MA's in hospitals, replacing RNs ?

[time4meRN]

:angryfireOK, so is this true. Has anyone seen adverts for ma as clinical bed side care givers. I think nurses need to start speaking up against this. I would never go to a hospital that an MA is my so called nruse. You get what you pay for. Can you imagine waking up from or and an MA listening to your breath sounds, circ checks and head to toe assesment and then giving you Dilaudid. Can you imagine the law suites the hospitals would see. Im really sick of going into a Dr's office and the MA presented as an RN and doing things RN's can't do , because some Dr. said it was OK. Physician offices that are doing this need a wake up call. I also seen a comercial about H1N1 and the " nurse" was talking about how safe the " shot" . was. I know the Dr's office. She was an ma. Im not saying MA's don't have their place but, that's just it they have their place.

[FLmomof5]

I truly don't know what to say about this. I am a 2nd term NS. My daughter is in pre-reqs..... but currently she is an MA at a clinic. She is a US Army vet and her MOS was Combat Medic. She has more experience than many nurses I know. Should someone worry about waking up with my daughter doing their care? Don't think so.

[nohika]

I truly don't know what to say about this. I am a 2nd term NS. My daughter is in pre-reqs..... but currently she is an MA at a clinic. She is a US Army vet and her MOS was Combat Medic. She has more experience than many nurses I know. Should someone worry about waking up with my daughter doing their care? Don't think so.

But unfortunately, there's tons of MAs out there that don't have your daughter's background.

[elkpark]

I truly don't know what to say about this. I am a 2nd term NS. My daughter is in pre-reqs..... but currently she is an MA at a clinic. She is a US Army vet and her MOS was Combat Medic. She has more experience than many nurses I know. Should someone worry about waking up with my daughter doing their care? Don't think so.

Your daughter's situation is v. unusual, and certainly not representative of MAs overall.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

also, regardless of the MA's background EXPERIENCE they do not have the background education. And there is so much more to nursing than tasks.

[PurpleLVN]

:angryfireOK, so is this true. Has anyone seen adverts for ma as clinical bed side care givers. I think nurses need to start speaking up against this. I would never go to a hospital that an MA is my so called nruse. You get what you pay for. Can you imagine waking up from or and an MA listening to your breath sounds, circ checks and head to toe assesment and then giving you Dilaudid. Can you imagine the law suites the hospitals would see. Im really sick of going into a Dr's office and the MA presented as an RN and doing things RN's can't do , because some Dr. said it was OK. Physician offices that are doing this need a wake up call. I also seen a comercial about H1N1 and the " nurse" was talking about how safe the " shot" . was. I know the Dr's office. She was an ma. Im not saying MA's don't have their place but, that's just it they have their place.

Are you sure it's not MA's replacing LVN/LPN's? This is unjust-I'm an LVN and it's hard enough to have to compete against MA's for positions, but replacing an RN??!! That's unconstitutional!!!!! I think LVN/LPN's as well as RN's should fight for our rights!!:smiley_ab

[pca_85]

I've seen ads for PCA positions in hospitals in my area that state: experience as MA, STNA, or EMT preferred....so I'm thinking it's for an assistant type postition...which is interesting....because these three individuals would have somewhat different training.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

I truly don't know what to say about this. I am a 2nd term NS. My daughter is in pre-reqs..... but currently she is an MA at a clinic. She is a US Army vet and her MOS was Combat Medic. She has more experience than many nurses I know. Should someone worry about waking up with my daughter doing their care? Don't think so.

Your daughter does not have the scope to assess and intervene in a situation. She is not licensed. It isn't about "your" daughter. It is about Unlicensed and Untrained personnel.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

ma replacing rn's or even lvn's never gonna happen especially in the hospital....ma's are not taught the assessment skills to care for patients in that setting....

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

yep i might just worry on that one....

i truly don't know what to say about this. i am a 2nd term ns. my daughter is in pre-reqs..... but currently she is an ma at a clinic. she is a us army vet and her mos was combat medic. she has more experience than many nurses i know. should someone worry about waking up with my daughter doing their care? don't think so.

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

I do not have to imagine it because MAs do not work in hospitals and if they do they certainly are not performing nursing duties like assessments. JCAHO and other accrediting agencies would never allow it. IF an MA was to work in a hospital they really would not be performing as an MA but a tech or NA.

An MAs place is in the clinical setting. Sadly there are some that allow MAs to do more than they should and should be reported. Although the MA has a limited scope of practice there are quite a few things a Certified MA from an accredited school can do; often things that nurses are surprised of such as injections and blood draws, but again these people (ones that graduate from an accredited school and are certified) are trained and what and where they can inject is limited.

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

I'd wager it is more for PCA positions, but hospitals might try to increase PCA #s and lower RN numbers since MAs make about half as much as RNs... bad for patient care.

Of course doctor's offices regularly have mostly MAs instead of RNs. Much cheaper and the MAs are taught billing as well. But all the providers count on them for are blood draws and vitals.