Preparing for the medical assistant certification exam is best done as you take the course. If you keep reviewing and correcting your work on course lessons, class lectures, quizzes and tests, with help from your instructor as you go along, you won't have the added stress of trying to cram for the exam at the last minute. Rather, in the weeks before the medical assistant certification exam, you can simply review your corrected completed material as well as take some practice tests.
By contacting a professional medical assistant association in your country or area, you can get information on how to find practice tests that are closest to the questions on the actual exam. For instance, in the United States, the American Association of Medical Assistants has practice tests available. You can also check bookstores for books designed for studying specifically for the medical assistant certification exam.
While your course instructor certainly can't inform you of the exact types of questions that will be on the exam, he or she will probably be able to advise you of what the test will cover. In order to be sufficiently prepared to take the medical assistant certification exam, you'll need to know exactly what to expect. For this reason, full practice tests modeled on the actual exam can be the most helpful. By taking some full-length practice exams, you can also use a timer so that you'll be practicing how to pace your time to properly finish the entire test.
Be sure to study all of the components of your medical assistant course thoroughly. Patient care, anatomy, medical terminology, record keeping and laboratory procedures are all required knowledge for certification in medical assisting. If you tackle each subject that will be on the exam separately by going through your coursework and notes to create detailed questions with answers, this comprehensive study method can really help you be prepared. You should start weeks before the exam date and keep reviewing all of your self-made practice tests. If another student in your class also turns textbook facts into questions with the correct answers, the two of you can exchange your practice test sets for extra study.
The night before you take the exam, spend only a few hours going over all of your study materials quickly. If you find that you're still unsure of a few answers, make a note of these and take a few minutes to memorize the correct answers. It's a good idea to prepare as much as possible for your test day by selecting the outfit you'll wear and placing the item's you'll need to take by your front door.
Make sure you'll have needed identification, transportation money, lunch or snacks and other items. If possible, spend a quiet evening at home and get to bed early to allow yourself plenty of time in the morning. This way, you may even have time for one more quick review of your study materials before you take the medical assistant certification exam.
