i went to a school by the name of concorde career college( im sure sounds familiar) located in tx, tn, ca, and fl. this school, got me all excited by basically persuading me that i could be the equivalent to lpn status with the skills i was to learn in a "short"nine months and also guaranteed job placement assistance at the end of the course. before i went, i attempted to ask nurses that i had already been working with ( cna for 7 years), of their opinion about me attending to earn such title. many of them, didn't even know what a ma was or how you came about getting to be one, one lpn told me that it wasn't worth it and that it was a waste of time and money. but me, i was so determined to go to college and finish to get a degree in this field so that i could have a high skilled job while attending school to get my rn degree in the near future. i did training, did externship at a clinic, didn't get hired, and was only able to obtain 4 interviews out of 50 or more resumes sent out. then i thought, i should go ahead and get state certified, maybe that was what was keeping me from getting work. i was so anxious to get certified, that on my first attempt i was 4 points away from getting certified. i eventually found out that everywhere i go, i hear that this school has a reputation, i don't know about the other states, but the memphis, tn campus has a lot of reputation for sending students out on extern fairly skilled and not knowing anything that is truly required in the curriculum. i understand how important is to be certified, but still, you have to literally be experienced starting at 2 years even if you were, in a clinic. how are entry-level students supposed to practice their craft if they can't get in ?! i have been out of school a year and working odd end staffing jobs, its just not a great thing to pick up unless you are eager to just bein the medical field period. i'm gonna go prepare to finish getting my rn degree. and with a lasting note, i'm even somewhat skeptical about that , because the economy has made it where even rn's are havin a hard time getting work, that's krazy ! anyone considering, please go and do research on the school before you attend, this is 12 grand down the drain !
One of our house keepers on PM shift went to MA achool for a year and housekeeping is where she wound up. Very sad. She now wants to become a nurse but has to work to much so she can pay her loan and support her daughter. Her Mom gave them a place to live while in school. She is in her thirties and has to wait alot of years before she can go back to school again. That was her big chance to go to school and it was wasted on MA.
How can we get people to learn this lesson. I did the same mistake 5,000 down the drain. I had to pay the loan while working as a teacher assistant. I got my B.A. for 0.00 with a scholarship.
I just called Everest college for a refresher course? which they promised when I first enrolled in the MA program if I ever need it. I haven't heard from them since. I'm a sub teacher and with laid offs it's going to be hard to get jobs next semester.
So, I got a job in a clinic behind my house after 13 years of MA "graduation." I need to refresh because I do need perform I.M. injections and venipucture and lost their "certificate." I'm going to show up at their office.
The clinic will pay my way to rn. In the Fall I'm retaking prereqs. I'll get there some day. PLEASE DONT WASTE YOUR TIME IN THIS PROGRAM!!!!!
Specializes in NICU( RN), Pediatric Nurse Practitioner.
I don't agree at all. I have been a medical assistant for the past 3 years. a week after finishing school i had my first interview and was hired starting at 15.24. I work in the gastro clinic and have got to assist in alot of in office procedures. Upon taking the hesi exam a few weeks ago i was told that my vocabulay section was amazing. there were a few cnas' in the exam and looking at the class average its wasn't good. I love being a medical assistant. all the pt contact getting alot of experience with meds and knowing whath they are used for and why they are used. The nurses upstairs at the surgery center love me because i'am efficiant and knowledgable. Maybe because my doctors and p.a. exlapin alot to me and because i ask questions. I now make 19.00 and hour and since i don't need medical since my husband is in the military i get an extra 34 dollars a pay period. I do think that any type of medical experience before becoming a nurse is well needed. wether it is a cna or ma. Please do not ma's down that really hurts we are apart of the medical profession just like evryone else. I give injections,remove stiches & staples, administer topical meds,oxygen,remove casts,draw blood, assist with well woman visits, and alot of other things. I am trying to get into nursing school now because i want more, i want to do more...i want to nurse. My father only paid 2k for me to go to school.. my best friend spent 23k to go to school. We work at the same place she gets paid a dollar more than i do only because she speaks spanish. I have a certificate paid 2k she has an associate and paid 23k... i wouldn't spend more than 2k for m.a. school. We are all in this together.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Please do not ma's down that really hurts we are apart of the medical profession just like evryone else.
