts Individuas or entities may request from an institution the aggregate CMA (AAMA) Exam performance resuts of its graduates and ask for the right to verify the institution s report of the resuts with the AAMA Certification Department. Verification that the institution has granted this right must be in writing and signed. Contact information for the signee must be incuded. AAMA membership Membership in the American Association of Medica Assistants is not required for certification or recertification. If you fufi the eigibiity requirements and your membership dues are paid prior to or at the time of appication for the exam, then you are eigibe for the AAMA member rate. To join, enro onine at or ca the AAMA Membership Department at 800/ or 312/ AAMA contact information For answers to questions about the certification process visit the AAMA website or contact the AAMA Certification Department: Website: E-mai: CMAExam@aama-nt.org Phone: 800/ or 312/ Questions? E-mai CMAExam@aama-nt.org 7

8 Test center scheduing and poicies Appointment Scheduing Permit Exam appointments are made through Prometric. If you have met a appication requirements, you wi receive an e-mai with Scheduing Permit instructions no ater than 20 days before your 90-day testing period begins. You then must do the foowing: Log in and print out the Scheduing Permit. Use the Scheduing Permit to make an exam appointment. Bring the Scheduing Permit with you to your appointment. Your candidate identification number (CIN) wi be isted on the Scheduing Permit. The CIN number is a unique identifier that you wi ony use at the test center when you first og into the computer to begin your exam. Immediatey after you access your Scheduing Permit, verify a information for accuracy. You may schedue an appointment to take the exam at your convenience Monday through Saturday during the 90-day testing period recorded on your Scheduing Permit. Contact the AAMA Certification Department immediatey at 800/ if your Scheduing Permit is not accessibe 20 days before the start date of your 90-day testing period. Aso, ca if the name on your Scheduing Permit differs from how your name appears on your identification card. Aow five business days for the new Scheduing Permit to be avaiabe once any corrections are made. Name changes or corrections cannot be made ess than one month prior to your schedued test appointment. Exam date scheduing You must have your Scheduing Permit to schedue your exam appointment. You are soey responsibe for making and keeping your schedued appointment date. Make your appointment on the Prometric scheduing website at or by caing the phone number isted on your Scheduing Permit. When scheduing your appointment, remember the foowing: Contact Prometric as soon as you print your Scheduing Permit. Prometric schedues test appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. The sooner you schedue your appointment, the more ikey you wi receive your preferred time and ocation. Do not wait unti the ast moment to attempt to schedue an appointment. If an appointment is not avaiabe within the testing period you wi forfeit your candidate fee. Unschedued candidates (wak-ins) wi not be admitted to the test center. Refer to your Scheduing Permit when you make your appointment. When you contact Prometric to schedue your test appointment, you wi be asked to provide the information ocated in the box at the top of the Scheduing Permit. Prometric wi provide you with the test date, time, ocation, teephone number, and your appointment confirmation number. Confirm your test center ocation. One week before your appointment, confirm your test center ocation via the Prometric website ( or by contacting Prometric at the phone number isted on your Scheduing Permit. Ca this number aso if you need directions to your test center. Test center identification requirements On your exam day, you must bring to the test center your Scheduing Permit and an unexpired, government issue form of identification that incudes both your photograph and signature (e.g., a driver s icense or passport). If your identification contains your photograph and not your signature, you may use another form of unexpired identification that contains your signature (e.g., an empoyee identification card or credit card) to suppement your photo-bearing, government issue identification. The first and ast names on your identification must exacty match the names on your Scheduing Permit. The ony acceptabe difference woud be the presence of a midde name, midde initia, or suffix on one document and its absence on the other. If you do not have acceptabe forms of ID, you wi not be aowed to test. Appointment changes/faiure to appear You wi be aowed to take ony the exam for which you were deemed