Clinical Competency
59%of exam
General
21%of exam
Administrative
20%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- CMA (AAMA)
- Questions
- 200 MCQ
- Scored
- 180 scored
- Pretest
- 20 unscored
- Time
- 160 min
- Segments
- 4 x 40 min
- Pass
- 405 scaled
- Scale
- 200-800
- Vendor
- PSI
- Credential
- 60 months
Exam Weights
Clinical 59 | General 21 | Admin 20
Clinical largestGeneral secondAdmin close180 scored
Medical vs Surgical Asepsis
Medical
- Clean technique
- Reduces organisms
- Routine care
Surgical
- Sterile technique
- Eliminates organisms
- Invasive care
Clean vs sterile
Clinical Picker
- Rooming patient→Vitals(Baseline)
- Medication ordered→Rights(Safety check)
- Blood ordered→Venipuncture(Tube protocol)
- Respiratory therapy→Nebulizer(Patient teaching)
- Chest pain→EKG(Provider order)
- Open wound→Asepsis(Contamination control)
- Abnormal vitals→Escalate(Patient safety)
Vitals
- BP
- Pressure force
- Pulse
- Rate + rhythm
- Respirations
- Rate + pattern
- Temperature
- Core estimate
- SpO2
- Oxygen saturation
- Pain
- Patient report
- BMI
- Weight-height ratio
- Growth chart
- Pediatric trend
Medication Rights
Patient drug dose route time document
Verify orderCheck allergiesDocument immediatelyEscalate mismatch
Disinfection vs Sterilization
Disinfection
- Surfaces/equipment
- Reduces microbes
- May spare spores
Sterilization
- Critical instruments
- Destroys spores
- Highest level
Reduce vs destroy
Intake Documentation
- CC
- Chief concern
- HPI
- Present illness
- ROS
- System review
- PMH
- Past history
- Med rec
- Medication reconciliation
- Allergies
- Reaction history
- FH
- Family history
- SH
- Social history
SOAP Charting
Subjective objective assessment plan
Patient saysYou observeProvider assessesPlan follows
Safety Infection
- Hand hygiene
- Transmission break
- PPE
- Barrier protection
- Sharps
- Immediate disposal
- SDS
- Chemical safety
- OSHA
- Workplace safety
- Exposure plan
- Bloodborne protocol
- Disinfection
- Reduce pathogens
- Sterilization
- Destroy spores
Procedures
- Asepsis
- Contamination control
- Sterile field
- No contamination
- Minor surgery
- Provider assist
- Wound care
- Clean + dress
- Suture removal
- Ordered procedure
- EKG
- Cardiac tracing
- PFT
- Lung function
- Nebulizer
- Aerosol medication
Specimens Lab
- Two IDs
- Correct patient
- Labeling
- At collection
- Venipuncture
- Blood collection
- Capillary
- Fingerstick sample
- CLIA-waived
- Simple testing
- QC
- Result reliability
- Chain
- Specimen custody
- Transport
- Preserve integrity
Pharmacology
- Right patient
- Identity match
- Right drug
- Order match
- Right dose
- Amount match
- Right route
- Path match
- Right time
- Schedule match
- Right document
- Chart match
- Lot
- Trace product
- Expiration
- Check date
Malpractice Ds
Duty dereliction direct cause damages
RelationshipBreachCausationHarm
Privacy vs Security
Privacy
- PHI use
- Disclosure rules
- Patient rights
Security
- ePHI safeguards
- Access controls
- Technical protections
Use vs safeguards
Law Picker
- Procedure risks→Informed consent
- Patient refuses→Informed refusal
- PHI request→HIPAA rule
- Possible abuse→Mandatory report
- Work injury→Incident report
- Task unclear→Clarify scope
Exam Facts
- Total
- 200 questions
- Scored
- 180 items
- Pretest
- 20 items
- Timing
- 160 minutes
- Segments
- Four blocks
- Breaks
- Between segments
- Pass
- 405 scaled
- Attempts
- Six yearly
Incident vs Chart
Incident
- Internal risk
- Quality review
- Not charted
Chart
- Clinical facts
- Patient record
- Care continuity
Risk vs care
Legal Ethics
- Scope
- State + policy
- Delegation
- Authorized task
- Negligence
- Unreasonable care
- Malpractice
- Professional negligence
- Consent
- Voluntary agreement
- Refusal
- Patient declines
- Confidentiality
- Protect PHI
- Incident
- Internal report
Communication
- Open question
- Broad response
- Closed question
- Specific answer
- Teach-back
- Verify understanding
- Interpreter
- Language access
- Empathy
- Acknowledge feeling
- Barrier
- Adapt approach
- Plain language
- Low jargon
- Active listening
- Clarify meaning
CPT vs ICD
CPT
- What was done
- Procedure service
- Supports charge
ICD-10-CM
- Why performed
- Diagnosis reason
- Supports necessity
What vs why
Admin Picker
- Diagnosis needed→ICD-10-CM
- Service billed→CPT
- Supply billed→HCPCS
- Coverage question→Eligibility check
- Payer preapproval→Prior auth
- Payment explanation→EOB
- Urgent symptom→Same-day triage
Billing Coding
- ICD-10-CM
- Diagnosis code
- CPT
- Procedure code
- HCPCS
- Supplies/services
- CMS-1500
- Professional claim
- EOB
- Payer explanation
- ERA
- Electronic remittance
- Copay
- Visit payment
- Deductible
- Patient threshold
Insurance Revenue
- Eligibility
- Coverage active
- Benefits
- Plan pays
- Prior auth
- Advance approval
- Referral
- Provider direction
- Denial
- Claim rejected
- Appeal
- Challenge denial
- Posting
- Apply payment
- Aging
- Unpaid balance
Scheduling Records
- Triage
- Urgency sort
- Template
- Provider pattern
- Block
- Reserved time
- No-show
- Missed visit
- EHR
- Electronic record
- Addendum
- Record correction
- ROI
- Release authorization
- Retention
- Keep records
Common Traps
Pretest items
Unmarked questions ≠ Treat all scored
Scope trap
Delegate within policy ≠ Never diagnose independently
Consent trap
Provider explains risks ≠ MA may witness
Specimen trap
Label at collection ≠ Never label later
Coding trap
CPT is service ≠ ICD is diagnosis
HIPAA trap
Minimum necessary ≠ Authorized disclosure
Last Minute
- 1.Clinical = 59%
- 2.General = 21%
- 3.Administrative = 20%
- 4.Pass = 405 scaled
- 5.Use two identifiers
- 6.Label specimens immediately
- 7.CPT = service
- 8.ICD = diagnosis
- 9.Privacy governs PHI use
- 10.Security protects ePHI
- 11.Patient can refuse
- 12.Scope follows state law
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