INTRODUCTION

The profession of Assistant Medical Officer began in 1786 under the name of Dressar. Began
to be established in Penang and then in 1823 Dresser was already in the state of Penang, Melaka and
Singapore. In 1936 Dresser's name was changed to the name of Pembantu Rumah Sakit or Hospital
Assistant (HA). In 1957, the year of Malaysia's independence, Hospital Assistants were also known as
Hospital Assistants (HA) with the existence of the position throughout Malaysia. In 1961, the
"National Union Of Hospital Assistants" (NUHA) was officially registered. The Hospital Assistant
(Registration) Act, was enforced in 1977. Along with career development, In 1985 the name of
Hospital Assistant (HA) was changed to the name of Medical Assistant (MA).

In 1986, the Malaysian Medical Assistants Association was officially established. In line with
the changes to the profession, the Medical Assistant certificate was recognized as a Medical
Assistant Diploma by the Ministry of Health Malaysia in 1989. In 2007, the Name of Medical
Assistant (MA) was changed to Assistant Medical Officer (AMO). Profession Transformation is
growing in line with the development of medical technology today with the existence of the
Integrated Scheme. Creation of Positions for Assistant Medical Officers graduate to the Management
and Professional (P & P) scheme. The function of the Assistant Medical Officer is to provide curative,
promotive, preventive and rehabilitative care services to all levels of society.

Moreover, as umbrella organizations, they are able to assist individuals and members of the
organization through education, networking, quality control and research. The Malaysian Association
of Medical Assistants (MAMA) is a professional association representing the medical assistant
profession in the country. The serving AMO must be registered under the Malaysian Medical
Assistants Association (MMAA) so that the scope of work and services can be used without any
problems in the future. With the existence of this MAMA, registered AMOs are directly bound by the
laws and acts under this association. The existence of this association, members of the association
will be protected and taken care of if faced with any issues or problems.

Most professional associations have three major constituents which are the to the public,
the profession itself and finally toward the individuals that part of the associations and they have
different roles to play in each constituent (Kozier, 1995). It can’t be denied that by joining the
MAMA, AMO will get a lot of benefits and advantages for themselves.
 THREE (3) IMPORTANT ELEMENTS THAT WILL BENEFIT THE MEMBERS

Healthcare associations such as Malaysian Association of Medical Assistants (MAMA),

represent a collection of professionals who work towards the common goal of promoting and
improving the medical profession they are associated with. These healthcare organizations
champion their members by providing resources, information and opportunities they might have not
had otherwise. Members are bonded together as they advocate for their peers and share their
challenges and triumphs among one another. Joining an association provides members with a
competitive advantage because they become active, informed members within their industry.

The first element that will benefit the members who are registered with the MAMA is the
individual AMO will gained and increased their power. This mean that a professional AMO needs and
uses power in every aspect of their professional life, from attending patients to negotiating with the
administration for increased independence of practice. The power of association is huge. We live in
an age where it is more about who you know than what you know. No matter what stage you’re at in
your career, belonging to a professional association can be advantageous. When you join an
association, you’re aligning yourself with others who want the best for the community in which the
association is a part (PAC, 2018). For example, in clinical area, the AMO is the first person who will
approach a patient and begin initial treatment before the doctor takes over the patient for further
treatment. This can be seen when an AMO uses the power he has to carry out a given task, which is
to provide treatment to patients. With the authority given in this context, the patient and other
individuals cannot obstruct and dispute the task that has been assigned and attached to it. As for the
scope of administration, the AMO uses the authority given to it to consult with the administration of
a department or a larger platform to enhance independence of practice. For example, AMO uses its
power to provide opinions and views on matters that involve the direction of the AMO profession
itself so that this profession will continue to grow and develop, as well as encourage other AMOs for
members of the profession registered with MAMA. Clearly, an individual AMO would not have much
power but AMOs grouped as an association would increase their potential power significantly. This
can be seen when all members of the association are united and together in solving any problem or
in an effort to advance the profession, any decision and result will provide advantages and benefits
to the members of the association without any prejudice and favoritism.

