What AAMA's top award rewards, who can win, and how it can boost your career
Winning at the national level and earning a local employer award sit on opposite ends of the recognition spectrum. On September 14, 2026, the American Association of Medical Assistants presented its Medical Assistant of the Year honor at the annual conference in Reno, Nevada, where a New Hampshire medical assistant with a CMA certification and 13 years of practice took the stage.
The gap between a peer-nominated national award and a clinically driven local nomination is wide, but both can move a medical assistant certification holder's career forward. Recognition alone rarely raises pay; it changes which doors open next.
Brian Stimpson's path to the Medical Assistant of the Year award was not a straight line from classroom to stage. Stimpson, a Certified Medical Assistant at Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough, New Hampshire, received the honor from the American Association of Medical Assistants on September 14, 2026, at the AAMA Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada.1 The Ledger Transcript reported the award after Stimpson was nominated by the New Hampshire State Society of Medical Assistants.
Before medical assisting, Stimpson worked in home care and served 13 years in the U.S. Army. He then spent 13 years as a CMA, joined Monadnock Community Hospital in 2021, left briefly to work in Manchester, and returned to work with Monadnock Orthopaedics Associates. That non-linear route shows a CMA certification career change can be a deliberate mid-career move, not only a first job.
Alongside patient care, Stimpson has been an AAMA member since 2016, held board and committee roles, and chairs the Conference Continuing Education Task Force. He also helped plan the Reno conference where the award was presented. For students, the lesson is practical: clinical skill gets you qualified, but visible involvement in a state society or national committee, the medical assistant leadership roles hiring panels notice, is what often separates a nominee from a peer with similar tenure. He told the hospital, "Once I became a medical assistant, I realized this is what I was missing my whole life."1
The AAMA grants a peer-nominated Medical Assistant of the Year award tied directly to the CMA (AAMA) credential and the AAMA annual conference. The AAMA grants this Medical Assistant of the Year award through its Excel Awards program.
The award goes to a medical assistant nominated by peers as an exemplary professional who has shown outstanding commitment to advancing the profession through national-level service. Nominees must be current CMA (AAMA) and AAMA members , a status you can reach through Online Medical Assistant Programs With AAMA Certification , and the person submitting the nomination must also be an AAMA member. Currently serving AAMA Board of Trustees members cannot be nominated.
Nomination packets include a detailed accomplishments statement, a professional resume, an AAMA resume showing involvement at all three membership levels (local, state, national), and at least two recommendation letters. Entries are judged by AAMA judges, with their findings reviewed by the AAMA Board of Trustees. The judges may choose not to grant the award if no entry has sufficient merit. Winners are saluted at an awards ceremony during the AAMA Annual Conference, and recognized on the AAMA website and in Medical Assisting Today. No cash prize or exact award package is stated in AAMA materials.
The 2026 Excel Awards deadline was July 15, 2026, and that window has closed. AAMA materials do not name individual judges or give a point-based rubric. For current-year deadlines, any updated prizes, or ceremony specifics, confirm directly on the AAMA site. A past winner must wait three years before being eligible for the same award again.
Medical assistant recognition can come from national organizations, state societies, credentialing bodies, or your own employer. Each award differs in who can nominate, what credential or membership you need, and when you have to apply. Use this comparison to choose the most realistic first target.
| Comparison point | AAMA Medical Assistant of the Year | State society awards (WSMA/NCSMA) | AMT Registered Medical Assistant of the Year | Employer or health-system award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who can nominate | Not stated in available source; verify directly with AAMA | Not specified in available WSMA or NCSMA materials; verify with the state society | Not stated in available source; verify directly with AMT | Typically supervisors, peers, or patients; process varies by facility |
| Credential or membership requirement | Source does not state; verify AAMA membership or CMA credential requirement | Not stated for WSMA; NCSMA says applicants are medical assistants practicing in North Carolina, but does not state a membership rule | RMA credential is implied by the award name; verify current AMT criteria | Usually current employment at the facility; national membership rarely required |
| Timing and deadlines | Presented at AAMA annual conference; deadline not published in source | WSMA 2026 nomination period is over; NCSMA deadline is January 5 each year before its annual convention | Selections announced each year at the AMT Annual Meeting; deadline not stated | Set by employer; often tied to performance reviews or a hospital recognition week |
| Primary scope | National award from AAMA | State or regional scope, such as Washington or North Carolina | National award for AMT Registered Medical Assistants | Single clinic, hospital, or health system |
Hospital and practice awards are usually the first recognition a medical assistant can realistically earn because they are local, nomination-driven, and less competitive than national honors. Texas Oncology's SUNFLOWER Award accepts nominations from patients, caregivers, and colleagues specifically for medical assistants. Judges look for skillful, compassionate care, professionalism, technical skill, teamwork, and work ethic. Logan Health-Shelby's Sunshine Award accepts nominations from patients, visitors, and employees for clinical staff including non-nursing caregivers; nominees must be in good standing. Moffitt Cancer Center's Sunflower Award lets patients, visitors, and family members nominate MAs or oncology technicians through its Sunflower Award nomination form, and the form asks for a specific situation.
