hi, i am a cna. and now i'm thinking about being a medical assistant. I'm not too sure but I'm 75% sure that I don't want to be a cna for the rest of my life. I am a little discouraged because I'm finding that being a cna is not all that it has cracked up to be for me. That's why i'm looking online to see what else I could be doing..OH did I mention that I have my Bachelors Degree in Psychology? Well why the career change? Glad you asked,,,when I graduated from college I couldn't find a job with a BA in psychology, so I did retail. NOW I hear that being in the health care field you are set for life because you will ALWAYS have a J-O-B..So that's another reason why I changed career paths. Can someone help me figure out what I want to do or offer me some kinda advice? I'm suppose to be applying to nursing school at the end of this month, but the more I think about it, the more I don't want to be a nurse. Maybe me workin on the floor as a CNA running back to back on my feet for 12hrs has something to do with. Like I said, I'm not use to this and this is a MAJOR adjustment for me. SO i'm thinking about either becoming a medical assistant so that I can work in a doctors office or a physician assistant. I feel bad because I'm scared I'm just waisting time trying to make my mind up.
Do you all know of any cna's that have become medical assistants?
I'm a cna who is in an MA program :) Out where I am, MAs have it made. Doc offices are always hiring them. All 4 major hosp got rid of their lpns, they were told to upgrade or say bye bye. And the doc offices dumped them because they could pay MAs less. Which of course means the money I'll make as an MA isn't as much as an RN but it is double what a CNA makes. Ltcs out here don't employ MAs but one reason I got into MA was because I didn't want to work in ltc. I've spoken to docs, RNS ect and out here MA is the way to go. Our nursing schools have a 2 year wait and thats after nearly 2 years of prereqs. I'll work any shift in a docs office and do anything they want if only I never have to go back to ltc. I loved my residents but getting attacked, covered in filth and treated horribly by nurses was more then I could handle.
Maybe Pharmacy Tech? Phlibotomy? I know here around her in Arkansas they can me completed in 2 semesters. Just trying to help you think of things in the health care area.
I am in the same boat as you are I got my CNA my senior year of high school, I am not as satisfied as I thought I would be either. I also was considering Nursing school btu I am now leaning more towards the MA program simply because I want to have a Monday-Friday job with 8/9-4/5 hours and NO weekends (maybe a Saturday if the doctor's office is open but at least no Sunday's). I 100% agree with you that the running up and down the hallways for hours on end may have been what turned me against nursing, I am more comfortable with the idea of answering phone and walking a patient to the exam room after their vitals. I'm sure this post didn't help you much but it made me feel better that I wasn't alone in the situation so hopefully it will you too. Good luck!
I also have a B.A. in psychology and now working as a CNA. I'm currently taking prereqs for the Physician Assistant program. With your CNA experience... you'll be ahead of a lot of applicants. The program 2-2.5 years same as an RN, but you'll make more that an RN and do less work.
Forget the medical assisting program, and begin taking prereqs for PA, or NP direct entry since you already have a B.A.
I wish they had something like that here in north carolina. I would love to do something like that. I like the idea of working up front in the doctors office. I know i do not want to do nursing. I am cna certified but didn't like it. But now i work as an assistant manager in retail and i like that. That is why i think i would like working in a doctors office.
sonomala
416 Posts
I'm a cna who is in an MA program :) Out where I am, MAs have it made. Doc offices are always hiring them. All 4 major hosp got rid of their lpns, they were told to upgrade or say bye bye. And the doc offices dumped them because they could pay MAs less. Which of course means the money I'll make as an MA isn't as much as an RN but it is double what a CNA makes. Ltcs out here don't employ MAs but one reason I got into MA was because I didn't want to work in ltc. I've spoken to docs, RNS ect and out here MA is the way to go. Our nursing schools have a 2 year wait and thats after nearly 2 years of prereqs. I'll work any shift in a docs office and do anything they want if only I never have to go back to ltc. I loved my residents but getting attacked, covered in filth and treated horribly by nurses was more then I could handle.