Certified Medication Technician (CMT) Program

• Certifying Agency List
• Workshop Only List
• CMT Approved Training Agencies
• CMT Challenge
• CMT Status

CMT Program Information

The purpose of the Certified Medication Technician (CMT) training program is to prepare individuals for employment as a CMT in an intermediate care or skilled care nursing facility. The program is designed to teach skills in administration of nonparenteral medications that will qualify students to perform this procedure to assist licensed practical nurses or registered professional nurses in medication therapy.

The course consists of at least 60 classroom hours of instruction and a minimum of 8-hours of clinical practice under the direct supervision of an instructor. The class consists of instruction in these areas: basic review of body systems and medication effect on each system; medical terminology; infection control; and medication classifications.

An individual must successfully compete a final written examination and a minimum two-hour final practicum exam before a certificate can be issued and that individual's name placed on the Missouri State Certified Medication Technician (CMT) Registry.

The CMT Manual version 2008, effective October 30, 2008, and Test Bank are viewable at www.cmttest.org.

Student Qualifications

• Verification of a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate.
• Achieves a minimum score of 8.9 on both Vocabulary and Comprehension tests and a minimum score of 7.0 on Mathematics Concepts and Application on the Tests of the Adult Basic Education (TABE). The TABE test is administered by the public education sector. Effective April 1, 2019, due to the difficulty in administering the TABE 9/10 test, DHSS educational training agencies will no longer be required to ensure compliance with the TABE test requirement at 19 CSR 30-84.020(6)(2), (3)(A), or (10)(A). Students will not be required to complete the TABE test in order to enroll in the CMT training.
• Listed as active on the Missouri CNA registry and employed as an approved Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) for at least six (6) months prior to enrollment in the CMT course.
• Submits a letter to the training agency from the student's administrator or director of nursing recommending the student take the course or a letter from a previous long-term care employer if unemployed.

CMT Status

The CMT certificate or Insulin Administration (IA) certifications are directly linked to the status of an individual’s CNA status. If the CNA certification is inactive/expired then the CMT or Insulin certifications are also considered inactive/expired. When the individual has regained Active CNA status, the CMT and IA certifications will also be considered Active.

CMT Challenge

Challenge means that individuals who meet special criteria are not required to take the entire certified medication technician (CMT) course and will be allowed to take the final examination to become a CMT in Missouri. The individual must successfully pass the written and performance examination.

Individuals eligible to challenge the final exam include:

• Students enrolled in a professional nursing school or in a practical nursing program who have completed a medication administration course and who have a letter of endorsement from the school or program director (submit the following documentation: an official copy of transcript and a letter of endorsement from the school or program director verifying successful completion of a medication administration course) or;
• Individuals who successfully completed a professional or practical nursing program in the past five years but who failed the RN or LPN state licensure examination (submit the following documentation: copy of transcript and proof of state licensure examination failure) or;
• Individuals who provide evidence of successful completion of a state-approved certified medication technician course while working as aides at a facility operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health providing that an individual successfully completes the orientation module of the approved Nurse Assistant Training Program and challenges the course by successfully completing the final examination of that program so that his or her name appears on the Missouri Certified Nurse Assistant Register. This shall be completed prior to challenging the Certified Medication Technician course final examination (submit the following documentation: proof of completion of state approved medication course, letter verifying dates of employment in Mental Health and copy of CNA certificate or request to challenge the CNA exam) or;
• Individuals who have successfully completed a state-approved medication technician course in another state, who are currently listed as Certified Medication Technicians in good standing in that state (submit the following documentation: copy of out-of state certificate and a letter from the out-of state employer stating date of employment and position held).

All individuals who qualify to challenge the final examination must first challenge the CNA final examination if not already listed on the CNA registry.

Those individuals meeting any of the above requirements must submit a written request to cnaregistry@health.mo.gov. Each request must include a clear copy of the individual's social security card, return address, a daytime telephone number and the additional documentation as required.