Medical assistant certification in Louisiana

No, it isn't. According to the Board of Medical Examiners, medical assistants can get their training from a physician, through a formal program, or in the military, and some go on to earn national certification. Getting certified is up to you, not a state requirement.

A medical assistant can perform services they have adequate training for, as long as the physician is right there in the building and can step in at once.

Since the state sets no required path, programs vary in how long they take and what they cost. Nationwide, the site lists 1,094 programs, with 484 of them accredited. Accreditation means a national organization has looked the program over.

Distance education classes are available in some programs, though the supervised clinical practice always happens in person. If you'd like to weigh accredited schools against each other, the state program pages include a "Request information" form, you choose the program you want and your details are sent to the school you selected.

Anyone who performs x-rays in a private physician's office or clinic has to be certified by the Board. A physician must also be on site, directly supervising your work.

New staff have to finish a course in radiological study and safety that the Board has approved, and the deadline is six months from the day you start with a physician. To get the Board's Private Radiological Technologist license, you'll need a high school diploma or the equivalent, completion of that approved course, and a $35 payment.

The rules here hinge on who supervises you. In an outpatient clinic, a registered nurse or an advanced practice registered nurse can hand off medication administration to an assistant, as long as the patients have conditions that are stable and predictable. The nurse has to stay in the office or suite with you for your whole shift.

Under this rule, hospitals, emergency rooms, and ambulatory surgical centers don't count as outpatient clinics.

There are also medications a nurse can never delegate to an assistant without a license:

• Drugs given through an IV
• Insulin
• Controlled substances
• Blood products
• Medications for cancer
• Anesthetics
• Oxygen
• Injectables used for cosmetic purposes

Board rules keep a physician from allowing an unlicensed person to practice medicine unless that physician stays physically present on the premises the entire time and keeps full responsibility. This is why your training and how your employer is set up count for more than any state credential.

Federal data for May 2025 show medical assistants earning a median of $45,690 a year, which works out to $21.97 an hour. To put that in context, nursing assistants make $42,260 and phlebotomists make $45,230, while licensed practical nurses make $64,400 and registered nurses make $97,550.

Want to start comparing schools? Pick the accredited program that fits you and send in its short form, your request goes straight to that school.