Ad for an MA program

Nursing Students CNA/MA

Published

Ok, so maybe this will get moved to a new forum...so be it.

I just saw an ad for a medical assistant program at a for profit school. A young lady talks about how great it would be to work as an MA ('cutting edge technology' and all that fun stuff that we know MAs deal with all the time). However, the part that I found funniest--and most annoying--was at the end of the ad, the young lady turns 90 degrees and say "plus, there is all the cute scrubs!"

Sorry if this post sounds rude, but I found the ad particularly hideous (and I hope this person gets a job where they make her wear a uniform of solid white scrubs!).

Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

You would all be surprised. I was on a date with someone and they mentioned they were going to school to become an MA. They began talking about how expensive it was, etc. When I mentioned they could have done it at a community college as a three month course for about 1K they almost choked on their food. They had spent about 14K in loans for that same MA program at a private for profit school. Shame isn't it?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

Ugh I cringe every time I see that commercial..I think it's Sanford-Brown. They advertise every 5 minutes, I swear. A girl I went to high school with just posted a status on FB about how excited she is that she got hired at the place where she did her externship & she was gonna be making big bucks($14/hr). She went to one of these programs like Sanford Brown..I know to some that making over $10/hr when you are still quite young seems awesome..but as others have mentioned..the program costs $15,000+. And...not to be snarky or anything, but I made almost $16/hr at one point as a CNA..and that class only cost me about $1000. Just sayin...

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Eh, the "for profit" schools do the advertising, making it look prestegious, going to making "great money" when done (which yes it is better then minimum wage which is where most of the clientel are), and done in "no time" (and yes its fast compared to 4 year colleges). They aren't going to point out a MA is not a 4 year training elsewhere....they let people assume that they are paying the money for a fast track into "the medical field" "working along side Drs and nurses".

Heck I love they always have the "pharmacy tech" ones running here. In most places, you can be a pharmacy tech with JUST on the job training and certification. Same with "restraunt management"......trust me, someone with several years working in a restraunt is going to get a manager position way before someone with the "restraunt management" certificate from such schools with no experience.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
You would all be surprised. I was on a date with someone and they mentioned they were going to school to become an MA. They began talking about how expensive it was, etc. When I mentioned they could have done it at a community college as a three month course for about 1K they almost choked on their food. They had spent about 14K in loans for that same MA program at a private for profit school. Shame isn't it?

Especially since they finish with no degree (it's a certificate of completion) after spending at least as much as anyone paying for an actual ADN.

The shame here is this person didn't think to do any research at all before signing up for this shellacking....certainly a simple Google search would have cleared it up fast. You said you were on a date; I'm picturing it didn't work out.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

And if it's cute scrubs that's the goal, LOL.....every girl sitting behind a computer at my medical office wears them. Never see a patient (unless they get one who's peering through the little sliding window), but hey, they're ready for that random splash of bodily fluids!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

Yeah I referenced this in another post about the for profit schools and their dramatic false advertising. Last night I saw a real doozy that made me almost pee myself. A middle aged man and woman are looking off in the distance lovingly, proudly... the dad says "she's grown up so fast...seems like just yesterday she was running around with her toy stethescope..." Mom: and now she's following her heart... (I know, a round of Zofran all around, on me...) I thought maybe this was some commercial about Nurses week, or maybe about the U's Med school (why would they put commercials on anyway).

Then dad says something to the effect of "we're so proud of you enrolling to become (and at this point the alarm bells go off, "OH NO! OH DADDY DON'T SAY IT!!") a Medical Assistant!"

The daughter approaches her father and mother, wearing surgical blue scrubs and a white lab coat (no coincedence in the choice of clothes...this is what our Residents and Med students wear at my hospital).

Daughter: I am making an impact and SAVING LIVES!

The commercial dramatically ends, and we meet "Suzy"...or was it "Cindy", who ends her very important call on her headset to pivot in her chair and tell us how glad she is that that commercial has us ready to start our career in the cutting edge field of medical assisting, where we will gain the skills to SAVE LIVES!"

Hey, guess what, with all due respect to my CMA buddies (and I have many) when I worked as an assistant preschool teacher, I learned CPR...I COULD SAVE LIVES TOO!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

there's another one i have been seeing where a young man calls his mother and says, "i've decided to go to college!" mom: "oh, son, i'm so proud of you!" (or something like that.) then the son directs his comments to the tv and says he'd going to itt tech. ok, i guess for some people, that's college, but...

then there's another community college that is advertising it's associate's degree in business, and another young man talks about how when he gradates he'll be ready to enter the business world. uhm, dude, there are a lot of people out there with mbas who can't find work.

i'm not denigrating either school, but i think they are misrepresenting what their graduates are, and what their graduates can expect after they finish school.​

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Yet another reason I don't watch TV. I'd be yelling at the screen, and my stress level is high enough already.

A distant relative of mine spent about $10K to become a medical assistant several years back. She quickly realized that at $12 an hour, max in her area, she couldn't afford to pay back loans, so family helped out, she worked extra hours, etc etc. Poor thing just didn't know. So now she's done all the pre-reqs for nursing school, and is on a two-year waitlist at the community college (which she thinks might take her in 18 months). So her life is on hold as she does the MA work in an office for scrap pay.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
then there's another community college that is advertising it's associate's degree in business, and another young man talks about how when he gradates he'll be ready to enter the business world. uhm, dude, there are a lot of people out there with mbas who can't find work.​

i've seen one like that. they advertise their business school then show the young man, presumably a new grad from their program, in a board meeting in a fancy conference room at the top of a skyscraper. sorry, but the only way a new grad is in that room is if they are delivering the coffee. that is not a criticism of the person who went there for school...it is a criticism of their slime ball advertising.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
Yet another reason I don't watch TV. I'd be yelling at the screen, and my stress level is high enough already.

A distant relative of mine spent about $10K to become a medical assistant several years back. She quickly realized that at $12 an hour, max in her area, she couldn't afford to pay back loans, so family helped out, she worked extra hours, etc etc. Poor thing just didn't know. So now she's done all the pre-reqs for nursing school, and is on a two-year waitlist at the community college (which she thinks might take her in 18 months). So her life is on hold as she does the MA work in an office for scrap pay.

There has been talk for several years about the government investigating for profit schools. Given how many Americans are in debt, especially with school loan, it is surprise to me that they false promises and contribution to young people's debt that these schools have not faced greater criticism. Then again, this all proceeds under the false assumption that politicians actually care about their constituents (those than donate big bucks to them).

Up Vote Up Vote ×

It's okay to laugh at me :) Early in the morning on my way to my RN job with my BSN, I hear these commercials and think, "Hey, maybe I should go to school to become an MA." LOL They run these convincing adds so early in the morning when I'm so sleepy. I can see how someone could be sucked in with the "cutting-edge technology, saving lives, medical professional, blah, blah, blah" non-sense talk. I feel bad for people who do get sucked in.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

How can you possibly even sign up for $20k MA certificate for a $14/ hour job? What kind of reasoning or math makes this logical? These education institutions are doing a good job putting and suckering people in debt. Those are expensive cute scrubs to wear lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment