what the heck are medical assistant schools doing !

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm an RN, in the ER. I know of 4 people who, in my opinion have been rooked into MA (medical assistant ) schools. Each on of these people have been told that , MA , can do everything an RN can do. Not sure about you but I don't think the Cardiac Thorasic Dr's want an MA to care for a crashing patient at 2:00 am. My best freind completed an ma course, her med list MOM, TD, Botox(go figure why this is even on a med list for an ma)etc. As compaired to an RN list of inatrops, ca blockers etc..

Any one have any ideas of how to stop the practice of ma schools comparing ma 's to Rn's? :nono:

Specializes in Peds Cardiology,Peds Neuro,Pedi ER,PICU, IV Jedi.
I am honestly thinking of switching Dr's for my 5 mo old daughter, all b/c of the MA's in this office. I have called the office w/ a question a couple times now and asked to speak to a 'nurse.' I got the MA - and she totally gave me medical advice. I didn't find out it was the MA until the next day when I brought my daughter in and she says 'oh yeah, I talked to you yesterday on the phone.'

I don't think it is their fault, after all, they are being put into the position and they are only trying to do their job- but I am thinking of making a complaint.

Like I said...dangerous, and yes, it is their fault. She should have told the nurse "Sorry, I can't (legally) give out medical advice", which is the absolute truth.

I'm sure she was just trying to do what she was told, but sometimes (as in this case) MAs don't realize the liability they create for their employers when they give out medical advice as an "unlicensed" staff member.

I'd complain.

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i am glad that this topic was brought up because recently i was contemplating enrolling in a medical assisting program and wanted to obtain an associate degree. the first college that i checked out was brown mackie in cincinnati. the problem with bm is that their program would've cost over $18,000 and wasn't fully accredited.:nono:

i also checked out ivy tech in se indiana recently but have only met with them once. i am scheduled to take an assessment test there at the end of this month, but i've had a revelation: i swtiched "mental" gears and thought it might just be a better decision all around to pursue nursing.

i think i would really enjoy working in a doctor's office, but the median salary around where i live (from what i was told) is around $10 an hour, which isn't much. i can't travel to cincinnati for that because of the distance (in the event that i couldn't find a ma job around where i live and in turn would seek positions in the city).

i did check out the institute for medical and dental technology in cincinnati, and, while the program is $7100.00, a person doesn't get a degree but certification only. brown mackie tried 'warning' me about this type of school.

i believe that all of us medical professionals, whether we're lpns, rns, mas, etc. all have a vital role to play in the healthcare industry. i think that as long as a person is happy and qualified/skilled at whatever job they're doing, that it is what ultimately counts.

i do agree that these commercials, although i've not seen any on our local tv stations, shouldn't be deceptive. my ob/gyn has a "key" ma whom he refers to as "my nurse," although when questioned by me because of my interest in working in healthcare, admitted that she's an ma but did acquire an associate degree, but that's how he refers to her when he and i spoke on the phone. the other girls in that office went to imdt in cincy, so i know that they don't have an actual degree.

i do not know what his "main gal" makes per hour, nor do i know what the others' salary could possibly be. i did give him my resume recently at a post op visit, but i've not heard anything back from the office, most likely because i don't have experience working in a medical setting. i'm not even sure if there's an actual rn or lpn in that office. if the caregiver who's working on me knows what they're doing, i'm not worried whether or not they have an actual degree or just a certificate, but it is interesting to see the variation of "titles" that a person has working in these offices.

i would imagine that those girls who went to that medical/dental tech school wanted a quick way to obtain a job and chose that route.

hoosier

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Specializes in OB/GYN.

