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| No. 40 | 
Oct 11, 2009, 08:20 PM
 Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections
My very first post must defend the honor of reliable, good, and trustworthy Medical Assistants out there. 
It's funny that someone said that they would much rather have a nurse give them an injection. All the RNs that have given me injections hurt like heck, still sporting a bruise from the flu shot I got over a week ago. Nurses that have given me any injections dart them in and honestly I think darting hurts the worst. Yes I am a MA (and proud of it) and all the patients that I have given injections to have said that they did not even feel it. But then I don't believe in darting the needle in.
In school we were taught not to dart and we used each other as guinea pigs so unfortunately I do know the difference between the feel of one over the other.
Yes, we may have less schooling but we care about the patients just as the nurses do.
As for the triage I ask the patient's provider then I call the patient back to let them know what the provider suggested.
As for calling me a nurse if a patient calls me a nurse I correct them and tell them I'm a Medical Assistant. But where I work (big facility) they call us nurses which I am not too keen on.
Thanks and ya'll have a great evening
Cindy
 | | Advertisement Sponsored Links | | | | No. 41 |
Oct 11, 2009, 08:24 PM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections Originally Posted by wannab06  Have the MA curriculum change to include giving IMs, Sub-Qs injections??
Yes, we do all those injections on an actual human being in class, more than I care to remember (not because it hurt but because it was a lot). Sometimes some of the posts are difficult to read. The grammar that one uses makes it difficult.
Cindy
| | No. 42 |
Oct 13, 2009, 11:20 AM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections Originally Posted by nyforlove Thanks Cherybaby,
Further to your statement, don't you find it important for nurses to "protect" their turf, just like MDs do? As you see from some comments here, patients are frequently misled as to who actually is a "nurse" (if anyone is) in their MDs Office...Several years back, the New York State Nurses Association ran a TV campaign highlighting the issue with the motto, "Ask for a REAL Nurse---a REGISTERED Nurse." Since then, however, we have succeeded in restricting use of the term "nurse" in NYState to Rns/LPNs. Progress sometimes comes in small steps, but it's worth continuing to pursue. Thanks again for your input.
Your profile does not state "paralegal", it states "reform lawyer/accountant". Do attorneys get mad if you use the title "lawyer". Just wondering.
| | No. 43 |
Oct 13, 2009, 03:06 PM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections Originally Posted by Artistyc1 Your profile does not state "paralegal", it states "reform lawyer/accountant". Do attorneys get mad if you use the title "lawyer". Just wondering.
Artistyc1,
Uhhh, what are you talking about?
1) I never said I was a paralegal.
2) This thread--and a related one--concern a serious issue that many Nursing Associations are currently looking at, particularly with the tough market for new RNs--it is in part a "turf" battle.
3) I believe allnurses.com would appreciate your not wasting posting space and time with inane questions that indicate you haven't even read the posts. Perhaps this is why the Nursing Lobby has difficulty accomplishing its objectives despite representing the largest constituent of health care workers in the country: people like you who add nothing to the discussion, but instead waste time talking nonsense.
Please cease and desist. Spoken like a real lawyer.
| | No. 44 |
Oct 13, 2009, 03:17 PM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections Originally Posted by nyforlove Artistyc1,
Uhhh, what are you talking about?
1) I never said I was a paralegal.
2) This thread--and a related one--concern a serious issue that many Nursing Associations are currently looking at, particularly with the tough market for new RNs--it is in part a "turf" battle.
3) I believe allnurses.com would appreciate your not wasting posting space and time with inane questions that indicate you haven't even read the posts. Perhaps this is why the Nursing Lobby has difficulty accomplishing its objectives despite representing the largest constituent of health care workers in the country: people like you who add nothing to the discussion, but instead waste time talking nonsense.
Please cease and desist. Spoken like a real lawyer.
