Ok, like I get it. I know why you are so defensive

Nursing Students General Students

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I have read so many posts on here of Nurses that get all fired up every time that some one posts something about Medical Assistants. Especially when it is some one that says they had a friend or some one tell them that MAs are the same as RN's or that they are wasting their time in nursing school when they could just be an MA and do the same thing...yeada yeada. I understood, being an MA myself, that Ma are NOT RNs. I just did not understand why people got so hot under the collar when these things were said, real hot. Now I understand. I am only in my second semester and I am already like "Whoa, I did not realize that nurses has so many responsibilities!!" Not just what they do per se, but the vast responsibilities of taking care of some ones life. I mean I had a general idea, but whoa. Don't get me wrong, I am not scared away or anything. I just understand now why people get so defensive. I am not saying I am going to bite some ones head off when I become a nurse and they compare to me an MA, I am just saying--I might be a little more irritated than before!:trout: Just marveling

Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.

Thank you for letting me know that because I honestly had no idea and it made it a little difficult to follow the thread.

Do they have a board that delegates their scope of practice? Do they have to take an exam as with most other medical professions (from LVN to MD)... to obtain their license?

Now that I know where they work and who they work under it seems to just create more questions for me huh??? Sorry about that...

rags

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Specializes in Urgent Care.

LOL It is a state certification, not a liscence , and yes there is a state exam that they take.

It gets sticky because in some places, people are still trained off the streeet and called "medical assistants". This is why most places now push for certification, since that means you have graduated from an accredited program and passed the certification exam. The description of duties varied from state to state as well. I always said when I was an MA that I could perform brain surgery if I wanted to and the doctor trusted me. It's hard to find a definitive line in scope of practice. Most states do not allow then to do anything invasive aside from injections.

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.
The description of duties varied from state to state as well. It's hard to find a definitive line in scope of practice.

Do you think this is at the core of the controversy then?

It would sure seem like it to me!

Nurses tend to like knowing what is "within" a persons scope of practice when they are working with them. I think that stems from it being pounded into our head all through nursing school. :chuckle

rags

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Specializes in geriatrics,emergency,hospice.

MA's in my area take an 18 month course! I cannot figure out why someone would want to do that, when in 6 more months, they could have their ADN. Then when they get out of school, they are lucky to make $8 or $9/hr. I place alot of the blame on the schools, and their false advertising about the profession. Just my thoughts.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

I went to MA school before nursing school.

#1 I did not realize the difference in an MA and a nurse before attending nursing school. I think that most MA's who compare themselves to nurses are just as misinformed as I was when I went to school. There is an enormous difference that some just can't (or won't) see.

#2 MA's are usually employed in physician's offices and work under the physician's license. If an MA is employed at a hospital (at least in my state), they are given the title of nursing assistant and have the same scope of practice as a CNA...so no worries as far as delegation on the nurse's part.

#3 The MA school I attended DID offer an associate's degree route...you took general college courses above your requirements for Medical Assistant and were awarded an Associate's of Arts degree. I checked the accreditation and it would not transfer to a nursing program. It would have been a huge waste of time and money.

#4 The schools are very misleading. I was told that I would make upwards of $15/hr working at a doctor's office or at the hospital (hah! try $8-9...maybe). I was never told that I would be equal to a nurse, however, the differences between the two professions were never discussed either. It left my role quite ambiguous and open to my own misconceptions as well as other lay persons and my classmates. AND they charged a ridiculous amount of money...it actually cost me less to attend the entire RN program.

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I have received solicitations to become an instructor at for profit MA schools. I just didn't feel up to the challenge as I am a licensed nurse and I would not want to waste any of my time with "pitches" that I do not agree with in philosophy. I think we all have our places in the workplace. I also agree 150% with daytonite's comments. She hit the nail on the head. As an aside, I attended an MA class one time at a local comm college, and was asked by the instructor why I was taking the class. I told her my reason was to broaden my horizons in case I wanted to work in a doctor's office since in nrsg school we get no training about front office procedures. She was very professional and I gained so much from the class. I was sorry I was not able to take more MA classes at this public school b/c I found the class useful.

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Oh, and BTW, my daughter was hired in a medical practice once to work as a file clerk. She essentially was hired off the street. She was learning and doing everything, front office and back office. No MA school, tests, or certification as a CMA. When she called me up one time to ask advice about a clinical procedure, I promptly asked her if she had bought and started to clue her in to the facts of life. She was doing a whole heck of a lot for $9 an hr considering her lack of education, qualifications, and the fact that she had been hired to do filing. She left that position after becoming more informed about how the MDs were "using" her and the others that worked there. Now she is working her way through the licensed nurse educational maze. My DOCS and I discussed this situation one day. Her first question to me was, "How many nurses work there?" Some nurses get upset over the hullaballoo betw MA/licensed nurse b/c for every MA working anywhere, there is a job that a licensed nurse does not have. I can see that point of view. The MDs at that practice were probably not going to find an RN or LPN to do what my daughter was doing for $9/hr.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
Who does an MA have to work under and who is accountable for their actions in the end? I am asking this question in all sincerity because I have never worked with one... we don't really have too many of them where I work. We do have a few Medical Techs that work in ER and on the Surg. floors but they have a job description similar to a CNA but with a few more tasks they are able to be delegated. But all CNA's LPN's and MT's work under the RN who is ultimately responsible for everything they do.

Is that the same for an Medical Assistant?

You should check your state board. Our state board here in California specifically addresses these questions on their website. When it comes to delegation of tasks you really need to know what the legal scope of an MAs duties as well as the duties of other healthcare personnel are in your state. Your state board of nursing will be able to give you that information.

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Specializes in NICU.

I'm just an RN student and I was offended when I met a girl at an exercise class who introduced herself to me as a nurse. Well as I got to know her down the line and found out she was an MA, well I felt rather unnerved! She went on to say the same thing, that MA's are nurses! HA!

OK, well after I graduate, I'm going to start telling everyone I'm an MD, OK?:chuckle We basically do the same things, right? No need for me to go and get a PhD when I already know everything there is to know, yes?:chuckle :roll :rotfl:

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.
I'm just an RN student and I was offended when I met a girl at an exercise class who introduced herself to me as a nurse. Well as I got to know her down the line and found out she was an MA, well I felt rather unnerved! She went on to say the same thing, that MA's are nurses! HA!

OK, well after I graduate, I'm going to start telling everyone I'm an MD, OK?:chuckle We basically do the same things, right? No need for me to go and get a PhD when I already know everything there is to know, yes?:chuckle :roll :rotfl:

:yeahthat:

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