I have to say that I followed this thread because I too, fell into this. But for me it was more of my kids are in school now, I don't want to work at a minunum wage job, so lets see what I can do. Being an MA did get my foot in the door and I discovered I do like my job a lot. ( I work for a OB/GYN office) It is interesting we have RN's, LPN's and MA's doing the same job pretty much. Of course I'm sure the pay is much diffrent!!:wink2: As it should be. I however do not refer to myself as a nurse. OR A MONKEY OR THAT MATTER. I don't want to be sued! I started at $12.00 and really love what I do. I only do the clinical stuff and would hate having to deal with insurance so I'm mulling over the idea of a 1 year LPN program. In fact that is what I think I wanted to do before I was talked into MA. But I have to admit to a giant math phobia. sigh.

As to the monkey comment, not to be rude myself, but really.....? You think of MA's as trained monkeys? Isn't that a bit rude? I don't think a monkey could have tried to find fetal heart tones on a young woman and then comforted her when we couldn't find them. Nor do I think a monkey could assist in the many GYN procedures we do. ie.. LEEP's EMB etc.....

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Yeah the monkey comment was uncalled for, you do realize that is the exact argument I've seen over on SDN aout why NP/CRNAs shouldn't be able to utilize the knowledge and skills that they have. CMA's are not as educated or skilled as nurses LPN or RN, but they are NOT trained monkeys.

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I have several students in my nursing class that are MA's, and realized the difference. I think the entire difference would be in the Nurse Practice Acts. The 2 are not equal!

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Specializes in OR.
To me the larger issue is the problem of these for-profit vocational schools that mislead the naive who want to do better in life. Their misrepresentation applies to many other certificate programs, not just nursing and/or MA.

For example, in my city there is a for-profit school advertising their medical coding certificate program on the radio. They advertise "make $50,000 per year as a medical office coder!"

Less than 1% of medical coders in my city earn 50k. More like 30k per year.

So I guess I see it as an industry-wide problem of misleading the naive who want to do better. I went with a relative to one of these private vocational certification programs for an info session once, and the high pressure commission 'career counselor' made me want to:

:barf02:

Absolutely! I paid less for my RN(about $14,000 less) than I did for my surgical technology degree(that one cost about $20,000 for 2 years!) In this area, there is a commercial for one of these places that says "Maybe you always wanted to be a nurse, but couldn't afford it." Ummm, if you go to the nursing school I graduated from you'll pay far less than you would for an MA certificate from one of these "pseudo colleges". It's wrong that they sucker people in like that, especially when these are people who want to make their life better. I ended up calling the number they gave on the TV and asked how much their program was and then told them about how in many instances you can get your RN for far less than what they charge. They hung up on me.:rolleyes:
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I just love how you're so respectful of other professions! I just hope you aren't so rude with the CNA's you work with. :monkeydance:

Yes Sir/Madam, I'm not rude to anybody.

CNA, MA, UAPs and other fellows at a workplace are decent and hardworking people who are just trying to make a living.

Is the profit-driven greedy MA schools that exploit their students by telling them lies -- they will have the same skills like RN and they will be earning lots of $$$. So is not the MAs fault; it's the system that takes advantage these people's desire to work. That's what I meant "MONKEY BUSSINESS". :bugeyes:

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When I was 17/18, fresh out of high school, I went through a medical assisting course at the local community college. I was by far the youngest in the class; most of my classmates were stay-at-home moms or recently divorced women re-entering the work force. If I remember correctly it was a semester of combined pre-reqs (medical terminology etc) and administrative skills, a semester of clinical skills, and a semester of externship. There was no job placement assistance; the expectation was your externship would offer you a job and if they didn't that was okay because employers would be beating down your door.

For maybe half of my classmates that worked out, but I did poorly in my externship (aced my classes but didn't have the maturity, work experience, or self-confidence to actually do the work unsupervised, and the staff at the place had very little patience with me, which eroded my confidence even more) so after graduation I found myself without any job prospects. At that time there were very few job openings for m.a.'s and they all paid much lower than our instructors had led us to believe--some were barely above minimum wage. After nearly a year of unsuccessfully looking for a job I gave up and started working in another field.