eigibe; no changes in exam type may be made at the test center. Unschedued candidates (wak-ins) wi not be admitted to the test center. Eigibiity extensions are not granted. If you fai to schedue or to test during your 90-day period of eigibiity, you wi forfeit your candidate fee. If you choose to reappy at a ater date, you must submit another appication and the appropriate candidate fee. If you wish to reschedue your exam appointment to another date or ocation, you must contact Prometric at the to-free number by noon Eastern Time at east two business days prior to your schedued appointment. You may reschedue ony for an appointment during your 90-day test period. Prometric wi charge you a $45 rescheduing fee (subject to change) if you fai to appear for your schedued appointment or provide ess than two business days notice to reschedue. Test centers and conditions Prometric provides computer-based test services for academic assessment, professiona icensure, and certification. A Prometric test centers are set up simiary. This enhances security and ensures the same standards for comfort and uniformity for a examinees. Prometric test centers provide the resources necessary for secure administration of the exam, incuding video and audio monitoring and recording, and use of digita cameras to record the identity of examinees. Test center canceations/rescheduing In the event of bad weather, a natura disaster, or other emergency, the AAMA Certifying Board and Prometric wi determine whether circumstances warrant canceation and rescheduing of exams at a particuar test center. Exams wi not be canceed and reschedued if the test center administrator is abe to open the test center. Every attempt wi be made to administer a exams as schedued. However, shoud an exam be canceed at a test center, a affected candidates wi be contacted about rescheduing their exams. Arriva and admittance Arrive at the Prometric test center at east 30 minutes before your schedued test time on your exam date. If you arrive ate, you may not be admitted. If you arrive more than 30 minutes after your schedued test time, you wi not be permitted to test. In that event, you must pay a fee to Prometric to reschedue your exam. Your reschedued exam date must fa within your assigned testing period. A compete appication and candidate fee are required to reappy for the exam if you do not test within the 90-day testing period. 8 Website:

9 Upon arriva at the test center, you must present the required identification, sign a test center og, be photographed, and store your persona beongings in your assigned ocker. Test center staff wi coect your Scheduing Permit. You wi be instructed to write your name and candidate identification number (CIN) on one of the aminated writing surfaces provided. Your Scheduing Permit wi be retained at the test center administrator s station. You may request access to the Scheduing Permit during the exam if it becomes necessary for you to rewrite the CIN on the aminated writing surface. In addition to the aminated writing surfaces, you wi be provided with dry-erase markers and an eraser. Test center staff wi escort you to your assigned test station and instruct you on the use of the computer equipment. You must enter your CIN to start the exam. Test center reguations Test center staff monitor a test sessions for the exam. You must foow the instructions of test center staff. Faiure to do so may resut in a determination of irreguar behavior. If staff observe you vioating rues or engaging in other forms of irreguar behavior, they wi not necessariy te you of the observation at the time of the exam. Test center staff members are not authorized to answer questions regarding exam content, test software, or scoring. You may not bring any persona beongings into the test area, incuding, but not imited to the foowing: Mechanica or eectronic devices (e.g., ceuar phones, persona digita assistants [PDAs], cacuators, watches, eectronic paging devices, recording or fiming devices, or radios) Outerwear (e.g., coats, jackets, headwear, or goves) Book bags, backpacks, handbags, briefcases, or waets Books, notes, written materias, or scratch paper Food, candy, gum, or beverages You must store persona items in a designated ocker outside the secure test area. Keep in mind that the storage faciities are sma and that a stored mechanica or eectronic devices must be turned off. Persona items and their contents may be subject to inspection. Any materias that reasonaby appear to be reproductions of any AAMA exam materias wi be confiscated. Making notes of any kind during an exam, except on the materias provided by the test center, is not permitted. Rues of conduct When you submit an appication for the CMA (AAMA) Certification/ Recertification