advice regarding course choice

[LoveAura]

Hi, all! Looking for some guidance. I took basic nursing 10 years ago and did home health for a little over 2 years- forwent the certification, which I could kick myself for!! But I had a job so I was happy. Looking to go back to nursing and I would like to expand upon those skills but not sure what would be most helpful.

There is a local medical assistant/phlebotomy course which leads to certification for both. The internship, however, is cut in half and split among MA/phleb.

The phlebotomy-only course is 300 dollars less than than ^^^ the dual course, but that's not a big factor. However, the internship is only phlebotomy so I'd get more experience doing that.

I've heard medical assistants don't do much applicable to nursing, but I've also heard phlebotomy is something you learn mostly on the job anyway. Would having both certifications be of help, or overkill? I would like to get into a direct entry program, if that changes anything.

[RNTutor, BSN, RN]

If you're only doing it for the purpose of trying to get in nursing school, then I would probably skip it. You can show on your application that you have previous nursing experience from your work history. The only reason I would consider doing phleb/ma first is if I wanted to show the nursing school that I had an interest and experience in healthcare so I have a clue what I'm getting myself into. At most schools in my area, students aren't even allowed to do IVs or blood draws on real people (only practice on mannequins) until their first job. And the MA usually does a lot of the intake stuff (BP, temp, etc) but that's all pretty basic.

Also, if your nursing school is very competitive then you might consider asking the admissions officer if having those certifications would increase your likelihood of admission. I'm guessing not, but it depends on the school.

[RunBabyRN]

Phlebotomy, IMO, doesn't help much with nursing. Getting your CNA would be more beneficial than your MA. I was a phlebotomist before going to nursing school, and it's a completely different job than a MA, and MAs here aren't allowed to do blood draws, even if certified. In school, we did IVs second semester, but starting IVs and doing phlebotomy are two very different things. Different criteria for a site, different equipment, just altogether very different.

Our school required that you be a CNA before the program began. CNAs work side by side with RNs, so you'd be exposed to more nursing duties if you decided to work as a CNA before/during school. You can also increase the chance of finding a RN job once you graduate if you have that experience, and hopefully are smart enough to make connections along the way.

[ambitiousBSN]

Don't do it. I was a Medical Assistant for over 5 years and while it helps to have some kind of experience going into nursing school, it would be more beneficial for you to get a CNA. I don't regret my decision to go the MA route because it ultimately helped land a job at a top institution and gave me some basic knowledge and experience, not to mention I worked with an RN during those years and she taught me a lot that helped going forward in nursing school, but it really doesn't help much in the way of getting into a nursing program. MA credits do not have an equivalent to nursing credits.

Like others have mentioned, the CNA is your best bet in regard to a nursing career. Good luck! :-)

[LoveAura]

Let me just be clear for those of you who have said CNA is a good fit; I have worked, unlicensed, in that capacity for a while -- although not in a hospital. I'm just verifying that for someone who has experience in the bed-change, ambulate, toileting, bed-bath skills (I'm summarizing) arena, it would not be much use having those other skills, but to have the license? And maybe work more as a CNA? Just making sure! I really need to shadow some nurses