[irish6363]

katbaxt7, I couldn't agree more...very well said.

[BCCnurse]

I am not saying that one is better than the other I am simply stating that CMA's with a physician that trains them can do MORE than and LPN in some states, specifically Alaska. I have administered narcotics IV, per a doctors order and according to the state nursing board here a LPN can't do that. And we can administer medications as well as dispense them under the physicians order in Alaska. It does vary from state to state, but here we are allowed to by law.[/quote]

That is how it is in my state I currently teach the RMA program and they are certified by the AMT.They can do more than me in the clinical setting since they are directly under the MD's liscense.There is no governing board for my state as to their scope of practice.AMT simply states thet they can do anything they have been trained by the MD to do if that provider is comfortable leting them do under their liscense.

[pagandeva2000]

Originally Posted by BCCnurse

I am not saying that one is better than the other I am simply stating that CMA's with a physician that trains them can do MORE than and LPN in some states, specifically Alaska. I have administered narcotics IV, per a doctors order and according to the state nursing board here a LPN can't do that. And we can administer medications as well as dispense them under the physicians order in Alaska. It does vary from state to state, but here we are allowed to by law.

That is how it is in my state I currently teach the RMA program and they are certified by the AMT.They can do more than me in the clinical setting since they are directly under the MD's liscense.There is no governing board for my state as to their scope of practice.AMT simply states thet they can do anything they have been trained by the MD to do if that provider is comfortable leting them do under their liscense.[/quote]

I have a question for you...if a nurse works with a CMA in the setting of the doctor's office, does the CMA, in any way working under your auspice? If she makes an error while you are there as a Registered Nurse, are you liable in any way? This question always plagued me. Thanks...

[Kidaroo102]

There is a common misconception that MA's work under the nurses.....we do not......we work under the practioner....the actions of the CMA are those of the practioner written order so the legality is covered under their liscense when acting on the practioners wishes. Now if an MA does something without the direction of the practioner, then the MA is on their own so to speak. In the event the provider is a nurse practioner, then the sponser of the NP is the liscense in which we fall under....this is in Alaska. I am not sure about other states. There is malpractice insurance available to MA's as well.

[Hopefull2009]

MA's in my area, cannot find a job.

There may be a National Certification for an MA but it is not a regulated profession in my state. It is not considered a CNA equivalent and I have never seen or heard of an MA doing anything close to an LPN here.

[Hopefull2009]

Originally Posted by txspadequeen921

Found this interesting . It came off the Alaska board of nursing site....

http://www.dced.state.ak.us/occ/pub/...delegation.pdf

Well, that solves the mystery of who is responsible....clearly the physician.

It even specifically states that a Nurse Practitioner cannot supervise a CMA, that it must be the physician.

[time4meRN]

Originally Posted by Angela Ma

HI all,

I have just finished a medical assisting program and im now looking for a job. I have noticed alot of job openings for lpn but nothing for medical assistants. I was wondering first of all what is the difference? I can pretty much do everything an lpn can do. I was wondering if I applied to lpn positions would I be a candidate for lpn positions or would I be wasting my time? Please somebody answer my question I would greatly appreciate the advice.

This is why I feel MA schools need to be investigated and eventually MA's need to be regulated by BON's. NOOOOO ! an MA is not an LPN. I am an RN, I see what both do. An LPN has it over an MA. LPN's are regulated and have a scope of practice. That is why Dr's us MA's , they can do anything a Dr thinks they can do, therefore , it makes their (the dr's) life a little easier. The problem is the pt suffers. I can not believe what MA's can do in an office. When an MA worked in our ER, it was evident what she knew and didn't know. Things she said that made my jaw drop. Like, "yes, I know how to read the EKG" and don't forget the ever popular, as the dr was doing a difficult intubation, the pt's belly blew up like a balloon, it just so happened that at the same time the dr was able to get the tube in, the pt let a big fart. When the MA heard the fart she said, yep he's in for sure, and with a confident node of the head she walked away as if to say, mission accomplished. Good thing we didn't have to listen to breath sounds or check color change etc.. since the MA was there. Now to find out she is going to write questions and review answers on the CMA test in Ohio. I would assume it's because of her amazing ability to understand A and P and her ability to use critical thinking. To be quiet honest an MA has no buisness doing this. It should at the very least be an RN. So, is it a good thing if an MA can work in a Dr's office because they have less restrictions than an LPN. How would you feel if a flight attendat took charge of flying the aircraft because some piolet showed them how to do it. It's the same with MA's. These schools drive me absolutly nuts.

[shelly304]

The hospital I work for has begun hiring CMA's. Being the information junkie that I am, I set out to find out as much as I could about the MA profession since they are now working with me. The MA certification is national. Not state to state. So if she is telling you that she is writing questions and reviewing the exams (?) for the state of Ohio, I believe that would be a FIB! There is no OHIO exam. Only national exams given by several different certifying agencies across the US. If I am wrong, I apologize. My interest has been to find out as much as possible about their "scope of practice" since I am now working with MA's and knew very little until recently! California does require a secondary state certificate. One of our MA's moved from there. Any other info you may have and want to share would be helpful. Also, I am not trying to fuel the fire about the LPN vs MA debate. Simply trying to educate myself.

[BearyPrivate]

Kidarroo if you want to be an LPN go to school like the rest of us. I assure u LPN's are a lot more qualified than a certified med tech. How long are u in a class for maybe 6 weeks? No clinicals that put the pts life directly in your hands unless you pass the wrong pill. No they do not qualify you to handle the situation beyond the med error do they? So as to your statement a certified med tech cannot do things a Licensed Practical Nurse can do. So as I said go to school and earn a license, not a certificate.

[irish6363]

Well according to a close friend who is an MA here in CA. to work as an MA here, your certification/certificate is a bonus not a requirement for employment, therefore you can still work as an MA with just your MA school diploma, and certification just being an additional plus for you to be better qualified and hired by some more respectable medical establishments. Which they would more than likely want any MA to have before they consider you for work. In other words it is not the law so therefore no regulation or minimum standards are established by the state to uphold to or be accountable for. That is up to the specific employer to decide. Now that sounds at least to me very unsafe. There are standards that must be met no matter what when it comes to any and all patient care. Any person wishing to hide federal arrests, criminal arrests, drug convictions etc, can successfully evade the process and work just fine at a clinic or private practice with an employer not verifying this because it is not law here. In comparison to nursing where you cannot hide these factors for the state you work in WILL investigate and these things come up during your licensing and thereafter. So how anyone can say that we are the same based on that alone is sufficient for me to want a nurse to be at my beside rather than an MA. Just based on that alone, never mind the educational aspect of it...that is another story. I mean no offense to any MA's by no means it is just that each has it's place and they do not come even remotely close.