Medical assistant certification in Mississippi

There's a written policy from the State Board of Medical Licensure, called Policy 3.12, that allows physicians to hire trained allied health staff. It's posted on the Board's policies page.

Day to day, the physician you work for decides what you can do. Nothing they assign can go past your education and training, and they remain responsible for every bit of care you provide.

These Board rules affect how you'll work with a physician and identify yourself to patients.

• Supervision is direct: the physician should be in the clinic the whole time you're providing care.
• You may never hold yourself out as a doctor, physician assistant or nurse.
• While on duty, you wear a name tag that shows you're a medical assistant.
• The physician should let the malpractice insurance carrier know the practice has a medical assistant.

Taking x-rays in a physician's office calls for a Limited X-Ray Machine Operator permit issued by the Board. It only covers chest, abdomen and skeletal x-rays. Other imaging, such as CT scans, mammography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, contrast studies and fluoroscopy, is not included.

To apply, plan on completing 12 hours of radiologic technology education approved by the Board, with 6 of those hours focused on radiation protection. Under the Medical Practice Act, a new x-ray operator can take as long as 12 months from the start of x-ray duties to complete that education.

The permit costs $50, and you'll renew it every two years by completing 12 hours of continuing education, per the Board's application page. You'll find the complete rule in the administrative code.

Since the state doesn't license you, your training program is your main preparation. Our directory covers 1,094 medical assistant programs nationwide, 484 of which hold accreditation from CAAHEP or ABHES. Accreditation means an outside group, CAAHEP or ABHES, has reviewed the program.

Among the 378 career schools that report program length, the median is 9 months. At the 392 career schools that publish a whole-program price, the median is $17,257 for tuition, fees and books. At public colleges, the median is $4,346 for one year of full-time tuition and fees.

You can also find online programs. The classes happen through distance education, though the supervised clinical practice happens in person. Nationwide, 30 programs work this way, and 14 are accredited.

Across the nation, the median pay for medical assistants is $45,690 per year, or $21.97 per hour, based on May 2025 data (BLS). When you're ready to take the next step, visit our Mississippi program page, choose an accredited program and send that school a "Request information" form.