These local wins create a documented record you can later use for state or national awards, and they give managers concrete examples for promotion talks.
No. The National Healthcareer Association (NHA) focuses on certification and employer workforce solutions, not a standalone national medical assistant of the year award.1 NHA's employer-facing tools, described in its medical assistant career pathways for healthcare employers resource, include clinical professional development ladders and recognition-and-rewards programs, but these are employer-specific rather than a universal NHA nomination process.
Ask your HR department or manager: "Does our health system have an MA recognition program, and how do I get nominated?" If none exists, ask about employee recognition committees or patient-satisfaction shout-outs that can document your performance.
For the 2026 AAMA Medical Assistant of the Year Award, eligibility is narrow: you need both a current CMA (AAMA) credential and active AAMA membership. Self-nomination is not clearly allowed, so plan to have an AAMA member nominate you.
Most recognition decisions now hinge on documented evidence rather than tenure alone, which changes how medical assistants should prepare. A nomination is rarely a surprise if you build the file first.
The strongest nominations pair a story with numbers. Keep a running log of scheduling no-show reductions, patient throughput improvements, charting accuracy, and training hours you complete or lead. Even a simple spreadsheet updated monthly gives you the evidence you need when a supervisor asks why you should be nominated.
Create one folder for dated patient compliments, supervisor emails, and thank-you notes from coworkers. Forward positive messages to it immediately rather than letting them disappear in an inbox. Those notes become the human side of an award packet and refresh your Medical Assistant Resume language with real, specific praise.
Mentor students or externs, join a committee or task force, and keep certification current with medical assistant continuing education. The latest AAMA Medical Assistant of the Year had served in board and committee roles since 2016 before earning national recognition. That is an example, not a required timeline. Even one small committee task can show you contribute beyond your clinic, and it often starts with simply raising your hand.
An award alone rarely comes with an automatic raise. Hiring managers for lead medical assistant and clinical coordinator roles care more about certification, documented leadership, and reliable performance. But a national recognition can be the evidence that pulls those pieces together.
Employer surveys and job postings point in one direction. Around 89% of employers prefer certified candidates, 71% say certification correlates with stronger performance, and 74% report certification is tied to higher pay.1 Lead medical assistant and supervisor postings commonly ask for CMA-AAMA, registered medical assistant certification, NCCT, or NHA CCMA credentials plus 3 or more years of experience. Some patient care supervisor roles require 3+ years and oversight of 5 to 15 staff.43
An award does not replace those requirements. It verifies them.
Winning Medical Assistant of the Year usually means you already have the things promotion committees look for: committee service, conference planning, precepting, patient satisfaction results, and steady credential maintenance. The award gives you a short way to prove it. In an interview, "I was named AAMA Medical Assistant of the Year" is less powerful than "I chaired a continuing education task force, maintained my CMA for over a decade, and helped train new MAs." The award simply gets the conversation there faster.
If recognition is on your resume, use it to support a move into lead MA, clinical coordinator, or educator work rather than expecting a direct raise. Keep your certification current, track CEUs, and document the measurable results behind the honor. That combination, not the trophy, is what moves you toward higher-responsibility roles and possibly a Medical Assistant to RN pathway.
National recognition such as Medical Assistant of the Year can strengthen a resume and open doors, but it does not directly set a paycheck. The table below shows approximate 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics earnings for medical assistants compared with a possible education pathway, health specialties teachers at the postsecondary level.
| Occupation | Total Employment | 25th Percentile | Median Annual Wage | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Assistants | 817,870 | $38,470 | $45,690 | $49,180 |
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 221,270 | $75,690 | $107,310 | $210,370 |
Hiring managers are spending less time on generic resumes and more time scanning for observable initiative. That shift makes an award, nomination, or committee role more useful than a long list of duties on a medical assistant resume.
Committee roles, continuing education planning, and precepting show that your manager can trust you with systems, not just tasks. On a resume, group those under "Professional Leadership and Continuing Education" instead of burying them at the bottom.
Use a gap, action, result structure when answering medical assistant interview questions. For example: "I noticed follow-up calls after orthopedic procedures were falling through the cracks. I built a tracking checklist and trained two coworkers on it. Within a month, missed follow-ups dropped to zero."
Write "Nominated for Medical Assistant of the Year, 2026" with the year and the person or group that put your name forward. Do not imply you won. A nomination still tells a hiring manager that a leader saw your work as worth naming.
An award is a milestone, not a destination, and your next move should be deliberate: manage, specialize, or bridge to nursing. Brian Stimpson's path from Army service and home care to national recognition shows advancement does not happen in a straight line.
Recertification and continuing education are the common thread. A current CMA credential with CE in phlebotomy, EKG, or electronic health records keeps you eligible for each path. Check your expiration date now. If it falls within the next 18 months, schedule CE or plan your recertification exam window before the year closes.