Examination, you agree to abide by the foowing rues of conduct: You are the person named on the Scheduing Permit. You wi not give, receive, or obtain any form of unauthorized assistance during the exam or your break. You wi not have in your possession any formuas, study materias, notes, papers, or eectronic devices. Before entering the test room, you wi pace any formuas, study materias, notes, or paper in your possession in a ocker. A persona beongings must aso be paced in a ocker before you enter the test room. You wi not eave your test station for a break uness the break screen is visibe on your monitor. You wi not use a teephone or other communication device at any point during the exam, incuding breaks, for any purpose reated to test content. You wi not remove materias in any form (written, printed, recorded, or any other type) from the test center. A exam materias remain the property of the AAMA Certifying Board, and you wi maintain confidentiaity of the materias. You wi not reproduce or attempt to reproduce exam materias through memorization or any other means. Aso, you wi not provide information reating to exam content that may give or attempt to give unfair advantage to individuas who may be taking the exam. This incudes verbay sharing or posting information regarding exam items and/or answers on the Internet. If you vioate these rues of conduct, you may be directed to eave the test center before you compete the exam. Evidence of vioation of any test administration rue, incuding these rues of conduct, may resut in discipinary sanctions based on the AAMA Discipinary Standards and Procedures for the CMA (AAMA). Tutoria Before the exam begins, there wi be an optiona tutoria that shows how to navigate through the exam. The maximum time aowed for the tutoria is 15 minutes. The time used for the tutoria is not counted as part of the test time and wi not affect your score. Competing the exam Upon competion of the optiona 15-minute tutoria, the exam wi be administered in four 40-minute segments. You wi have an optiona 20-minute tota for breaks between segments. Your test time wi not be extended if you decine the tutoria or the optiona break time. You wi have 160 minutes to answer a the exam questions. The maximum time aowed for your exam appointment wi be three hours and 15 minutes (195 minutes). Once you begin, the exam cannot be canceed or reschedued uness a technica probem requires rescheduing. If a computer probem occurs during the test, you shoud notify test center staff immediatey. In the rare event of a technica probem, the test software is designed to aow the test to restart at the point it was interrupted. In most cases, the test can be restarted at the point of interruption with no oss of test time. In the rare event of a technica probem occurring that requires your exam to be reschedued, you wi be aowed to test at a ater date at no additiona cost. Post-test survey After you have competed the exam, you wi have the opportunity to respond to a 10- to 20-question survey about the exam and test center conditions. You are not required to compete this survey if you do not have adequate time remaining. Questions? E-mai CMAExam@aama-nt.org 9

10 Post-examination information and poicies On-site pass/fai notification An officia pass/fai notification wi be provided to you immediatey upon your competion of the exam. A pass resut for competing students and recent graduates is not verification of CMA (AAMA) certification. (See Officia score notification. ) Officia score notification Candidates who have fufied a appication requirements wi receive an officia report of the score achieved within 10 weeks after the exam date. The passing score refects the minimum score that must be achieved to pass the exam. The Certifying Board estabished the minimum passing score based on universay accepted psychometric methodoogy and reserves the right to change the minimum passing score as appropriate. The officia exam score report wi incude your percentie rank in the Genera, Administrative, and Cinica content areas to hep you interpret your exam performance and identify areas of strength and weakness. Candidates who pass the exam and receive officia notification of their scores wi be awarded the CMA (AAMA) credentia. Withhoding score notification and CMA (AAMA) certification In order to receive your officia score notification, you must fufi a CMA (AAMA) Certification/Recertification Examination appication requirements. Candidates who appy under Category 1 wi not receive an officia score report or be awarded the CMA (AAMA) credentia unti the candidate has competed a requirements, incuding the practicum, and the program director verifies competed program eigibiity of no ess than 30 days prior to