How to Become a Medical Assistant in Wisconsin

Who can apply

• Wisconsin has no license for medical assistants. Physicians delegate medical acts to unlicensed staff and must supervise them adequately under Medical Examining Board rule Med 10.
• To take x-rays without a radiographer license, you need a Limited X-Ray Machine Operator (LXMO) permit from the Radiography Examining Board: at least 18, high school diploma or equivalent, a Board-approved course, and the ARRT-developed Wisconsin limited scope exam.

Step by step

1. Finish a medical assistant program or get on-the-job training from your employer. Wisconsin does not require a set program.
2. (Optional) Pass a national certification exam (CMA-AAMA, RMA-AMT, CCMA-NHA or NCMA-NCCT). Wisconsin does not require one.
3. If you will take x-rays, complete a Board-approved limited x-ray course through a JRCERT-accredited program, apply to DSPS for an LXMO permit ($65), and pass the Wisconsin limited scope exam through ARRT.
4. Work on tasks your physician delegates and supervises.

Training and exam

Training: No state-mandated medical assistant program. Med 10.02 says adequate supervision means the physician is competent to perform the delegated act and has reasonable evidence that the supervised person is minimally competent to perform it. For the LXMO permit, the course must be Board-approved, given through a JRCERT-accredited program, and include at least the ASRT limited scope of practice curriculum.

Exam: No state medical assistant exam; national certification is voluntary in Wisconsin. The LXMO permit requires the Wisconsin examination for limited scope of practice in radiography developed by the ARRT. You pay the exam fee to ARRT after DSPS authorizes you, and you may make no more than 3 attempts in any 12-month period.

What it costs in Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin

What a medical assistant can do in Wisconsin: Wisconsin rules do not list medical assistant tasks. A physician may delegate medical acts, but under Med 10.03(1)(L) it is unprofessional conduct for a physician to fail to adequately supervise delegated medical acts by licensed or unlicensed staff.

What a medical assistant cannot do: Med 10.03(2)(k) makes it unprofessional conduct for a physician to aid or abet the practice of medicine by an unlicensed, incompetent or impaired person. A physician should delegate only acts the physician is competent to perform and the assistant is shown to be minimally competent to perform.

X-ray: Wis. Stat. chapter 462 limits radiography to licensed radiographers, LXMO permit holders and exempt practitioners. An LXMO may do radiography only within the limited body areas the statute sets, and only on the order of a qualified prescriber. Apply through DSPS LicensE.

Sources

• Wis. Admin. Code Med 10.02 - Definitions (Cornell LII)
• Wis. Admin. Code Med 10.03 - Unprofessional conduct (Cornell LII)
• DSPS - Limited X-Ray Machine Operator
• DSPS - Limited X-Ray Machine Operator: Initial Permit
• DSPS - Credential Fees and Renewal Dates
• Wis. Stat. chapter 462 - Radiographers and limited X-ray machine operators
• Wis. Admin. Code ch. RAD 3 - Limited X-ray machine operator permits (Cornell LII)