medical assistant or lpn??

I would take the job- it sounds like it is what you have been waiting for!! Good luck in whatever you choose!!!

Hi acorvette, If the MA job meets your requirements, I'd take it. It "sounds" to me in your post that that is what you would like to do. The one think I thought is you said you can't "work crazy hours." I'm finding as a new LPN working in a Care and Rehab facility I work "crazy hours." It's tough to get a day postion as a new hire and I'm not sure I'm ready for the fast pace and demands of a day position just yet. I like the work of the 3-11 and 11-7, but it's "crazy hours" trying to sleep and such. Right now I'm wanting to work more 11-7 to be home with my school age daughter in the evenings. I'm working towards my RN and am looking forward to being able to have more choices that will work for me.
Good Luck!!!!

Working in an office will give you great experience as a MA in an office.

The role of a PN in a doctor's office is very different than that of the MA.

If you are wanting good pay, good hours then stick with the MA.

I became a PN. I enjoy my job BUT if I had to do it over again, I would have become a coder or records technician. Better hours, better pay, no bodily fluids on me, no daily risk of a physical injury, no insane family members to deal with and placate.

Children are only young for such a short time, do what is best for your family now. Once they are older and you still have the "what ifs" you can go to nursing school.

Hospitals now replace LPN with MA. Painfully it is because they just have to pay MA cheaper than LPN.

getting a job as an LPN in a hosital settings now requires some good experience first, maybe by working in nursing home or so. I think you could work as an MA and gain some experience. Afterward, if you are intersted in nursing such as LPN, then go to LPN. The experience you have as MA may be a bolus for your employment seeking in the future.

Soley depends on what your long term goal is. I was a CMA for 5 yrs. I enjoyed every bit of it and gained extensive experience well beyond that of a regular MA. I was pretty much doing nursing tasks... so eventually I knew a lot of the ins and outs and wanted to upscale. Now I finally passed boards and will only apply to those LVN jobs that are not like MA jobs. Some LVN jobs are typical blood pressure, weights, surgical assisting... Im going beyond and doing new things.. because I tend to get bored. If your long term goal is as a nurse, take the MA now and do nuring later. My daughter is now 15 in May and I feel she should be responsible enough whatever shift I take, but somehow I still feel guilty because shes super depepndent on me... so I think a 3p-11p works because its compromie for us both .. no matter how old our kids get ... they still need us!! Good luck whstever you decide, MA is an excellent route and if they have a lab at the office see if your employer will pay for you to get your Phlebotomy licnese, too ... more experience for when youre a nurse and when you get your IV cert.

I have not seen this to be true... You cannot replace a licensed nurse with unlicensed personnel. I have not seen MA's working in a hospital, if they do it would most likely be under the title of PCT, which is basically a CNA. While it is true that LPN's do not have as many opportunities in a hospital setting, it is not because MA's are taking their places. It seems that many hospitals and the public want an all RN staff.

yes I have seen this ... replace may just be the wrong term used... but theyd rather have MAs rather LVNs for pay reasons... so in hosp. the MAs do the check in, blood pressure, history data, chief complaint, can do the simple UA, spin the urine, send specimens for culture ICD/CPT code, blood pressure .. that sort.. and sometimes you seen LVNs doing the same exact stuff! Funny because I would never keep doing thsethings over after going through almost 2 yrs of nursing school!! Now I want to do other things like med pass, catheters, heparin and insulin therapy, have exp. with trachs and vents., etc. So yes... hosp. do replace LVN w MA for cost reasons and esp. out here in CA.

take the job. the job description you gave seems like the job of your dreams. you'll get good experience as an ma and it will somewhat help you make up your mind if you really want to be a nurse. also, one thing to keep in mind is that nursing works around crazy hours. atleast i chose the crazy hours cause its the easiest. well good luck.

I was also a CMA before I went back to school for my LPN. This gave me some good experience which helped me in school. I loved the hours as a medical asst. but I wanted to do more. I am taking pre-reqs to do the RN program so I will have more choices as to where I can work. Working in a doctors office is a great place to start and to see if you really want to work in healthcare.