How to Become a Medical Assistant in Maine

Who can apply

• Maine has no state license or registration for medical assistants. Physicians may delegate tasks to employees and support staff under 32 M.R.S. 3270-A.
• To take x-rays in a practitioner's office you need a limited radiographer license (or a full radiographer license) from the Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners (32 M.R.S. 9854 and 9855).
• A limited radiographer license requires a board-approved traineeship, a course of study, a clinical training log, and a passing score on the ARRT Limited Scope exam.

Step by step

1. Finish a medical assistant program or get on-the-job training from your employer. Maine does not require a specific program.
2. Optional: earn a national certification (CMA, RMA, CCMA or NCMA). Maine does not require one.
3. If your job includes x-rays, finish the radiation safety training, then apply to the Radiologic Technology Board for a limited radiographer traineeship. Name your supervising practitioner and up to two categories: skull, spine, chest, extremities or podiatry.
4. During the 6- to 12-month traineeship, complete the approved course of study and the minimum number of supervised procedures. Send monthly progress reports to the board.
5. Once the board approves you, pass the ARRT Limited Scope of Practice in Radiography exam, then apply for the limited radiographer license ($100 plus a $21 criminal history check).
6. Work only on tasks the physician delegates. The physician must make sure you have the training to do them competently and safely.

Training and exam

Training: Maine has no state-mandated medical assistant program. Under 32 M.R.S. 3270-A, the delegating physician must make sure staff have the right training, education and experience for each delegated task. For x-ray work, the Radiologic Technology Board rules (02-465, Chapter 6) require a traineeship of 6 to 12 consecutive months. It includes a core curriculum (radiation safety, radiography, patient care), positioning courses for your categories, and a minimum number of procedures done under direct supervision.

Exam: Maine has no state exam for medical assistants, and national certification exams are voluntary. To get a limited radiographer license you must pass the ARRT Examination for the Limited Scope of Practice in Radiography: the core module plus the module for each of your one or two categories, with a passing score of 75%. You must take it at least once during your traineeship (02-465, Chapter 7).

What it costs in Maine

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 Maine

What a medical assistant can do in Maine: Under 32 M.R.S. 3270-A, a physician may delegate tasks carried out by custom and usage to employees or support staff when the tasks are under the physician's control and need no license, registration or certification under any law. The physician must make sure the staff have the right training and do the tasks competently and safely. The physician is legally liable for the delegated tasks, and the staff member acts as the physician's agent. Physician assistants (physician associates) may also delegate to medical assistants under their own statute.

What a medical assistant cannot do: A physician may not delegate any task that, by law, requires a license, registration or certification, unless you hold that credential. Taking x-rays is one example. Licensed limited radiographers may not do fluoroscopy, CT, mammography, bone densitometry, interventional radiography, or give radiographic contrast (02-465, Chapter 8).

X-ray: The Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners grants limited radiographer licenses for imaging in a licensed practitioner's office, or in certain physician associate or nurse clinics (32 M.R.S. 9855(4)). You may practice only in the one or two categories you trained in. You need 24 hours of continuing education every two years after your first renewal, or a current ARRT registration.

Change on January 1, 2027: Public Law 2025, chapter 738 repeals the Board of Licensure in Medicine chapter on January 1, 2027 and creates the Maine Board of Medicine (32 M.R.S. chapter 153). Its new delegation section, 32 M.R.S. 20151, names medical assistants directly: a physician or physician associate may delegate to employees, support staff or health care team members, including medical assistants, under the same conditions.

Traineeship rules: Apart from radiation safety training, you may not start training until the board approves your trainee application. Trainees may not use contrast or do mammography, CT, bone densitometry or fluoroscopy. You must take the ARRT exam at least once during the traineeship (passing score 75%). The traineeship cannot run past 12 months or be repeated, except for genuine hardship, and you may not take x-rays after it ends until you are licensed (02-465, Chapters 6 and 7).

Sources

• 32 M.R.S. 3270-A - Assistants; delegating authority (effective until 1/1/2027)
• 32 M.R.S. 20151 - Delegation by physicians and physician associates (effective 1/1/2027)
• 32 M.R.S. 9854 - Radiologic technology license required; exceptions
• 32 M.R.S. 9855 - Qualifications (limited radiographer license)
• 02-465 Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners rules (Maine Secretary of State)
• Maine Radiologic Technology Board - Limited Radiographer application
• Maine Radiologic Technology Board - Limited Radiographer