CNA, Medical Assistant or other - fastest way to a hospital job?

Junebugfairy · Mar 4, 2011

hospitals do not hire cma's, from everything i know and understand to be true. hospital systems hire cma's for their affiliated office practices, but not for the actual hospital itself.

if the school is telling you that a hospital will hire you as a cma, run away fast. get your cna if you want to work in a hospital.

syost · Mar 4, 2011

"if the school is telling you that a hospital will hire you as a cma, run away fast. get your cna if you want to work in a hospital." - absolutely!!!!!!

cmas and cnas are different things here; i'm not sure if they are in your area. a cma is a certified medical assistant. it's a nine-month program with cna, phlebotomy, and medical office assisting embedded in it. they're the ones who tend to work in doctor's offices because they have the phlebotomy and medical office assisting. the cna doesn't help with doctor's offices around here.

i'm a cna and the hospital here seems to have a really inconsistent hiring philosophy. i know cnas who have and haven't been able to get jobs there, regardless of nursing home/home health experience.

now that i'm in nursing school and doing my clinicals there, i know that most of the techs (that's what they call them at the hospitals around here - patient care tech) i work with *don't* have their cna certificate. when they were hired, though, they all worked graveyard shifts. the daytime shifts were offered to existing staff according to seniority. if person number one didn't want it, then they offered it to number two, and so on. if they couldn't find someone in-house or within the system who wanted it, then they'd open the search to the outside.

but generally speaking, you have to earn your stripes working 7p-7a. that's the other thing, by the way. in the hospital, they're all 7p-7a or 7a-7p. they're all 12s with no flexibility in the schedule. in the nursing homes, you're more likely to find 8 hours. or 16 hours, if that works better. (you'd only have to work 2 shifts to get all your benefits.) and day shifts are pretty easy to get, too.

this is all probably way more than you wanted to know, lol.

peytonsmom · Mar 4, 2011

I don't know of any hospital system in my area that hires CMA's. We have several STNA's on the floor and the rest of us that work as aides are just nursing students. In the major hospitals in my area if you are currently enrolled in nursing school and have done your first two clinical rotations (one of which being mEd surg) then you can work as a NA.

Edie618 · Mar 4, 2011

Thanks everyone for your answers. To>junebugfairy & syost

Junebugfairy · Mar 4, 2011

an associates degree cma does not include cna work at all. it includes pharmacology(some), injections, ekg work, front office, etc. they are also able to take a national certification test.

i am familair with the class you are referring to, and it is not one which qualifies for a national exam.

hospitals themselves do not use cma's, but i have seen emt's in er', and cma's working in affiliated practices.

Hope63 · Mar 4, 2011

Hi everyone,
I have been loosing sleep over which route to take 1st in order to lend my 1st healthcare job in a hospital? I believe that a CNA would have to work in a nursing home for a while before being hired in a hospital just like my SIL is working. She tried getting a hospital job with her CNA but everyone told her she needed experience in a nursing home first. Is this most often the case or could a fresh CNA get a hospital job? How about if I get my CMA, could I just get a job in a hospital or would I need something more like, EMT(emergency med. tech.)?
I am already decided on becoming a medical assistant because I found a quick school that allows me to sit for the state exam but I still wonder if I should take those 10 weeks before and just get my CNA as well or maybe an EMT in order to be able to get a hospital job. I also wonder if I do get a hospital CMA job, will I have to work night hours and weekends? If yes, I think I better skip hospitals and just work in a dr's office since I'm a single Mom with little kids...but I desire a hospital daytime job. Am I wrong to have such desires, am just dreaming ?

First of all what area of the country are you located in because that makes quite a difference in deciding which route to take. I am formerly from the north and now live in the south so I have some knowledge of each region. In the northern half of the country their seem to be more Medical Assistant jobs then there are in the southern half. From the research I've done I have found that most jobs are in Dr. offices and very few if any hospitals use CMA's. You really can't go wrong with a CNA I have had mine for four months after working a couple of years in private home health. After I passed my CNA test I worked for a home health agency and recently was hired as a CNA at a hospital two months ago and I love my job. Hospitals have 7am - 7pm shifts as well as 7am - 3pm. You are expected to work every other weekend and alternating holidays. If you live in an area where CMA jobs are available that might be the better choice since you have some kids and are a single Mom. The good news is there is now a fast track program to go from a Medical Assistant to an RN. I would spend time researching if there are more CNA jobs or MA jobs in your area. As for me I am applying for the LPN program because this is 2nd career and I don't want to wait 2 plus years to maybe get into the RN program. Then I can work 2 yrs as a LPN at a nice salary I might add lol and then take the fast track program for the RN program. Good luck and let me know how you are doing! :nurse:

