Question about CMA (Certified Medical Assistants)!!!!

juliemcd · Jul 20, 2008

I see a chance to save someone from the mistakes I have already made and really want to let you know what I found out the hard way. Stick to your local community college or university! They are hard to get into, but well worth it.

I went the CMA route as well. It was great experience etc.... but same thing, spent a year in school, first job was very little pay and I couldn't get a job in a hospital. I ended up doing the CNA course later down the road in order to work in my local hospital. I should have just done that to begin with. Here, CNA's in the hospital make the same per hour as a MA. Maybe fifty cents less.

Also, if you are gearing up for nursing school, a hospital setting is a great place to be working as nursing school does almost all clinicals in the hospital. To be familiar with how a hospital operates etc... will be of great value to you once in nursing school and clinicals. On top of the fact that you have constant contact with nursing staff,, nursing interventions etx.....

hope this helps... let us know what you decide~ :) JuliemcdRN

mediatix8 · Jul 20, 2008

I know it would be a real bummer to not attend school this August because you all ready had it in your mind that you were going to this medical assistant class. But what will be an even bigger bummer for you is after you've studied for a whole year and paid all that tuition only to either not find a job at all or getiing one that pays you what you can make as a cashier somewhere. I really encourage you to think about going to LPN school instead. LPN's make good money and there is an awesome job demand for them compared to medical assistants. There's nothing sweeter than graduationg and having all these people calling you back and offering you good jobs. And as someone else said, there are trasition programs at all community colleges to go from LPN to RN. If you started out as an MA, you would have to start from square one in the nursing program. It might be more difficult to get into an LPN program- there might be waiting lists, and they aren't going to be as eager to have you in their program compared to the MA school. It is easier to get into a MA program for a reason- low pay. You can be a CNA in the meantime- they work in hospitals. MA's do not work in hospitals. Although a CNA normally does not do the technical things like phlebotomy some hospitals might train them to do that. Working in the hospital as a CNA, you get to familiarize yourself with what patients actually look like when they are in the hospital- chest tubes, IV's, trachs, vents, and you can watch the nurses and become more comfortable with all the sights, sounds, and smells of what real nursing is all about. Working in an office as a MA, you would be more trained than a CNA would be as far as EKG and phlebotomy, but you would never see most of what a CNA sees on a normal day.

Katie82, RN · Jul 20, 2008

When I worked as a Practice Administrator, I hired CMAs as my nursing staff. Most came from the same school, and were well trained. They triaged patients, did vitals, EKG, phlebotomy, injections, and IVs(extra class). Most were very savvy and I encouraged them to follow a career path to PCT to Nursing School. States vary as to what procedures they will allow CMAs to perform, but Maryland was pretty liberal. My folks started at $13-15 an hour, and I didn't feel they were making enough for their skill set, which is why I encouraged them to move toward the hospital.

Wolfe24 · Jul 20, 2008

Well im going to be learning all kind of nursing skills, such as electrocardiogram, phlebotomy, radiology and much more so i think its not that bad for a person that is learning im just really worried but what i have in mind is complete the course and then go to university and they'll transfer my credits there so it will be less time for the RN. My goals are to work in a hospital, can CMA work in a hospital?

This is simply not true. You're CMA credits wont transfer to any RN program I can think of. Generally you can't even transfer nursing school credits from one school to another. I would highly encourage you to go the CNA or LPN route if your end goal is to be an RN. At many schools, you'd have to take the CNA class before starting nursing school anyways, so why not do that now and start working? Btw, around here CNA and MA pay is very close. Also, CMA's do NOT work in hospitals.

CNA_Timmy · Jul 20, 2008

Again... I am a CNA (or PCA is what I am called in the hospital), and I make 13.50/hr + shift diff. I make far more than my MA friends (usually 9-11/hr) and they all work in doc offices and clinics. I work in the hospital, a nursing home, and a mental heath center. I do EKGs, draw blood, AND most importantly get to observe the nurses and the way a unit runs. PLEASE stick with CNA for a job, and take your nursing pre-reqs to get into nursing school!

cmocma · Jul 7, 2011

I have been a CMA for 3 years now and I make $13.10 per hour. I got hired on at $11.50 per hour. It all depends on where you can find a job.

cherrybreeze, ADN, RN · Jul 8, 2011

Well im going to be learning all kind of nursing skills, such as electrocardiogram, phlebotomy, radiology and much more so i think its not that bad for a person that is learning im just really worried but what i have in mind is complete the course and then go to university and they'll transfer my credits there so it will be less time for the RN. My goals are to work in a hospital, can CMA work in a hospital?

ECG, phlebotomy, and radiology aren't really "nursing skills." Different areas of nursing obviously have different nursing duties, but in my 10 years as an RN, I never performed any of these: ECG's were done by lab, phlebotomy was also done by lab (it is not quite the same as starting IV's), and radiology techs do xrays. So, these things will not really be beneficial to a nursing career in the long run.

CMA's also do not work in hospitals. As PP's have said, CNA's do. I would join the majority and suggest going that route. The pay is comparable, if not more, to be a CNA, and what you learn and do on the job is the basis of nursing care. Being an RN, you still perform those cares, with the addition of the rest of the duties limited to RN's only.

Try salary.com to compare the pay rates of CNA's and CMA's in your area. It won't help to get that info here, as pay rates vary throughout the country.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Jul 8, 2011

Here they make just above minimum wage to start, to about $9, top out at about $10 with experience. CNAs make the same but work in a hospital vs. an office.

"Well im going to be learning all kind of nursing skills, such as electrocardiogram, phlebotomy, radiology and much more so i think its not that bad for a person that is learning im just really worried but what i have in mind is complete the course and then go to university and they'll transfer my credits there so it will be less time for the RN."

None of these is a nursing skills and I seriously doubt they would apply in any way toward a nursing degree.

good luck whatever you decide