AAMA Installs Claire M. Houghton, CMA (AAMA), as Trustee

SALT LAKE CITY, October 15, 2018 (Newswire.com) - The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) met in Salt Lake City, Utah, for its 62nd Annual Conference. Claire M. Houghton, CMA (AAMA), was installed as the 2018–2020 AAMA Trustee. In this capacity, Trustee Houghton, a resident of Spokane Valley, Washington, represents medical assistants and CMAs (AAMA) across the nation.

Medical assisting is one of the nation’s careers growing much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Medical assistants work in outpatient health care settings. Employers are seeking and recruiting these allied health professionals because of their uniquely diverse clinical and administrative patient-centered training.

Trustee Houghton states, “Certified medical assistants are at the heart of health care; not only do we believe in our patients, but we strive to help them enjoy their lives. We do this by continuing to educate the public, employers, … [and] patients about what we can do. We strive to be strong leaders and examples in our communities.”

Houghton brings a great deal of experience to her office. She has been in the medical field since 2002. She works in family medicine at a large multispecialty clinic in eastern Washington.

Houghton has served in many capacities for the AAMA, including as a member of the Task Force for Test Construction and the Leadership Development Strategy Team.

The Certified Medical Assistant (AAMA)—or CMA (AAMA)—credential represents a medical assistant who has been credentialed through the Certifying Board (CB) of the AAMA.

The CB of the AAMA was awarded accreditation by the International Accreditation Service (IAS) under ISO/IEC Standard 17024:2012, the global benchmark for personnel certification bodies, thus distinguishing the CMA (AAMA) from other medical assisting certifications.

A rigorous credential, the CMA (AAMA) is the only certification that requires postsecondary education. Only candidates who graduate from an accredited postsecondary medical assisting program are eligible to sit for the CMA (AAMA) Certification Examination. The CMA (AAMA) must recertify every five years. The National Board of Medical Examiners—responsible for many national examinations for physicians—constructs and administers the examination. As a result, the reliability and validity of the CMA (AAMA) credential are of the highest order.

Certification status is a matter of public record and may be released. Every day the AAMA responds to more than 100 employer requests for CMA (AAMA) certification verification—for both current and potential employees.

The mission of the American Association of Medical Assistants is to provide the medical assistant professional with education, certification, credential acknowledgment, networking opportunities, scope-of-practice protection, and advocacy for quality patient-centered health care.

Media Contact: 
Miranda Sanks
Senior Editor, Social Media Manager
[email protected]
800/228-2262
http://www.aama-ntl.org

Source: American Association of Medical Assistants