Clinic nurse

[digitalgirl20]

My fellow nurses out there, I need your opinion on my situation.

After working in the hospital setting for 4 years, I decided to venture out to experience the clinical setting. So now i work at a doctor's office. However, even on the first day of the job I was perplexed by the fact that the MA's were doing the same duties as the RNs or LVNs. So i asked my preceptor, and she's an LVN, "So the MA's here do the same tasks as the nurses?" And she said "Well yes, they are trained to do the same thing because if I (and she used herself as an example) was not able to come to the clinic then the MA can run the clinic." I was just confused because I'm used to the specific duties/tasks that a RN can do and the differentiation of tasks done in a hospital setting. Then as days progress in this new job, the MA's also calls the pts with lab results and giving pts advice in their care/treatment,and how to administer medications. For nurses that work in a doctor's office, is this common or is this doctor's office doing something illegal? Please can someone enlighten me.

[elprup, BSN, RN]

I just started in a small clinic as a new RN and asked this same question! I'm in CA. I have seen so many things that do not seem legal to me. Message me anytime, it seems we are going through similar adventures.