help.. LPN. or MA ?? Any suggestions?

Achoo!, LPN · Nov 6, 2004

I wouldn't say that the other options are " easier". You still get alot of information crammed in a short time. I would suggest talking to a school counselor who can thoroughly explain the programs to you. Maybe a CNA course would help to get your foot in the door, and get acclimated to the medical feild.

luv4nursing · Nov 7, 2004

My advice is to go for the LPN degree...I am also in FL and Im an LPN student. As long as u dont have a problem with long term care, u will never need a job. The thing about phasing out LPNs is a thing certain hospitals periodically do and next thing u know they start hiring them again. Honestly, I dont think u will have a problem finding a job...I see tons of them in the paper every sunday.

The reason I say this is because MA's income potential is considerably less and since u obviously have the desire to be a nurse, why not get your LPN? After that, u ALWAYS have the option to continue on for your RN in a transition program which would take another year. If u get your MA and decide to go back to become a nurse, u will have to start all over. There are a few MA's in my class and they all want to eventually be RN's so they would have been better off to start with LPN rather than MA. by the time they spent a year in MA school and another year in LPN school, they could have finished RN school.

good luck in whatever u decide to do! I am happy in my decision to become and LPN...I enrolled because of the long wait for RN school, this way I will have this much under my belt and can work as an LPN while I finish my RN. I really dont think I will regret this decision, Ill be done with LPN school before I would have been accepted into the RN program because of the long waiting list. The LPN to RN bridge has a smaller applicant pool so most get in quickly.

sorry for the book! :)

MissyL05 · Nov 14, 2004

Hi There.....

I am currently a nursing student and have been a Certified Medical Assistant for three years. I hope I can help you!!

The main difference in CMA and LPN is that MA's always always work under the direct supervision of a Doctor. That is why MA's are not in hospitals and that is why you won't find LPN's being "Phased" out by MA's. As a medical assistant you will do a lot of clinical things like giving shots, drawing blood, doing EKG's. You also do a lot of other things like calling in Rx's and doing and doing phone triage.You are also trained to do billing and refferals. If you want to be a medical assistant you will probably be lucky to find a job outside of a Drs ofc.

I am very thankful for my training because I already have a ton of clinical experience and know the basics of what I am currently learning. It gives me a huge lead but If I had known that I would eventually want to go on to be a nurse, I would have just gone straight into nursing school. My advice...If you want to be a nurse, don't waste the time and money by going to MA's school first.

One other thing....THe stress will still be there for LPN training. I think that no matter what you do, you will have to adjust to the fact that school comes first while you are there.

Have a good day!

Missy

michelleicu · Nov 20, 2004

:) Please help! I just withdrew from the RN program because the stress level was too much for me. I still want to be in the medical field. I live in FL, and want to know which is better LPN or MA??? Or what else there after realizing that your not meant to be an RN???
I hear that LPN is being phased out, or that the new lpn's are ma's so they can pay you less money.. Iam so confused, I like a loser for not hanging on to the gold standard"""RN""" , but there are so many choices in the health field that I feel bombarded.
Anyone have any suggestions?? :imbar :imbar :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21:

I feel the way you do ,cause ma course is only eight months and the lpn is like a two year course and their's always a waiting list too.oh and MA's who work in doctors office's get the weekends off and holidays off too paid.

akcarmean, LPN · Nov 20, 2004

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do. Just make sure that you follow your heart and not someone elses. Any type of school is very stressful. The more you have on your plate beside school the more stressful it can be. But IT CAN BE DONE. I have 3 children, husband, home and work per-diem. Starting in Jan. I am going back for my RN, BSN. Good Luck with your decision.

Angelia

MissyL05 · Nov 20, 2004

How are you feeling Kario? Have you made any new decisions?

Michelle-

Was your Lpn course a Two year course? Mine is only a one year and there was no waiting list b/c I am going to a private school (costs an arm and a leg but there was no waiting list)

Angelia-

Congrats on your decision to go back to nursing school! Our teachers are all RN, BSN and I really do admire them and look up to them for all they know! Good luck!

Have a good weekend everyone!

:rolleyes: Missy

Georgia peach RN · Nov 23, 2004

I took the medical assisting course 17 yr. ago, then 5 yr ago took practial nursing. as a MA it is hard to find a job not only are you competing with other MA's but also LPN's who want to work in a office. I found a friendlier job market as an LPN than as a MA. I say go the the Lincence it isnt that much longer in school. The stress level is about the same for both classes.:balloons:

LorraineCNA · Nov 25, 2004

I struggled a long time with the decision of whether I wanted to go to LPN school or MA school. I'm currently in MA school. I would much rather be able to say "I'm a nurse" BUT....

