An RMA in the medical field stands for Registered Medical Assistant. It’s a professional certification issued by American Medical Technologists (AMT) for people who perform both administrative and clinical tasks in doctors’ offices, clinics, and other healthcare settings. The credential signals that a medical assistant has passed a national exam and met specific education or experience requirements.
What an RMA Actually Does
Registered Medical Assistants are generalists. They split their time between front-desk work and hands-on patient care, which makes them valuable in busy outpatient practices where staff wear multiple hats.
On the clinical side, RMAs room patients, take vital signs, record medical histories, administer injections, draw blood, perform EKGs, remove sutures, change dressings, and run certain lab tests. They also sterilize equipment, prepare exam rooms between visits, and educate patients on discharge instructions, medication dosing, and treatment plans.
On the administrative side, they answer phones, schedule appointments, register patients in the practice management system, capture insurance information, verify eligibility, and obtain referrals or prior authorizations. Most RMAs are also expected to be comfortable with electronic health records, e-fax systems, and order-processing platforms used by affiliated hospitals and labs. In smaller practices especially, you might bounce between checking a patient’s blood pressure and verifying their insurance coverage within the same hour.
How RMA Certification Works
The RMA credential is earned by passing a certification exam administered by AMT. The exam contains 210 multiple-choice questions and has a two-hour time limit. It covers four main areas: anatomy and physiology, administrative medical assisting, clinical procedural tasks, and clinical patient interaction.
Eligibility is relatively flexible compared to some other medical assistant credentials. You can qualify through completion of a medical assisting education program, but AMT also accepts candidates with extensive work experience in the field and military medics transitioning to civilian healthcare. This broader set of pathways makes the RMA accessible to people who didn’t follow a traditional classroom route.
Once certified, you maintain your RMA status through a continuing education cycle. AMT requires 30 points over every three-year period (roughly 10 per year). These points come from activities like workshops, coursework, and professional development.
RMA vs. CMA: How They Compare
The other major medical assistant credential is the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), issued by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). Both are nationally recognized, and the day-to-day job for holders of either credential looks essentially the same. The differences are mostly about the path to getting certified and how the industry perceives each one.
The CMA is often considered the “gold standard” because it’s been around since 1963 and has stricter eligibility criteria. CMA candidates generally must graduate from an accredited medical assisting program. The CMA exam has 200 questions spread across four 40-minute segments, covering similar content areas as the RMA. In highly competitive job markets, some employers prefer CMA holders, though this varies by region.
The RMA’s main advantage is accessibility. Its broader eligibility pathways, including routes for military-trained medics and experienced assistants, open the door for people whose backgrounds don’t fit the CMA’s requirements. Both credentials are respected, and most employers accept either one. If you’re comparing the two, it often comes down to which certification you’re eligible for and what employers in your area tend to prefer.
Salary and Job Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t break salary data down by certification type, but the overall numbers for medical assistants give a clear picture. As of May 2023, the median annual wage was $42,000, or about $20.19 per hour. Those in the bottom 10% earned around $33,500, while the top 10% earned $56,480 or more. Pay varies significantly by location, employer type, and years of experience.
The job market is strong. Employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 12% from 2024 to 2034, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. That growth is driven largely by an aging population needing more outpatient care and by the expanding role of medical assistants in team-based primary care models. Holding an RMA certification generally gives you a hiring advantage over uncertified candidates and can open doors to higher-paying positions or specialty practices.
Where RMAs Work
Most RMAs work in outpatient settings: family medicine offices, internal medicine practices, pediatric clinics, and specialty offices like dermatology, orthopedics, or cardiology. Urgent care centers, community health clinics, and outpatient surgical centers also employ medical assistants heavily. Hospital-based outpatient departments hire them too, though inpatient hospital floors typically use nurses and other clinical staff instead. The variety of workplaces means you can shift between specialties over your career without needing a new credential.