^{By Donald A. Balasa, JD, MBA
Originally published October 23, 2024}

I received the following interesting and important question from a CMA (AAMA):

I graduated from an accredited medical assisting program and am a current CMA (AAMA). Is it permissible for me to train and verify the competencies of medical assistants at my place of work who have no formal training, have been trained on the job, and do not have a medical assisting credential?

State law does not forbid medical assistants from training other medical assistants on the job. Such training must be done under the authority of a delegating licensed provider (such as a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant).

However, my legal opinion is that a licensed provider (or a qualified licensed professional, such as a registered nurse) should verify in writing the knowledge and specific competencies of the medical assistants trained on the job by another medical assistant. I base my opinion on the fact that the delegating provider is legally liable for any negligence by a medical assistant working under the provider’s authority and oversight.

This is especially important because there are both formally educated and on-the-job trained medical assistants in your place of employment. If the competencies of the on-the-job trained medical assistants have not been verified by a delegating provider, the provider may be at a greater risk of being found liable for negligence in delegating to medical assistants who have less training than other medical assistants in the specific delivery setting.