The next element that will benefit the members is, it will maintain standard of AMO if they
are registered with the MAMA which is the umbrella organization for this profession. Dedication
given will set a high-quality AMOs standards, improved care and increased benefits to major
organization have let to improved care and increased benefits to the public as whole (MAMA, 2018).
First, let’s dig in within the context of high-quality AMOs standards. Ministry of Health Malaysia has
issued Standards and Guidelines for the Medical Assistant Education Program in an effort to produce
a new generation of AMOs that are of better quality and have higher standards, while maintaining
existing standards. With this guideline, there will be AMOs who have a high level of knowledge and
skills to achieve the current needs of the country's health services in addition to achieving the vision,
mission and objectives of AMOs and then the Ministry of Health. To produce quality AMOs must
start from the beginning, that is from the beginning of admission to the Training Institute of the
Ministry of Health Malaysia (ILKKM) where new AMOs will be educated and formed according to the
vision, mission and goals that have been set. Through admission to ILKKM, AMOs will be applied the
values of governance, leadership and quality needed to become high quality AMOs. Through the
Compulsory Placement Program (PPW), the new generation of AMOs will gain the latest knowledge
and skills which will further enhance the level of patient care skills. Through this PPW as well, they
will perform work and procedures according to the standard operation procedure (SOP) that has
been set without causing harm to patients. At the same time, patients do not have to hesitate and
worry when treated by this new generation of AMOs because they have also been trained and given
adequate education while in the training institute before.

The final elements that needed and will benefit to the member is to produce representative
of the profession, so that the profession will be known and acknowledged its existence. The
Malaysian Association of Medical Assistants (MAMA) needs the precipitant and membership of all
AMOs to claim that it is truly representative of the professions and a large membership allows the
associations to speak ‘with one voice’ when making it beliefs about healthcare issues known to
politicians (Catalano, 2000). When the members of the association agree and unite, this shows that
MAMA exists and plays a role in advancing and enhancing the profession. It also ensures that the
voices of its members are represented and provides continuing professional development for its
members. We take the issue of the future direction of the AMOs profession as an example.
Previously, the careers of AMOs were only listed as AMOs and could not further their studies to a
higher level. With an association that always listens to the voice and cares about its members, now,
the career scope of AMOs is not tied to work in healthcare facilities only but is growing its branch. In
fact, nowadays too, AMOs can further their studies to higher levels such as Bachelor’s Degree to
PhD. This shows that with the MAMA, all matters related to the AMO itself will be brought forward
in order to produce more competent and quality AMOs, while providing the best service to the
community and the country.

It can be concluded that AMOs need as association in order to increase power, maintain
standard and produce representatives of the profession to speak for them. As a member of an
association, AMOs can develop their leadership skills, earn recognition and lobby for power. In other
words, associations and association members need each other so that the profession continues to
thrive in the future in line with the vision and mission that has been set.
 TWO (2) ADVANTAGES THAT CAN BE GAINED BY MEMBERS

Given the number of responsibilities we have to juggle daily, joining a professional

association is unlikely to be among your top priorities. But thinking this way may cause you to miss
the various benefits a professional association membership can get you. Most professional jobs have
their own bodies or associations, well in this case it is the Malaysian Association of Medical Assistant
(MAMA) for Assistant Medical Officer (AMO). Joining a professional healthcare organization in your
discipline or specialty can be a great way to expand your knowledge and network with a community
of your peers. Membership can also offer many other benefits and perks. First, let’s explore how
associations and organizations can boost your career.

