Don't pounce me, I really do not know!

groovetta · Oct 19, 2006

Maybe you could tell me what MAs do. I've not worked with MAs before, but would have if I had accepted the job offer from the OB/GYN office.

Here are some of the things I do during my work day. I'll just sort of rattle them off as they come to mind. I'm a LPN working in a Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery practice. On clinic days (days patients come in for appts.), I pretty much weigh them, do vital signs, listen to lungs heart, review medications, any problems they may have, remove surgical dressings, sutures, etc. If they are new patients, I get as much of their H&P as possible. Other duties include being sure lab results, etc. are on the chart for their appt., phoning in medication to the pharmacy, making decisions re: medications as far as side effects, dosages based on lab results, etc. All under the supervision of a RN at the satellite office as our docs are in surgery most days all day. Really, you learn their standard protocol after a while regarding certain matters. Sometimes my duties include office work such as requesting diagnostic procedures (Includes ICD-9 codes, procedure codes, etc.), scheduling surgeries, back to work letters, taking patient triage calls, calls from home health nurses. I order most of the medical supplies. Generally open all the mail. Assist with in office procedures such as thoracentesis, endovenous laser therapy, prepare nerve block injection meds, culture wounds, assist with bil. venous dopplers. I'm sure as the practice grows, my job will be more of the nursing related duties where right now, I sort of do some of the office type duties as well. I have given meds through a J-tube, but this was a rare occasion in a office setting.

I'd say the biggest part of my job is patient telephone triage and clinic days.

Anyone who would flame you should just chill. :- ) Sometimes there are just too many of us women working in one place. :-P I worked for 8 yrs. in long term care and I can't begin to tell you how valuable the CNAs were with regard to patient care and recognizing if the resident was having problems. They knew the residents better than anyone. In most cases anyway.

Johnkc8rak · Oct 19, 2006

The RN in the office work at is the manager. Beside's all of the daily running of the office (A full time job in it's self). She also does all of the education training for the pt's. We have a lot of PT/INR's and diabetics. We take the vitals/blood,misc stuff and then she take's care of the education and medication change's. Then she talks to the MD so we know what medications to call into the pharmacy if a change is needed. She also take's all of the advice call's.

John

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Oct 19, 2006

I will compare what I do with what you do (which you do more)

Maybe you could tell me what MAs do. I've not worked with MAs before, but would have if I had accepted the job offer from the OB/GYN office.
Here are some of the things I do during my work day. I'll just sort of rattle them off as they come to mind. I'm a LPN working in a Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery practice. On clinic days (days patients come in for appts.), I pretty much weigh them, do vital signs, listen to lungs heart, review medications, any problems they may have, remove surgical dressings, sutures, etc (yes to all but listen to lungs and heart). If they are new patients, I get as much of their H&P as possible(Get some history but do not do a physical). Other duties include being sure lab results, etc. are on the chart for their appt., phoning in medication to the pharmacy,(yes) making decisions re: medications as far as side effects, dosages based on lab results, etc.(No) All under the supervision of a RN at the satellite office as our docs are in surgery most days all day. Really, you learn their standard protocol after a while regarding certain matters. Sometimes my duties include office work such as requesting diagnostic procedures (Includes ICD-9 codes, procedure codes, etc.), scheduling surgeries, back to work letters, taking patient triage calls, calls from home health nurses.(yes, but we do not actually do triage, we take the call/ message, out the patient on hold and relay the information to the doctor) I order most of the medical supplies. Generally open all the mail. (Yes)Assist with in office procedures such as thoracentesis, endovenous laser therapy, prepare nerve block injection meds, culture wounds, assist with bil. venous dopplers.(yes to some, like small office procedures, colposcopy, paps, excisions, sigmoids, proctos ect...can prepare nerve block meds but can not inject them, but can inject other basic meds like Demerol, phenergan, stadol...imunizations ect) I'm sure as the practice grows, my job will be more of the nursing related duties where right now, I sort of do some of the office type duties as well. I have given meds through a J-tube, but this was a rare occasion in a office setting.
I also draw blood, but of course can not put anything into the blood.

I'd say the biggest part of my job is patient telephone triage and clinic days.
Anyone who would flame you should just chill. :- ) Sometimes there are just too many of us women working in one place. :-P I worked for 8 yrs. in long term care and I can't begin to tell you how valuable the CNAs were with regard to patient care and recognizing if the resident was having problems. They knew the residents better than anyone. In most cases anyway.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2006

There is a large corporate chain of urgent care clinics in my metropolitan area that hire MAs, LVNs, and RNs to do clinical work. The MAs do their typical front and back office duties. The LVNs do everything the MAs do in addition to taking telephone orders and other duties that require a license. I am unsure as to what the RNs do.

groovetta · Oct 20, 2006

...can prepare nerve block meds but can not inject them, but can inject other basic meds like Demerol, phenergan, stadol...imunizations ect)

This is the only thing that I'd be uncomfortable doing if I were a MA.

prowlingMA · Jan 21, 2007

in our Oncologist office the MA does all vitals, blood draws, rooms pt, some injections,assist docs .RN start IV's, administer chemo, injections, and CVC ( veinous port) care.