sitting for the exam. (See Candidate eigibiity categories and Required documentation. ) A $35 processing fee wi be charged if documentation to verify eigibiity to receive officia scores is submitted more than one month from the date you took the exam. Your scores wi not be reeased to you and you wi not receive your certification/recertification status if more than four months have eapsed since the date of your exam. You must then reappy for the exam and pay the exam fee. A exam candidates and CMA (AAMA) certificants are subject to the AAMA Discipinary Standards and Procedures for the CMA (AAMA), which are avaiabe on the AAMA website. The AAMA Certifying Board reserves the right to void or withhod exam resuts if, upon investigation, vioation of Certifying Board reguations is discovered. Candidates and program directors are expected to fuy cooperate with any investigation. Verification of exam resuts If you question your resuts and wish to have your exam rescored, you must notify AAMA Certification Department staff in writing within 30 days from the date that you receive your officia score notification. A $75 fee (payabe ony by money order, credit or debit card, cashier s or certified check, or institution check) must be encosed with your request. Neither the content nor the answers for specific test items are reeased or discosed. Incorrect responses wi not be reported when requesting a review. A rescoring ony determines if the origina resut was correct or incorrect. Certificate and waet card Candidates who pass the exam and receive officia notification of their scores wi receive a certificate and waet card denoting their CMA (AAMA) certification status within approximatey 10 weeks after their officia scores are maied. The candidate s name wi appear on the certificate and waet card exacty as it appears on the exam appication form. Contact the AAMA Certification Department if these items are not received after the 10-week processing period to avoid paying the standard fees $20 (certificate) and $5 (waet card). CMA (AAMA) recertification requirements To give evidence of continuing competency and knowedge and thus better protect patients, medica assistants who have been awarded the CMA (AAMA) credentia are required to recertify every 60 months. Effective January 1, 2010, a newy certified and recertifying CMAs (AAMA) wi be current for 60 months from the end of the caendar month of initia certification or most recent recertification. Current status is required in order to use the credentia. Obtain information about recertifying your CMA (AAMA) credentia from the AAMA website at or by caing 800/ and requesting a recertification information packet. Empoyer CMA (AAMA) status verification Certification status is a matter of pubic record and may be reeased. Empoyers may verify the CMA (AAMA) certification status of current or potentia medica assistant empoyees on the AAMA website at Due to the reputation of the credentia as being the god standard for the profession, greater numbers of empoyers prefer or even require that their medica assistants be CMA (AAMA) certified. website: 10 Website:

11 Examination appication steps Step 1. Verify that you are eigibe for the exam Review eigibiity categories 1, 2, or 3 to ensure that you are eigibe for the exam. To find out if your program is CAAHEP or ABHES accredited, contact the AAMA Certification Department at 800/ or check under Medica Assisting/CAAHEP or ABHES Accredited Programs on the AAMA website at Step 2. Step 3. Step 4. Step 5. Step 6. Step 7. Step 8. Step 9. Gather your documentation Gather the appropriate documentation for your eigibiity category as outined under Required documentation. Review a exam poicies and information When you submit your appication, you are certifying that you have reviewed and accept a provisions under Appicant agreement and that you wi abide by a the poicies set forth in this document, so it is important to read them thoroughy. Determine start date for 90-day testing period Seect the date that you wish your 90-day testing period to begin. This wi determine when you shoud appy for the exam. (See Ninety-day testing period and Appication timeines. ) Monitor your e-mai Use an e-mai address that wi be vaid for the next year (schoo addresses often are cosed after graduation). Add CMAExam@aama-nt.org to your approved e-mai ist. Check your spam or junk e-mai foder for CMA Exam e-mais. Appy for the exam Compete the appication form. Verify that you have written your first, midde, and ast name as they appear on the government issue photo ID that you must bring to the test center. Submit the appication and your candidate fee and incude any documentation you gather in Step 2. Retain a copy of the competed appication and documentation