Edie618 · Mar 5, 2011

an associates degree cma does not include cna work at all. it includes pharmacology(some), injections, ekg work, front office, etc. they are also able to take a national certification test.
i am familair with the class you are referring to, and it is not one which qualifies for a national exam.
hospitals themselves do not use cma's, but i have seen emt's in er', and cma's working in affiliated practices.

sorry, i am not sure what class you are referring to that does not qualify to the national exam? could you tell me what you mean? thanks.

Edie618 · Mar 5, 2011

First of all what area of the country are you located in because that makes quite a difference in deciding which route to take. I am formerly from the north and now live in the south so I have some knowledge of each region. In the northern half of the country their seem to be more Medical Assistant jobs then there are in the southern half. From the research I've done I have found that most jobs are in Dr. offices and very few if any hospitals use CMA's. You really can't go wrong with a CNA I have had mine for four months after working a couple of years in private home health. After I passed my CNA test I worked for a home health agency and recently was hired as a CNA at a hospital two months ago and I love my job. Hospitals have 7am - 7pm shifts as well as 7am - 3pm. You are expected to work every other weekend and alternating holidays. If you live in an area where CMA jobs are available that might be the better choice since you have some kids and are a single Mom. The good news is there is now a fast track program to go from a Medical Assistant to an RN. I would spend time researching if there are more CNA jobs or MA jobs in your area. As for me I am applying for the LPN program because this is 2nd career and I don't want to wait 2 plus years to maybe get into the RN program. Then I can work 2 yrs as a LPN at a nice salary I might add lol and then take the fast track program for the RN program. Good luck and let me know how you are doing!

I do live in the central north America, Illinois and so that might be why I have been seeing MA jobs listed for hospitals. Thanks for pointing out that my location is also making such a difference :-). Yes, I was thinking of possibly pursuing an LPN certification if I notice that I don't faint from just drawing blood...lol...and perhaps will start liking doing more in depth work with patients rather then vitals and such.

I wish you the best with your LPN and hope you'll soon be working in your dream job!!!

Junebugfairy · Mar 5, 2011

the only cma program, from my understanding, which allows you to sit for "national certification" is an associates degree program, basically a 2 year medical program.

that is the way you call your self a "certified medical assistant", otherwise you are just a 'medical assistant'

EMT6530 · Mar 27, 2011

Go be an EMT!!!

As the previous posters have already said the CMA position is more for private Dr.'s offices and won't get you a job in the ER for instance. The CNA position won't either...and since you are looking to obviously move beyond these entry level jobs you should really be looking into a job that can get you more medical experience. Although CNA's are an important part of the medical staff in today's hospital hierarchy they are usually left with the job of making beds, toileting patients, and if lucky (in a hospital at least) getting vital signs. Hospitals usually have sicker patients than nursing homes and as such do not trust the CNA to do anymore than that.

On the other hand I am an EMT and in nursing school...I've worked for AMR, McCormick, and currently I am at a private ambulance company (better pay). The EMT job gives u the independence to make critical calls in the field, when you alone are the one that decides what to do (as long as its within your scope of practice of course). For instance, it is always the attendants call whether or not to go code 3 (lights and sirens) to a hospital. You can also land jobs in the ER as Emergency Room Techs. in these positions you will mostly be taking vitals, hooking patients up to 3, 5, and even 12 lead EKGS (something that CMA may get to do but doubt it, and something that CNAs couldn't comprehend), and a lot more because there is always a doctor within 50 feet to jump in if anything goes wrong. Because of that they give EMT's a lot more freedom.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Mar 27, 2011

Have you been on a tele floor? I assure you the cna's can "comprehend" what an EKG is and how to put one on. They are also trusted to do vitals in a hospital. In fact the 3 hospitals I have done clinicals in they do all vitals except the first set of the shift. That one the nurse dose when they assess their patient.

Your post seems to be a little insulting towards CNA'S. The scope of practice for a CNA also varies from place to place, I have seen CNA's trained to do foley's.

I have also met a few nurses in the ED that started off as aides in the hospital and the ED.