Any MA students?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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I'm going to be applying to an MA program and would love to chat with any current MA students. Looks like there are mostly CNAs only, though :/

Specializes in Urgent Care, Pulmonary Med, Primary Care.
I graduated medical assisting school last year. I'm currently in a LVN program. My ultimate goal is RN but I wanted to be able to work while going to school. I'm so glad I went this route I have a great job as a ma and I am able to work weekends and get paid really well.

It's a beautiful day to save lives.

:D I just have to say- That's AWESOME!!! Reading this made me feel better :)

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Going the ma route gave me a great basis for medical info. I work in corrections so I always quiz my coworkers on stuff and I make way more than minimum wage. I used to work retail and I couldn't afford anything! now I can work 2 days a week and still make more money! I wanted to make sure that health care is what I really wanted before investing so much time and money into it. It's always nice being able to look at labs and now know what stuff means and just being able to actually see what my teachers are talking about without having to wait to go to clinicals, which I start this week. Eek! I'm in my first term still! Well atleast I won't be scared to talk to patients!

It's a beautiful day to save lives.

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I'm a MA right now, and did my schooling during my senior year of high school. I LOVE my job, I only work part time while i'm doing my pre-reqs for nursing. I think it just depends on the amount of schooling you are doing and the cost of it on whether or not it's worth it. My schooling was only 8 months during my senior year, and I only had to pay a total of probably like $800, so for me that was worth it. I'm a certified medical assistant, so I don't have a degree, but I was still able to find a job. If you're planning on getting your associates degree in medical assisting, I don't think it would be worth it, you might as well go the nursing route. For how much MA's are paid I don't think it's worth paying that much for school, I make more than I would at any job if I hadn't become a MA but not nearly as much as a new nurse would.

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I hope I'm not too late but don't do MA. Go for your LVN especially if you want to keep your career going in nursing. It's only 3 months more and the pay is a lot better. 3 months is nothing compared to the time and money you will waste when you want to extend your education. I am an MA and I regret not getting my LVN instead. I was just thinking about having a job while I went to school but I should of thought about the long run and 3 months is nothing. There are better opportunities if you have your LVN. There are many programs that are LVN to RN but how many do you see are MA to RN probably non. Even worse if you go to one of these schools that you see on tv because most of those credits do not transfer. Basically MA is a waste of time do your LVN I wish everyday that I did. Now I'm in a BSN program but I had to redo all my classes the only thing my MA certificate did was get me some experience. Even if you are registered the pay sucks for all that they do. So my suggestion is LVN.

Good Luck

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Corpsman514

How much was your medical asistant course and did you find a job right out of school. If not how long did it take

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Pulmonary Med, Primary Care.

I think it was 17 grand? I used my GI Bill and attended Remington College. The actual MA program was 8 months long. I had a job within a month after grad. I also took my MA credential exam for RMA via American Medical Technologists. It's very important to attend an accredited program. If the program isn't accredited, you will more than likely be unable to take the RMA or CMA exam. Most employers desire the MA to be certified or registered.

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If your goal is to become a nurse, don't waste your time becoming an MA first. If you end up going to school full time for nursing later on, you are not going to have time to work as an MA anyway.

I graduated from a 2 year community college MA program in 2010, a one year specialized phlebotomy program in 2008. Both gave me skills that would definitely help in nursing, but if your idea is to work while in full time nursing school, it's not a very practical idea.

I was accepted into an LPN program but changed my mind literally 3 days before school started. Why? Because my ultimate goal was RN. Again, why waste my time and money on a lesser program? BSN was what I was after.

If your goal is to be a medical assistant then that's great. If nursing is your goal, I would have to say "why bother? You will make just as much working as an administrative assistant, upscale store clerk, etc., as you will as an MA (maybe even more). You could work one of those jobs part time while in nursing school and not have the same level of emotional and physical stress you will have as an MA trying to go to nursing school.

I don't mean to discourage you, but i'm just letting you know my experience from a practical viewpoint.

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Hi I'm a MA student what do yu want to know about MA?

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