for your records. If you mai your appication, do not send the Handbook with it. Make name, e-mai, and posta address corrections on a timey basis (See Candidate name/address specifications and Test center identification requirements. ) Schedue your exam Schedue your exam appointment as soon as possibe after printing your Scheduing Permit. (See Appointment Scheduing Permit and Exam date scheduing. ) Prepare for the exam See Study suggestions. Aso, thoroughy review the Test center scheduing and poicies, so that your test session goes smoothy. Step 10. Compete the exam After you have competed your exam, you wi receive a pass/fai notification. Step 11. Watch for your officia score reports You receive your officia exam scores within 10 weeks of your exam date pending verification of program competion and/or fufiment of a appication requirements. (See Post-examination information and poicies. ) Step 12. Watch for your certificate If you pass and are aowed to receive an officia score report, your certificate and a waet card shoud arrive approximatey 10 weeks after you receive your officia scores. CMA (AAMA) certification is vaid for a 60-month period. (See CMA (AAMA) recertification requirements. ) Questions? E-mai CMAExam@aama-nt.org 11

12 Examination appication Candidate: You must read the Candidate Appication and Handbook and accept a provisions under Appicant agreement before submitting this appication. Contact the AAMA Certification Department before appying if you are not certain you fufi the eigibiity requirements. Program director: Refer to poicies under Candidate eigibiity categories, Verification of program competion, and Withhoding officia score notification and CMA (AAMA) certification. Pease check any of the boxes that appy to you: o I have been found guity of a feony, or peaded guity to a feony. (If so, compete a Request for Waiver form avaiabe at o I have had a professiona icense, registration, or certification denied, revoked, suspended, or subjected to probationary conditions by a reguatory authority or certification board. (If so, compete a Request for Waiver form avaiabe at o I require specia accommodations. (If so, compete the Request for Specia Accommodations form avaiabe at o I am repeating this exam due to faiing a previous exam. Eigibiity category. Seect your category according to the Candidate eigibiity categories and compete the information for each category: o Category 1. Competing student or recent graduate of a CAAHEP or ABHES medica assisting program. (Compete A, B, C, and D beow.) o Category 2. Nonrecent graduate of a CAAHEP or ABHES medica assisting program. (Compete A, B, and C beow.) o Category 3. CMA (AAMA) recertificant. (Compete E beow.) A. Program competion date incuding practicum (not graduation date): / / (month/day/year) B. Institution name: Institution address, city, and state: C. Accreditation code (ask your program director for the code): D. Program director s name and teephone number (print): E. Category 3 appicants ony: CMA (AAMA) certificate number: Date certified: / / (month/day/year) Testing period start date. The date that I want my 90-day testing period to begin is: / / (month/day/year) Processing period. Do not ca about the status of your appication unti at east 30 days have eapsed since you maied your appication. Doing so wi ony further deay appication processing. Candidate information. Last four digits of Socia Security number: First name: Midde name or initia: Last name: (Your name wi appear on your Scheduing Permit as isted above. Refer to Test center identification requirements. ) Permanent address: City: State: ZIP: E-mai (required): (Add CMAExam@aama-nt.org to your approved e-mai ist.) Work phone: Ceuar phone: Home phone: Previous ast name: For office use ony Rec d Batch ID Order Mai competed appication, documentation, and payment to: AAMA Certification 7999 Eage Way Chicago, IL Use compete 9 digit ZIP code Exam fees. Check the appropriate box: o Competing CAAHEP/ABHES student/recent graduate...$125 o AAMA member...$125 o AAMA nonmember...$250 Expired CMA (AAMA) credentia reactivation fee o Reactivation fee (in addition to exam fee above)...$50 Encosed is my: o Money order #: * o Cashier s/certified check #: * o Institution check number #: * Charge my credit/debit card checked beow: o AmEx o Visa o MC o Discover Card #: Expiration date: Cardhoder name (print neaty): Cardhoder signature: Do not send persona checks. Appications that do not incude proper payment may be returned and wi deay your testing. A $25 administrative fee wi be assessed for chargebacks, decined charge payments, or returned checks. Candidate fees are nonrefundabe and nontransferabe. *Make payabe to the American Association of Medica Assistants or AAMA. Rev 11/14