I'm not totally sorry I took it, because I learned some skills that I've used in other jobs and in my personal life as well. I also think that if I ever go to nursing school it will help me because I won't be totally unfamiliar with some of the things I'd be learning...i.e. I would have a basic idea of some of the basics.

On the other hand, it was so long ago that many of the things we learned are incredibly outdated...for example, how to safely recap a needle, how to package gloves to be autoclaved (both sterile gloves and "clean" gloves), how to fill out a carbon-triplicate insurance form by hand (computerized billing? what's that?)...I really can't see this stuff still being useful.

I was lucky, because I still lived at home and could take my time looking for a job, but I can't help wondering what happened to the single moms and stuff who were relying on this program to get them a better job to support their families. These types of schools/programs target people who are stuck and are desparate enough to believe the advertising.

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EVEN A MONKEY CAN BE TAUGHT TO DO NURSING SKILLS.

HOWEVER, THE MONKEY WON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE HECK IS S/HE DOING.

THE MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF NURSING TASK IS EASY TO IMMITATE FOR FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT RN , BUT NOT THE CRITICAL THINKING REQUIRES DO EXECUTE THE JOB PROFESSIONALLY. THAT IS WHY RN SHOULD NOT DELEGATE TASKS THAT REQUIRES ASSESSMENT SKILLS.

YES, I AGREE THAT M.A. CAN DO THE MECHANICAL TASKS THAT AN RN DOES. THEY ARE PARTS OF "MONKEY BUSSINESS"

as I always said " workplace is a mordern jungle". so expect to see monkey wearing white uniform while inserting IV. Hey, somebody needs to bring banana on its table:wink2:

relax everyone...he's calling all of us monkeys (in essence) that are skill hounds...

I give the same speech to my students each semester...Students, in clinicals, are soooo skill focused...I tell them that monkeys can be trained to start IVs and drop NGTs...the real essence of nursing is relating to, and understanding the needs of your patients...that is the real skill...if you have poor bedside manner, but are great at IVs, then you are a worthless (monkey) in my book...

that's all the poster was saying...

geesh

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Is the profit-driven greedy MA schools that exploit their students by telling them lies -- they will have the same skills like RN and they will be earning lots of $$$. So is not the MAs fault; it's the system that takes advantage these people's desire to work.

Which is what i thought wap the pooint from the original start of this thread.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
Yes Sir/Madam, I'm not rude to anybody.

CNA, MA, UAPs and other fellows at a workplace are decent and hardworking people who are just trying to make a living.

Is the profit-driven greedy MA schools that exploit their students by telling them lies -- they will have the same skills like RN and they will be earning lots of $$$. So is not the MAs fault; it's the system that takes advantage these people's desire to work. That's what I meant "MONKEY BUSINESS". :bugeyes:

I guess comparing some ones mentality to a monkey is not an insult?:nono:

Maybe I do not have enough critical thinking skills to correctly decipher your post, but your post does not sound like you are calling the system "monkey business". In fact. I do not see the words "the system" anywhere in your post.

P.S.

BUSSINESS
is "business"

EVEN A MONKEY CAN BE TAUGHT TO DO NURSING SKILLS.

HOWEVER, THE MONKEY WON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE HECK IS S/HE DOING.

THE MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF NURSING TASK IS EASY TO IMMITATE FOR FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT RN , BUT NOT THE CRITICAL THINKING REQUIRES DO EXECUTE THE JOB PROFESSIONALLY. THAT IS WHY RN SHOULD NOT DELEGATE TASKS THAT REQUIRES ASSESSMENT SKILLS.

YES, I AGREE THAT M.A. CAN DO THE MECHANICAL TASKS THAT AN RN DOES. THEY ARE PARTS OF "MONKEY BUSINESS"

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

Here is what the US Dept of Labor says about Medical Assistants, their duties, job outlook, and salary

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos164.htm

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