How to Become a Medical Assistant in Kansas

Who can apply

• Kansas has no state license or registration for medical assistants. Under K.S.A. 65-28,127, a physician may delegate acts only to a person the physician knows or has reason to believe can do them competently.
• An unlicensed person may take x-rays without a radiologic technologist license if they work under the supervision of a licensed practitioner (or a hospital-designated person) and have been trained on the proper use of the equipment (K.S.A. 65-7304(f)).
• Unlicensed people who take x-rays under that exemption must complete 12 credits of continuing education every calendar year (K.A.R. 100-73-9).

Step by step

1. Finish a medical assistant program or get on-the-job training from your employer. Kansas does not require a set program.
2. (Optional) Pass a national certification exam (CMA-AAMA, RMA-AMT, CCMA-NHA or NCMA-NCCT). Kansas does not require one.
3. If you will take x-rays, get trained on the proper use of the x-ray equipment and work under a licensed practitioner's supervision.
4. Complete 12 continuing education credits each calendar year that include the x-ray equipment operator training subjects in K.A.R. 28-35-256.
5. Do only the tasks your supervising physician delegates and believes you can perform competently.

Training and exam

Training: No state-mandated medical assistant program. K.S.A. 65-28,127(a)(3) says a physician may delegate only acts the physician knows or has reason to believe you can perform competently. To take x-rays under the K.S.A. 65-7304(f) exemption, you must be trained on the proper use of the equipment and complete 12 continuing education credits each calendar year (K.A.R. 100-73-9).

Exam: No state medical assistant exam, and Kansas does not require national certification. Kansas does not require an x-ray exam for unlicensed staff who qualify for the K.S.A. 65-7304(f) exemption; they need equipment training and yearly continuing education instead.

What it costs in Kansas

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

Good to know in Kansas

What a medical assistant can do in Kansas: A physician may delegate acts that are within the physician's normal and customary specialty and competence, to a person the physician believes can do them competently, as long as the delegation does not violate another statute or regulation (K.S.A. 65-28,127). The physician must arrange a qualified substitute physician when temporarily absent.

What a medical assistant cannot do: A physician may not delegate acts outside the physician's own specialty and competence, or acts another statute or regulation reserves for licensed people. The Board of Healing Arts may adopt rules that further limit delegation.

X-ray: Kansas licenses radiologic technologists, but K.S.A. 65-7304(f) exempts an unlicensed person who takes x-rays under the supervision of a licensed practitioner (or a person designated by a licensed hospital) and has been trained on the equipment. Under K.A.R. 100-73-9, each exempt person must earn 12 continuing education credits every calendar year, including the x-ray equipment operator training subjects in K.A.R. 28-35-256.

Sources

• K.S.A. 65-28,127 - Delegation by licensees (Kansas Revisor of Statutes)
• K.S.A. 65-7304 - Persons exempt from radiologic technologist licensure (Kansas Revisor of Statutes)
• K.A.R. 100-73-9 - Continuing education; persons exempt from licensure (Cornell LII)
• KSBHA - Radiologic Technologists Practice Act