Wow- pardon my making an error. I guess that one should always expect to be rudely slammed for making honest mistakes.
| | No. 45 |
Oct 13, 2009, 04:05 PM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections Originally Posted by belgarion In Texas I've never even seen or heard of an MA in any doctor's office I've been to. We have CNAs working in hospitals and long term care. There is also a Certified Medication Aide. That position has been around forever. My wife was one back in the seventies. They work in LTC and pass PO meds and do some topical applications but they can't give shots. As for scope of practice, they don't have one because they are under the jurisdiction of the State Dept. of Health, not the BON.
As far as getting or giving shots goes, there are two LVNs working for my doctor. One has been a nurse for about 2 years, the other for about 30 years. I'll let the 2 year nurse give me a shot any day of the week. If I see the 30 year nurse holding a needle I hunt for a hole to crawl into.
Just an observation but it seems that nyforlove is worrying a lot about what other states are doing when her problem is in NY. Do you think that the states that allow MAs to do shots are endangering their citizens in some way? Perhaps we are seeing the start of a nationwide crusade here.
I can't speak for ALL doctor's offices in Texas but a pediatrician's ofc i I worked for has MA's working there, giving vaccinations, performing triage, assessments, etc. They even trained me during orientation-didn't know they were MA's. Yes ,they've been there a long time but are still only MA's. Why not just go back to school to be a licensed nurse? As far as the difference in years in regards to the nurses in your post -what's wrong with the nurse that has 30 years experience? Not understanding your point on this one statement..  | | No. 46 |
Oct 13, 2009, 05:38 PM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections As far as the difference in years in regards to the nurses in your post -what's wrong with the nurse that has 30 years experience? Not understanding your point on this one statement..[/quote]
Okay, let me make it simple for you. My point was that experience doesn't always have anything to do with skill. When the yonger nurse gives a shot, I hardly feel it. The 30 year nurse seems to think that the larger and longer the needle the better. She inserts the needle very slowly and usually leave a bruise the size of a baseball. It doesn't matter whether it is a simple flu shot or a mega dose of PCN, deltoid or glute, she grabs the biggest, baddest needle they have. I'm not the only one, I've heard other patients compalin as well. An don't suggest that we complain to the doctor. She's the doctor's sister-in-law. Does that clear it up?
Also, I never said we don't have MAs in Texas. I just said I never met one. In the last five years I have had my wife in in 43 different physician offices in 6 different cities. That's an actual count, not an estimate. I cannot recall a single time that she was given a shot or even had a BP taken by anyone other than a LVN or RN, except of course in one of the seven different hospitals she has stayed in where CNA's handle the routine tasks. So you see, I have had ample opportunity to observe over the last few years. I was basing my statement on PERSONAL experience.
| | No. 47 |
Oct 14, 2009, 01:26 AM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections
The infringed on others turf issue is very old and always applicable. Yes it is no big deal to give an injection, my mother had knee replacement surgery and was sent home with 5 injections to be given daily by anyone. The fact is that people do deserve to be aware of what exactly is being done by who in a healthcare establishment. In Florida people can work under the MD's licenses and pretty much do anything as long as he is directly supervising. The have Podiatrists in NJ doing surgery below the knee, I think that is not the best choice but it is legal,I could imagine what the orthopedist say, I know that NP and PA's and for that matter Osteopaths and Podiatrist, are all well trained,but I really would rather have the MD. Most offices I bring my kids to have NP's and PA's and the charge is the same, of course I want the Pro with the most training. I still do feel a MA can give a shot though, just fine
| | No. 48 |
Oct 14, 2009, 11:04 AM
Re: Nevada Stops "Medical Assistants" from Giving Injections Originally Posted by cyndis Yes, we do all those injections on an actual human being in class, more than I care to remember (not because it hurt but because it was a lot). Sometimes some of the posts are difficult to read. The grammar that one uses makes it difficult.
Cindy
Actually, it depends on your school's malpractice insurance. When I got my MA training at the CC we could only do them on those gold pillows in class but had to do so many on real people in the clinics for our training for our certification. When I went to nursing school at the University we did Injections and I.V.s on each other after signing a waver. I have read on here students and nurses saying they are/were not allowed to do I.V.s on each other in class and some that did not even start I.V.s until the became nurses.
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