CNA vs. CMA

Hi. Here in MA the terms are used interchangeably IF you're a medical assistant. I held a CMA prior to my RN and worked in two hospitals as a CNA and one as an ER tech. Usually CMAs work in physician offices, do phlebotomy, EKGs, etc...Did you check job postings for practices? I'd also check emergency departments to see if they have anything open.

I'm not sure what state you live in, or what the scope of practice is in your state, but a CMA does not do "basically the same thing as an LVN." Since you said LVN and not LPN I am guessing you are in Texas or California. An LVN is a licensed nurse, and while in a doctor's office you may have most of the same responsibilities as an LVN, in a hospital it is much, much different. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but when you throw those kinds of statements around it is not taken very well by the people on here that worked really hard and took the NCLEX to be "basically the same as a CMA."

That being said, I know that in my area you don't have to be a certified CNA to be a care tech in the hospital setting and I am sure your medical knowledge will be a good thing if you apply for that. Also look into doctor offices as that is where you will find the most CMAs and have the best shot of getting into the job you want. If you did the phlebotomy course in school you could also look at your local blood bank or hospital lab.

Hope this helps.

In some states (whether it should happen or not is irrelevant, the point is it does) LPN/CMA are hired equally for physician practices. Job postings state LPN OR CMA needed. They do the same tasks - from education to injections to assisting in procedures to telephone triage. An LPN goes through a 10 month program, a CMA goes through a 12-18 month program. The difference is the rationale. There is a lot more education given for an LPN course whereas a CMA has a more more hands-on and technical component.

Hospitals rarely take medical assistants, unless you are applying for unit secretary/ tech positions. Your first message did seem, whether you knew it or not, to be challenging a LPN (not so much RN) position. LPN's can do far more than you can as an MA.

Your best chance is a clinic. Or you need to broaden your job focus and become a unit tech/ secretary/ tele tech

Well here in this part of the country CMA's and LPN's perform the same functions in a physcians office.

Being a CMA myself a few years ago I do understand where the OP is coming from. I am now an LPN but do not hold myself in higher regard than a CMA. We are all vital parts of the healthcare team.

Just my 2 cents

I know of a few girls who went through a course to become an MA, and a lot of the intructors like to tell the student that there are so many things you will be doing similar to a nurse. I think the students are misguided through no fault of their own and don't mean to sound as if they are going to be doing nursing duties, but lead to believe they are a very important part of the healthcare team. I am an LPN student currently and I have been amazed at what the CNA's now do at the hospitals I do rotations at. I found it ironic that the CNA's were doing more than I thought they could do (many are phlebotomy certified) and I was delegated to do more CNA work while there; kind of a switcheroo.

Just remember... most of the CMA schools out there are for profit money making machines. I thought about applying to a LPN program at a local "tech college". One year of classes and it costs abot 25,000. Of course there is a much shorter waiting list, however I am just not willing to drop 25 grand to became an LPN, when it will cost me about 6500 to complete the ADN program at the local community college. When I initially started looking into nursing programs, I filled out this online form to have schools contact me. 99% of the schools were tech schools telling me about their MA programs. Fortunatly I looked into everything and found out the real deal about MAs in my area (Indiana/Chicago). The pay for a MA is usually 9-11 bucks an hour. There are TONS of graduates from the area school flooding the market. So I decided to just get my CNA cert. Got a job at a hospital. Now I am trained in basic patient care, as well as the more MA like skills (the hospital taught me phlebotomy, EKGs, and more). I make about the same base pay as an MA, but make much more when I factor in shift diff. All for the low price of my 550 dollar CNA class. Seriously... before anyone goes to a CMA program... look into the local job market! Also remember that some hospitals will hire you with no training before they hire you with MA training. I know where I work our listings specifically state no MAs need apply to the PCA/PCT jobs. Apparently they have had too many problems with the nurses and MAs bickering on the job. Now if you want to work in a doctors office... go for the MA program. I know I personally love the MAs at my docs office. Truth be told I would prefer that an MA take my blood any day over an RN, thats just for me. I would let an LPN/RN assess me WAAAY over an MA.

Also, as far as challenging the CNA boards... you would be hard pressed to be able to. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 require that all CNAs/STNAs attend at least 75 hours of education at a state approved training program with at least 16 hours of direct clinicals. I know in Indiana that you have to have 30 hours of class and 75 hours of clinicals. Either way you would have to be provided the minimal set of education provided by a certified school/facility. This is to comply with federal standards for ALL CNAs. There are some loopholes (such as having military training in patient care in some states, however this is only allowed because their training complies with OBRA '87 standards) Some other states allow foreign trained nurses to challenge the board, but they must still take the practical and written tests. It might be worth it to look into just taking the class. Besides, the stuff you learn in CNA class is nothing like CMA classes. I know in my class we focused on residents right, and personal care procedures.

I have been a CMA for 12 years, I am currently working in a doctor's office part time and have 1 more year to go in an ADN program. After working as a CMA, I decided that I wanted more out of my career an started taking the prerequisite courses for the ADN program. CMA's in a lot of offices are only allowed to do "secretarial" type work (that's what a lot of my friends do). I am lucky and my office allows me to do a lot of clinical duties, under MD supervision, but I wanted to continue on with my education and being a CMA got me focused. Good luck to you in your job search and don't get discouraged.

In my area it seems MA's have a hard time finding jobs as well. While some state MA or LPN while they may have similar task they are not the same, like a MD vs. NP vs. PA. Anyhow its upsetting these for profit school take HUGE somes of money from students saying there are loads of jobs when their arent. As well you can train on the job for MA just like CNA. Wish the word was out there for students to beware of those schools

In my area it seems MA's have a hard time finding jobs as well. While some state MA or LPN while they may have similar task they are not the same, like a MD vs. NP vs. PA. Anyhow its upsetting these for profit school take HUGE somes of money from students saying there are loads of jobs when their arent. As well you can train on the job for MA just like CNA. Wish the word was out there for students to beware of those schools

I have the same gripe with these schools. They are always advertising their programs on TV with statements like, "Medical assisting is one of the fastest growing career fields in the nation!" They are all about the bottom dollar and will charge students a huge amount of money to get a degree that won't pay well after graduation.