I’ll be taking the second licensing exam offered through the Health Science Clinical program—the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) test this week.

Earlier this year, we studied and took the exam for my Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license, so this semester, we work towards earning our CCMA license. The CCMA test is different from the CNA one because it’s entirely multiple choice, while the CNA test included both multiple choice questions and a practical skills portion.

I’m feeling more nervous for this test than I did for my CNA test. Since we’ve been rotating through hospitals this semester, we haven’t had any class time to review the material for the exam so all of our studying has been self paced and completed at home. We started covering the content back in January, so it’s been hard to remember everything.

Content-wise, this test also feels more challenging. The questions are a lot more specific to the CCMA role—things you wouldn’t necessarily know unless you were already working in the medical field. It covers a wide range of topics, from anatomy and physiology to insurance and health administration. In contrast, the CNA exam’s multiple choice questions were more straightforward and easier to reason through, even without prior knowledge.

Another difference is the passing score. For the CCMA test, I need at least a 78% to pass, whereas the CNA exam combines the written and practical sections, with a passing score around 70%.

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of content I need to review in the next few days. But by focusing on one unit at a time and taking a lot of practice tests, I’m hoping to feel more confident and prepared when the test day comes.