Ultimate Medical Academy

Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) is a nonprofit career education school that grants associate degrees and diplomas inallied health professions.

Ultimate Medical Academy

Type	Private,Allied health professions
Established	1993
Accreditation	Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools
Chair	Darlyne Bailey, Ph.D.
President	Thomas Rametta
Academic staff	783^[1]
Total staff	1,759
Students	29,017
Location	Clearwater, Florida 12°20′N98°46′W / 12.34°N 98.76°W /12.34; -98.76
Website	www.ultimatemedical.edu

UMA also has acontinuing medical education (CME) division that provides training to more than 50,000 physicians, nurses and other medical professionals annually.

As of July 2024, UMA has more than 90,000 alumni and more than 15,000 students nationwide.^[2]

Licensure and accreditation

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UMA is institutionally accredited by theAccrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.^[3] UMA’s Health Information Management program is programmatically accredited by theCommission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM).

History

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The school first operated inClearwater, FL in 1993 as Ultimate Learning Center, Inc.^[4] In January 2005, Ultimate Medical Academy, LLC acquired the school and expanded its program offerings, including the launch of online programs in 2009.^[5]

In 2014, Ultimate Medical Academy was granted a charter of theAlpha Beta Kappa National Honor Society.^[6] UMA’s chapter name is Epsilon Gamma of Florida Chapter. Clinical and Patient Educators Association acquired Ultimate Medical Academy in March 2015.^[7]

In 2022, UMA launched a new Emergency Medical Technician diploma program to train newemergency medical technicians in theTampa Bay area.^[8] This training program was developed in response to record high turnover among EMTs.^[9]

In September 2023, UMA Education, Inc., the organization that operates Ultimate Medical Academy, acquired American Institute, a career education school focused on healthcare training with five campus locations in Connecticut and New Jersey.^[10]

In 2024, theTampa City Council recognized Ultimate Medical Academy for 30 years of operation.^[11] Later that year the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges named UMA their School of the Year.^[12] UMA also earned recognition from Seramount, a professional services and research firm dedicated to advancing high-performing, inclusive workplaces, for being one of the best places to work for multicultural women^[13] and executive women.^[14]