Nobody is putting MAs down. MAs are wonderful assets who contribute valuable work in a cost-effective manner to the clinics and doctors offices that employ them.
People are simply sharing their personal experiences regarding the MA designation and, unfortunately, not all of them are going to be positive. I completed a MA program many years ago and it was $4,600 down the drain for me, as I was never able to land a job as a medical assistant.
I am pleased that you are enjoying your workplace setting, skills, experience, coworkers, and so forth. Too many people get caught up in the MA vortex, only to become dissatisfied in the long run.
Sounds like you should have done more research about your school and the scope of practice for an MA.
I am happy working as an MA. I am certified( found the test to be pretty easy actually).I work in a doctors office and will maybe continue my education some day.
I thinnk a lot of people believe incorrect information about the Medical Assisting field.
False: MA is a waist of time, if it is your goal to work as an MA.
True: if your goal is to be an RN it is more relevant to start as a CNA or LPN sine they are closer related to nursing.
Specializes in NICU( RN), Pediatric Nurse Practitioner.
I do feel that spending that much money and then in return not being able to find a job sucks. I had a lot of girls in my class not find jobs being a medical assistant. I guess it is just luck. But the way I understood the post was that someone spent ALOT of money for a trade to not have a job and then other posts were commenting that m.a.'s were useless. that is the way i understood it. I could be wrong..idk. I didn't start off wanting to be a nurse i was tired of working at wet seal/contempo casuals(lol) so i went into seeing about being an m.a. I didn't want to be a nurse until this year. I was upset with the "politics" that engulfs the clinics. I witnessed alot of things and felt bad. You can't DO anything as an M.A. i want to make a difference. Granted i make a difference when i get my doctor to sign off on a refill request or get a pt in sooner to see him.. but i want more..Im ready for more. I wouldn't believe any school "advisor" when they say it is almost like being an LVN becuase it's not. But I still get those "warm fuzzies" every nurse on here talks about. I believe it is a good starting point to see if you'll like it. Because you might think it sucks spending 20-30k on m.a. school not to get a job but imagine if you went through 2-4-6 yrs to become an Rn and can't stand it(along with the debt).
I am a CNA, CMA and now I am in nursing school (I start tomorrow in my clinicals). I have felt that my journey in healthcare has not been wasted. I am proud to have had the patient experience and interaction as a CNA, and CMA. I worked for 5 years as a CMA in an OB-GYN office and had a great doctor to work with. I did everything the RN's and LPN's did and was paid very well. The experience I gained from working there is priceless as is the experience of knowing how to do basic patient care as a CNA. The reason I am back in school is because I became bored doing the same thing and wanted to be able to expand my work in the healthcare field along with building on the knowledge I already have. Life experience combined with education will take you far, and make the art and science of healthcare a more enriched practice for nurses, medical assistants and nursing assistants. We are all on the same team and all of us come with our own experience so don't put down the Medical Assisting profession, it is a needed profession just as a nursing assistant is needed in the hospitals and long-term care facilities we work toward one goal and that is the holistic health of the patient.
I don't think he/she is putting down the medical assistant field. We all know it's extremely difficult to land a job as a new MA.
You were one of the lucky fews. I know I paid 5,000.00 for the trainning and never landed a job paying more than $10/hr. I had to go back to school and get a B.A. to make enough to pay the student loan for the program.
Anyway, I was lucky enough to use my rn prereqs. to get a job as a Science teacher starting at $40/hr. without a teaching credential.
I think he/she's just giving heads up to take the trainning where it's affortable incase you don't land a job. I don't think the skills learned will help in the nursing programs because everybody does everything differently.
