AAMA installs Estacada, Oregon resident as Vice President

St. Louis (MMD Newswire) November 12, 2014 — The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) met in St. Louis for its 58th Annual Conference. Paula Purdy, CMA (AAMA), was elected to the AAMA Board of Trustees as 2014–2015 Vice President. In this capacity, Vice President Purdy, a resident of Estacada, represents medical assistants across the nation. Medical assisting is an allied health profession whose practitioners function as members of the health care delivery team and perform administrative and clinical procedures.

Vice President Purdy states, “It is an honor to be serving the association and profession during this time of change in health care. These changes have put medical assistants in the forefront of the outpatient environment and have shown the medical community that a medical assistant is an important part of the health care team.”

Purdy brings a great deal of experience to her office. She has worked for the Medical Society of Metropolitan Portland for 30 years. She started as a receptionist and is now the Director of Operations and Manager of Medical Society Services Inc., which is an arm of the medical society. Purdy provides staffing for the outpatient environment and works closely with supervisors, managers, administrators, and physicians to find the right person for each position.

Purdy has served on many committees and strategy teams for the AAMA, including the Membership Committee, the Membership Development and Marketing Strategy Team, the Leadership Development Strategy Team, and the Awards Committee.

The purpose of the American Association of Medical Assistants is to promote the professional identity and stature of its members and the medical assisting profession through education and credentialing.

The AAMA offers the CMA (AAMA) credential, which verifies entry-level knowledge of medical assisting professionals. The CMA (AAMA) represents a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) who has been credentialed by the AAMA Certifying Board. The National Board of Medical Examiners-responsible for many national examinations for physicians-serves as test consultant for the examination.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of medical assistants continues to grow much faster than the average for all occupations.

Photos: Available upon request

Contact: Jean M. Lynch, AAMA Director of Communications and Marketing

800/228-2262