Here in PA, the only place LPN's make decent money is LTC. I've worked LTC as a CNA and knew I didn't want the stress and responsibility that the LPN's have there. Some hospitals here don't even hire LPN's, some do. The ones that do actually have the LPN positions listed as "technical" jobs and starting pay is only $12.00 an hour, max on the scale being around 15.00. I have no idea how long you'd have to be there to make the max. I was already making 10.50-11.50 an hour as a CNA. The nearest school (LPN) to me was almost an hour away. That meant that for clinicals (held in various hospitals near or not so near the school) in the winter I may have had to leave at 5:30 a.m. to get where I had to go if the roads were bad. I still have kids in school, so that was a major consideration. I just decided it wasn't worth the stress and inconvenience it was going to cause to make pretty much the same amount of money I was already making.The MA school is 10 minutes from my house. I leave after they get on the bus and get home before they do.

The hospitals here do hire MA's but not "as" MA's. You can work as an EKG tech for instance. A lot of "technical" jobs require you be a grad of an MA school. Why not get on the hospital web sites and look at their job listings and see what you find? That's what was a big part of my decision...to me the stress and turning my family life upside down just wasn't worth it for the minimal increase in pay. I also REALLY like the idea of M-F, no weekends or holidays. Plus, no poop to clean up (usually) and people don't usually die in the doctors office. ) like another poster said, the jobs ARE different

Good luck in your decision,

Lorraine

:) Please help! I just withdrew from the RN program because the stress level was too much for me. I still want to be in the medical field. I live in FL, and want to know which is better LPN or MA??? Or what else there after realizing that your not meant to be an RN???
I hear that LPN is being phased out, or that the new lpn's are ma's so they can pay you less money.. Iam so confused, I like a loser for not hanging on to the gold standard"""RN""" , but there are so many choices in the health field that I feel bombarded.
Anyone have any suggestions?? :imbar :imbar :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21: :uhoh21:

LorraineCNA · Nov 25, 2004

that was supposed to be a smiley. :)

One other thing...I'm well aware that I'll probably be making the same $ as an MA that I did as a CNA. Since this is an additional income for us, a job conducive to my family life is more important than the $.

Lorraine

I struggled a long time with the decision of whether I wanted to go to LPN school or MA school. I'm currently in MA school. I would much rather be able to say "I'm a nurse" BUT....
Here in PA, the only place LPN's make decent money is LTC. I've worked LTC as a CNA and knew I didn't want the stress and responsibility that the LPN's have there. Some hospitals here don't even hire LPN's, some do. The ones that do actually have the LPN positions listed as "technical" jobs and starting pay is only $12.00 an hour, max on the scale being around 15.00. I have no idea how long you'd have to be there to make the max. I was already making 10.50-11.50 an hour as a CNA. The nearest school (LPN) to me was almost an hour away. That meant that for clinicals (held in various hospitals near or not so near the school) in the winter I may have had to leave at 5:30 a.m. to get where I had to go if the roads were bad. I still have kids in school, so that was a major consideration. I just decided it wasn't worth the stress and inconvenience it was going to cause to make pretty much the same amount of money I was already making.The MA school is 10 minutes from my house. I leave after they get on the bus and get home before they do.
The hospitals here do hire MA's but not "as" MA's. You can work as an EKG tech for instance. A lot of "technical" jobs require you be a grad of an MA school. Why not get on the hospital web sites and look at their job listings and see what you find? That's what was a big part of my decision...to me the stress and turning my family life upside down just wasn't worth it for the minimal increase in pay. I also REALLY like the idea of M-F, no weekends or holidays. Plus, no poop to clean up (usually) and people don't usually die in the doctors office. ) like another poster said, the jobs ARE different
Good luck in your decision,
Lorraine

Betty_SPN_KS, LPN · Nov 27, 2004

When you say "MA" do you mean medical assistant or medication assistant?

smk1, LPN · Nov 27, 2004

MA is usually meant for medical assistant.

I would say to the OP to find out if she is able to test for lpn right now because a lot of schools allow you to sit for the NCLEXPN after the 1st year of RN school. You could be closer than you think to being a nurse after all.