Learn More About the CMA Program

Welcome to the Massachusetts certified medication aide (CMA) training program. The CMA program is a 60-hour training designed to meet the state requirements to sit for the certified medication aide state exam. This training program is administered by CDDER/UMass Chan through the www.masscma.com training site.

This course is designed to train and prepare currently employed certified nursing assistants (CNAs) to safely administer medications through state-approved routes, under the supervision of a licensed nurse, to residents of long-term care facilities.

CNAs must meet eligibility criteria established by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH) in order to apply for the CMA program. Full application details {DPH application site}

Competency Expectations 

Upon completion of the CMA training program, students will be able to:

  1. Recognize what tasks are within the scope of the CMA role and ask for help when a situation is outside their scope.
  2. Describe common medication classes and purposes.
  3. Accurately measure and prepare medications for all allowed routes. 
  4. Verify the Six Rights before administering any medication.
  5. Use basic vital sign parameters to determine when to administer the medication.
  6. Follow label instructions such as “Do not crush” or “Take with food”.
  7. Accurately document medication administration.
  8. Follow safe medication practices during preparation and administration.
  9. Follow objective criteria in a prescriber’s order to determine when a PRN medication is indicated and administer PRN medications only when all listed criteria are met.
  10. Correctly count medications if required for administering non-narcotic, countable controlled drugs.
  11. Follow procedures for error reporting.
  12. Recognize and promptly report changes in a resident’s health.
  13. Identify signs of adverse reactions or side effects and notify the supervising nurse immediately.

Training Format: The CMA training is a hybrid model consisting of self-paced online learning modules, weekly instructor-led didactic sessions via ZOOM, and weekly skill session onsite at the LTC with a trained nurse preceptor. The full training takes 8 weeks to complete. Read more about the training format

Pretest Requirement: Students entering this program should be able to read and write in English at a competency level necessary to complete CMA duties. They should also be competent in basic math skills. These skills are assessed through a pretest. Applicants are advised to take the pre-test to assess their suitability for further training. Details and sample questions are available in the Pretest Guide.

CMA Application, Training, and Testing Process

  • Potential CMA students apply on the MA DPH site and pay the training and testing fee.
  • If the application is approved, students will have an account automatically created for them on the Masscma Training Site. Students are notified by email when the account is ready.
  • Students log into the training site and navigate to the pre-test course and attempt the pre-test.
  • If the student successfully passes the pre-test, the student then completes a Readiness Quiz. The purpose of this quiz is to identify their onsite preceptors.
  • The CMA Program Director will review the responses to verify that the preceptor identified has completed the required Preceptor Course. Read more about becoming a Preceptor
  • Once successfully verified, the student may schedule their training course! Scheduling is done online, through www.masscma.com. Training dates will be offered beginning June 2026.
  • After successfully completing the 8-week Knowledge and Skills portions of the course, the student is eligible to schedule their Certification Test with D&S DT. Read more about Testing policies and procedures

Attendance: To sit for the state examination, a student must complete the full 60-hour training program. Attendance for the entire 60 hours is mandatory.

Grading: An 80% score must be achieved on all training quizzes and on each of the skills to successfully pass this training. Critical steps are identified in each skill. If a critical step is missed, it is an automatic failure on the procedure and it must be redone. Upon successful completion of the training program, the student is eligible to sit for the certification exam. This training does not guarantee placement on the medication aide registry.

FAQs

Contact Information: masscma@umassmed.edu