Doctor's office and "nurses"

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Just a little rant... was wondering if anyone else has experienced this...

Called my doctor's office to see if I could get something called out for a returning ear infection. They transferred me to the "nurse." Long story short, this person is not a LVN or a RN, they are a medical assistant.

Does this bother anyone else?

Isn't this a little shady, calling people nurses who aren't?

Specializes in Cardiac, Adolescent/Child Mental Health.

:deadhorse

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So tell me, does the ego come with the license?

>

I was supposed to get an ego with my license? I got ripped off! Hey, leggo my ego! LOL!

FTR: It's also illegal for someone to call themselves an RT or RCP if they lack the credentials........................except I really couldn't care less what other people are running around doing, I'm just concentrating on doing my job well.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

Wow. I wasn't gonna respond to this thread yesterday but what the heck, I'm bored.

No MAs are not nurses. Their SOP is totally different. Yes, the term "nurse" is protected. My feeling is, is that patients come into the doctor's office and assume that the person taking their VS are nurses and refer to them as that and the MAs just get used to being called "nurse". Although, I'm sure there are MAs that think they do the same thing a nurse does but they don't. They do not get the same level of education as RNs/LPNs do. So that's opinion.

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My issue with MA's is that many of them answer questions that they are not qualified to answer.

It's just going to be a matter of time before some of these people "assess" someone incorrectly and it ends up killing them before states will start passing laws laying out specifically what they can and cannot do.

The one at my physician's office is one of them, and the next time I go in I plan to talk to her about it. Every time I call the nurse the MA keeps telling me to come in for a visit when on some occasions, these are things that I have told her that I have already discussed with the doctor, and to have her nurse to call me.

Sometimes she refuses to transfer the call or even tell the nurse to call me back.

I am sure there are very good, valuable MA's out there, but some of them have just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

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I am an LPN working for my RN. There are a few medical assistants that I would trust my life with more than an RN with no experience. It is not about the peice of paper that you get, it to me is more about the experience that you get, how much you learn, and see the same things over and over again. Does that make sense? We are all in the field of helping other people, can't we just all get along? And I am talking cena's, nurse's, respiratory therapists, pharmacist's, Doctor's, Medical assistant's. Just like Rodney King said, "can't we just all get along?"

I understand your point, however, when you really get into the assessment end of it, you'll understand the difference between knowing how to do the task versus knowing WHY the task is being done.

That is why many MA's think that they do the "same thing as a nurse", because they don't fully understand what all a nurse does.

For example, they may know to take a blood pressure, so of course they will know what the normal range is. However, what they won't know, is how to flip through the health history, medications and possible interactions, lifestyle, diet, OTC's, etc....and get a bigger picture of why it's running high or low and know how to direct assessment questions to put in the notes for the physician to review before they walk in.

That's the difference.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Adolescent/Child Mental Health.

When I was an MA I was a really good MA, but that still didn't make me a nurse. That happened after four years of school and passing boards.

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I've been working as an MA for the last 2 1/2 years and am now starting up a LVN program in the fall. :)

I am the only certified MA in the office, the other girls work as MAs but never went to school for their position. I recognize there is a big difference between being an MA and a licensed nurse and would never presume to represent myself as a "nurse". Unfortunately as someone pointed out the doctors often add to the patients confusion, "My nurse will be right in with you." When a patient calls and asks for a nurse I will always tell them upfront that I am his medical assistant and what can I help you with. I'm sure not all MAs correct the patients, but we cannot be held responsible for the dr incorrectly identifying us or patients making assumptions. That being said-no one, regardless of position, should willingly identify themselves as something they are not.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
"Inflate the egos of non-licensed persons"?? So tell me, does the ego come with the license?

Read Carefully! Inflate the ego's of non-licensed persons! I didn't say that licensed people have inflated ego's just that those without a license get one when everyone keeps calling them a nurse. :nurse:

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
It's just going to be a matter of time before some of these people "assess" someone incorrectly and it ends up killing them

It's not a matter of time, it does happen and it will continue to happen.

I have witnessed it and it resulted in the death of a patient. Who's license was at stake? Not the MA, she didn't have one. It was the one nurse who worked in the office who's license got suspended. Now how fair is that? :eek:

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It's not a matter of time, it does happen and it will continue to happen.

I have witnessed it and it resulted in the death of a patient. Who's license was at stake? Not the MA, she didn't have one. It was the one nurse who worked in the office who's license got suspended. Now how fair is that? :eek:

It shouldn't have been b/c MA's work under the license of a physician.

I have seen MA's post that they even give injections, even start IV's, do teaching on meds, etc...things that only a licensed LPN or an RN would do...these things require a license from the state (and I can't think of a single state that licenses MA's), but we have always been taught that the reason they can do these tasks is b/c they work under the license of the physician, not the nurse.

If what you are saying happened, then that is another good reason to have so you can defend your license to the board and get an attorney that can accurately argue a legal defense.

I think a good attorney could argue, even if a nurse was present, watching...still the license of the physician if she screws up.

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I have seen MA's post that they even give injections, even start IV's, do teaching on meds, etc...things that only a licensed LPN or an RN would do...these things require a license from the state

Just playing devil's advocate, but CMA's CAN give IM and sub-Q injections. At my community college, there is a 1 year MA program and they spend a whole term learning how to give injections. They should absolutely NOT be starting I.V.s though, unless they carry a separate I.V. certification. Scary.

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! another MA thread!

just kidding. i agree wholeheartedly, OP.

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