Watch when you do injections in your program. You're going to have to relearn the procedure. I guarantee...
i am a cna, cma and now i am in nursing school (i start tomorrow in my clinicals). i have felt that my journey in healthcare has not been wasted. i am proud to have had the patient experience and interaction as a cna, and cma. i worked for 5 years as a cma in an ob-gyn office and had a great doctor to work with. i did everything the rn's and lpn's did and was paid very well. the experience i gained from working there is priceless as is the experience of knowing how to do basic patient care as a cna. the reason i am back in school is because i became bored doing the same thing and wanted to be able to expand my work in the healthcare field along with building on the knowledge i already have. life experience combined with education will take you far, and make the art and science of healthcare a more enriched practice for nurses, medical assistants and nursing assistants. we are all on the same team and all of us come with our own experience so don't put down the medical assisting profession, it is a needed profession just as a nursing assistant is needed in the hospitals and long-term care facilities we work toward one goal and that is the holistic health of the patient.
mb
rn may 2011,
hi! you mentioned above that you were doing everything that rn's and lpn's were doing. i've been a medical assistant by trade for about 10 years and was wondering what those things were that you were able to do as an ma? i was only allowed to do phlebotomy, ekg's, some injections. vitals and of course limited charting but that was it. depending on the specific doctor i worked for, that was the gist of it for me.
we allied health care workers are a part of the same team, yes, but to make it seem like we are no different than nurses is the exact reason why we are often flamed. i mean honestly, if it were just as fulfilling and recognized and even in the same salary ball park i would just stay a medical assistant.
I have had the same experience as the OP, however I did do a little research and finished my MA certificate at a local CC than one of those trade schools. I graduated over a year ago, put in countless resumes, and the best I could get was a temp job filing medical records all day long. I was pretty bitter a few months after I graduated, but I know that some medical training benefits me. I am now in an ADN program and will be an RN in 2011. To those who are thinking of CNA or MA, be a CNA if you are pursuing a nursing degree. That is my only regret.
Let me first start by saying to the response to my post that yes I know I will be re-learning how to give injections, draw blood ect...but the advantage will be that I won't be scared/nervous where as the women that are in this the first time in their lives will be all those things. I have over the years built up confidence in my skills and having to do it the way an instructor wants me too is just fine that is where being able to be flexible with learning comes in and allowing myself to either learn a better safer way or to enhance the skills I already have.
As for the work I did at the OB office I was able to draw blood, make decisions on weather a patient hgb or blood sugar should be checked based on what they told me without having to run to the doctor and ask permission. I was allowed to start and be in charge of my office's very first auditing system of medical records which is still in practice to this day to catch mistakes in office and address them. I could also put a patient on the fetal monitor if I felt like she was conveying she could not feel the baby move as much as she should; without asking the doctor permission to do so. The group I worked for was the BEST they wanted us to think outside the proverbial box and try and make (within reason) critical decisions there in the office. I did OB teaching once a week to new OB clients, this teaching went through nutrition, prenatal care, what to do if irregular bleeding started....
I was able to be in the prescription/call room once a week where I took messages from patients that had issues with irregular bleeding, post partum care, determining if they may be in labor or needed to come in for a check again using critical thinking to decide if a patient was in distress or if they could be seen the following day. I took prescription calls and called them into the pharmacy. Injections of every kind but with doctor order.
So what I did was what the RN's did in the office as well. I really used my skills and then some and I am not tired of learning so that's why I am in nursing school now so one day I will have a Masters and be able to teach new nursing students.
nursenow
302 Posts
One of our house keepers on PM shift went to MA achool for a year and housekeeping is where she wound up. Very sad. She now wants to become a nurse but has to work to much so she can pay her loan and support her daughter. Her Mom gave them a place to live while in school. She is in her thirties and has to wait alot of years before she can go back to school again. That was her big chance to go to school and it was wasted on MA.