The one of the two advantages that can be gained by members of the association is, it can
develop and expand leadership skills. Humans learn and adapt not only from reading, but also from
their own observations and experiences. New AMOs will have the opportunity to learn and socialize
with seniors and new members just like those in the association. During this time, they can learn to
adapt and subsequently blend themselves within this association. They can also strengthen their
relationship with each other and may even make new friends in this association. This professional
relationship will also help in the professional development of a person, where it will provide and
help access exclusively about the profession and the development of the profession that may be
useful to members of the association who register. As so many people in the same field are joining
the association you are now thinking about, you will have access to many who are dedicated to
advancing the same work you do. Associations like to hold conventions and seminars. This will give
you the chance to further your understanding of your field and meet the people who belong in it.
Furthermore, they will gain benefit from developing leadership and organizational skill to help them
in many phases of their professional and personal lives. One day in the future, one’s career may
flourish and will rise in rank. As an example, the career of such AMOs may evolve from a U29 grade
to a U32 grade or all at once to a U41 grade. Once in a higher grade, one needs to be a leader to
those under him and guide them to develop and develop the potential of the staff under his
supervision. Once they have joined the MAMA association, they have known how to organize and
know the function of the association as well as participate as active and effective members. This will
indirectly help and facilitate in daily work if they become the head or have staff under their
supervision one day.

The last benefits of being a member of MAMA is to earn recognition through certification.
Most associations have an assessment process that applicants must pass before they are granted
membership. As for MAMA, the memberships consist of several categories such as ordinary,
associate, student, foreign and honorary. Ordinary membership shall be open to all medical assistant
at least 18 years of age registered provisionally or conditionally with the Registrar of Medical
Assistants under Medical Assistant Act, Act 180. Associate membership shall be open to allied health
personnel who are qualified in their respective profession in Malaysia. Student membership shall be
open to student medical assistants in recognized Medical Assistant Colleges provided that the
student has prior written approval of the college head. Meanwhile, foreign membership shall be
open to medical assistants or any equivalent category or personnel whose normal place of residence
is outside Malaysia and honorary membership shall be conferred in persons who are distinguished in
public life or who have rendered meritorious service to medical and health sciences, to the medical
assistant professions or to this association. Some of the activities of the association are seminars,
exhibition and continued medical education (CME). These activities will provide professional
certification and AMOs will be recognized by compensation and position according to expertise as
MAMA will certify members professionals’ specialty levels. This means that, once you have
demonstrated that you have the requisite experience, qualifications and skills. This will help to
expand and enhanced your profession development indirectly. For the information, certified AMOs
often receive salary supplements and special opportunities. As and example, when you completed
your advance diploma or post-basic in respective sub-specialty, you will get extra salary supplements
of RM100.

It can be concluded here in general that joining MAMA is important for an AMO where this
association will help the members of the association directly and indirectly in the development of
one's self and career. The advantage of AMOs joining MAMA is that they are able to develop
leadership skills that can help them in the job phase that requires leadership and organizational
skills. The last advantage of joining MAMA is to earn recognition through certification. With a specific
certificate of association or career, AMOs will have recognized qualifications. For example, having a
certificate in a disaster management plan where it is important to show that a person has specific
knowledge and skills in the course where it cannot be disputed.
 CONCLUSION

There are many ways you can enhance your career in healthcare. Healthcare associations
represent a collection of professionals who work towards the common goal of promoting and
improving the medical profession with which they are associated. Members are bonded together as
they advocate for their peers and share their challenges and triumphs among one another. Joining
an association provides members with a competitive advantage because they become active,
informed members within their industry. Membership can also offer many other benefits and perks.
As a conclusion, it can be concluded that AMOs needs an association in order to increase power,
maintain standard and produce representatives of the profession to speak for them. As in this case,
the umbrella association for AMOs is the Malaysian Association of Medical Assistant (MAMA).
MAMA role is to establish a code of ethics and standards of practice to ensure safe practice in the
workspace. It also ensures that the voices of its members are represented and provides continuing
professional development for its members. As the member of an association, AMOs can develop
their leadership skills, earn recognition and lobby for power. Bottom line, medical associations help
advance careers. They provide a community of other practitioners that will help you grow in this
ever-changing field. Those who attend conventions, seminars, and learn from their peers end up
having much more rewarding careers than those who don’t.
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Kearney-Nunnery, R. (2008). Advancing Your Career : Concepts of Professional Nursing. Philadelphia:

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Malaysian Association of Medical Association. (2018, November Monday). Retrieved from PPP
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