Membership

Membership dues:

Annual dues are tri-level and include membership at the National (AAMA), state (MSMA) and local levels (local chapter).

Dues for Active Members are $97.00 and $37.00 for students.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the AAMA or MSMA, please contact Pam Krist . If you would like to attend the MSMA meetings, you do not have to be a member.

MEMBERSHIP

Classes - There shall be eight classes of membership: active, life, sustaining, associate, international, student, honorary and affiliate. Membership in a component (local) chapter, a constituent (state) society, and AAMA shall be required for all classes except international and honorary, unless there is no constituent society and/or component chapter in the area. No other membership or quasi-membership classes shall be permitted by a component chapter or constituent society.

Qualifications

A. ACTIVE An active member shall be one of the following:*

  • An AAMA Certified Medical Assistant (CMA).
  • Anyone who was an active member on December 31, 1987, and who maintains continuous active membership. (Continuous active membership shall be defined as having dues postmarked to the Executive Office by December 31.)

B. LIFE A life member shall be an active member who has had life membership conferred by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Trustees for outstanding service to the Association. Only one life membership may be conferred in any year. Nominations with supporting documentation, submitted to the Board of Trustees at least sixty days in advance of the Annual Meeting, maybe made by the constituent societies or by a member of the Board of Trustees.

C. SUSTAINING Anyone who has been an active member for at least two years, who has retired from medical assisting, and who has not entered into another field is eligible for sustaining membership. This membership shall be forfeited if not renewed annually.

D. ASSOCIATE An associate member shall be any medical assistant who is not yet an AAMA-certified Medical Assistant (CMA and who does not fall into any other category).

E. STUDENT A student member shall be one enrolled in a medical assisting program and shall carry a minimum of six (6) contact hours per week per term. Student membership may be retained for one dues year after graduation if active or associate membership is not chosen. Student membership shall be limited to three years.

F. HONORARY An honorary member shall be one who is not eligible for active membership but has made outstanding contributions to the advancement of medical assisting and/or the Association. Honorary membership is conferred by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Trustees. No more than two honorary memberships may be conferred in any year. Nominations with supporting documentation, submitted to the Board of Trustees at least sixty days in advance of the Annual Meeting, may be made by the constituent societies or by a member of the Board of Trustees.

G. AFFILIATE An affiliate member shall be one who is not eligible for another category of membership but who is interested in the profession of medical assisting.

SUB CATEGORY--MEMBER AT LARGE - A member-at-large which cuts across all categories of membership. That is, an active, sustaining, associate, student or life member may either be a tri-level member or a "member-at-large" Or "independent state member") if no local chapter exists in the area. One who meets all the qualification for membership except that a component chapter does not exist in the local area in which they live or are actively employed. Such a member shall pay national and state dues. Membership-at-large shall terminate as soon as a component chapter is organized in the member's county or locale.

*As of January 1, 1988, requirements for active membership will be as follows. An active member shall be one of the following:

  1. An AAMA-certified medical assistant (CMA).
  2. Anyone who was an active membership on December 31, 1987 and who maintains continuous membership.

**Employed means provided with work that pays a salary. It does not say the person (i.e., physicians) who employs the medical assistant must personally sign the paycheck.

***Physicians eligible to become Service Members of the American Medical Association are those serving in the Air Force, the Army, the Navy or the U.S. Public Health Service.