Why aren't MA's licensed?

[Kwality]

This is not a Certified Nursing Assistant vs Medical Assistant thread. I was just reading the differnces and similarities between a CNA and a MA. I'm trying to understand how CNA's are licensed (ex.to take blood pressure) but a MA is not licensed to do the same procedure or to draw someone's blood?

I'm curious as to why this is?

Second, I spoke to a lady who is a CNA and she is attending the same college that I'm applying to for MA training. This is just me wondering again, why not just go to school for an LPN or even ADN? I didn't think to ask her at the time how she came to her decision.

Shameful, I'm envious that if I get accepted and complete this training, I won't have a license.

What is your take on this? :)

I should have said certified and not licensed. Sorry.

[time4meRN]

I'm a little condelfused. Who are ma's accountalbe to. The cirtification organization tracks their CEU's but , if the MA acts out of their scope, will the organization take their MA title away, fine and punish them like the board does ? ( I understand they will no longer be certified , but they would still be an MA ,correct) Where can I find what the scope of practice is for and MA ?

[twintooiam]

time 4 rn

i think you cn get the question answered at nhanow.com which is the place i have to turn my ceu's into..

as for being held accoutable to anyone we are under the dr's license but we try not to hurt their license by doing things not quilifed for or that they have tought us.

yes they would still be a medical assistant but they no longer would be certified

and yes some dr's will hire them just the same-- they may just let them put patients into rooms and that is all, do something else like filing or such because we have that knowledge too.

hope this helps abit.

[nursingis4me]

FYI----

Athough the "certified/registered" status of a medical assistant can raise a pay salary, in PA ma's are no longer hired in the same realm as 15 years ago; in the past, we were hired for work in drs' offices/clinics, nursing homes/LTC facilities, and hospitals (according to the schools in Philly back then); now only drs' offices/clinics will still hire a medical assistant~albeit at a lower staring pay if he or she is not certified/registered!

We could (and still do!) do many of the functions now performed by various subspecialties in these same facilities (we can take vitals, draw blood, perform some physical therapy, do EKG's, do UA's, call in Rxs, and assist with many small procedures~~many of these same functions have been outsourced to someone who isn't crosstrained-as we are-and is only capable of that one function. This allows the management to hire at a lower pay scale, since someone who has the training/knowledge/capability to tackle more than one job would logically command a higher wage.

This may have inadvertantly led to many people leaving the world of medical assisting only to work in another area of the allied healthcare field, one that may allow for better opportunies to grow and advance within a facility (this could be done if you were a phlebotomist, ultrasound tech, EKG tech, or even a CNA~patient care associate in some hospitals), and unfortunately, there's not a lot of room for growth or advancement in a drs' office or clinic setting---even so, I like to think that those of us who work in these settings are there because of the help we know we can provide to a community. :balloons: