Intravenous meds and medical assistants

englishnurse · Jun 14, 2005

I am a certified medical assistant and I must say we go to school just as long as LPN's ,so why shouldn't we be able to give injections. LPN's and medical assistant's have basically the same duties on their job and get paid about the same thing so why shouldn't we give injections.

I just had to write something when I read this. I am insulted that a MA could possibly think of themselves being the same as or better than a LPN. I went to school for a year full time. I had to get up early in the morning to meet a study group at four in the morning to study for a test at 8 that morning. I could not get less than 80% or I would fail. So there is no possible way that you can tell me your more qualified to give injections or to medications.

dml53 · Jun 14, 2005

I just had to write something when I read this. I am insulted that a MA could possibly think of themselves being the same as or better than a LPN. I went to school for a year full time. I had to get up early in the morning to meet a study group at four in the morning to study for a test at 8 that morning. I could not get less than 80% or I would fail. So there is no possible way that you can tell me your more qualified to give injections or to medications.

I'm an rn was an lpn before. my mother in law died because there was no rn to ASSESS or even a good lpn. the ma went to school for 3count em 3 days to get her 84% to pass meds. I have nothing to say for ma's She would have died anyway but not gripping the table grinding her teeth in pain, no patches nomeds, cause in '' she didnt ask'' METASTIIIC BONE CANCER she shouldnt have had to ask. she didnt eat for 3 days they didnt think it was important to call. These ma's shouldnt be allowed to exist. ive been an rn for 17 years and ive known many an excellent lpn. you dont need to take that garbage from anyone.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2005

Are you kidding me??? Is this a typo???:smackingf :smackingf :smackingf

As for the earlier question on error rate...if you don't know anything about the medication or what to watch for and as long as you did what was ordered....where is the error??

alintanurse · Jun 14, 2005

This website was on a recent thread and pertains to MA's who are calling themselves nurses. http://www.fsmaonline.org/officenurse.htm

Andi33 · Jun 14, 2005

You know for every nightmare story about an CMA, there are probably hunderds more about nurses, MDs, etc..etc...etc! Give it a rest!

Brownms46-You are my hero! I started reading this old post because someone had replied to it recently. As I read through all of these posts, I wanted to comment, but you have said everything I would have said (and more!). Huge misconceptions out there concerning MA's and by the sounds of it, even through all your effort, these misconceptions will not go away or be understood. It's sad to think that nurses think so little of MA's that they lessen them to office receptionist. All I can say is I am finishing up my AAS in Medical Assisting, (2 years, thank you), and there are many of us out there who are completely competent, whether you want to believe it or not. It comes down to the "elitist attitude" that Brownms46 referred to. You just have to understand that some of us CHOOSE to become an MA and that we are good at what we do. This is reality! :)

Marvie · Jun 21, 2005

I am a certified medical assistant and I must say we go to school just as long as LPN's ,so why shouldn't we be able to give injections. LPN's and medical assistant's have basically the same duties on their job and get paid about the same thing so why shouldn't we give injections.

BECAUSE a MA is NOT liscenced! And because an LPN and RN ARE! RN's and LPN's have the education and expertise to know where, how, when, and why they are giving an injection. AND they know when NOT to. That's why! :uhoh21:

sgent · Jul 6, 2005

I don't get it... issue a CMA license and be done with it, then they will meet all of your precious licensure requirement.

The facts are that a CMA has better training than most LPN's I've hired for working in physican offices, this includes things like lab work, how to document, how to perform plebotomy, etc.

The license is a legal requirement. Their education is already there, and the legal requirement is met by the fact they are working under the MD supervision.

If you feel so strongly that they should have a license of their own (which is not required legally), then I suggest you start lobbying your legislature to pass a medical office assistant law -- and require everyone who works in a medical office to pass it. I doubt very many LPN's could pass it on a first sitting unless they had OJT or had studied extensively.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jul 6, 2005

As a former CMA now LVN , you do not have the same duties as a Licensed nurse. NO WAY!! You may go to school for a year or whatever, but I can tell you what you cover only skims the surface. When you have had a full year of hard-core med-surg mixed with clinical patho/pharm I'll take to you about comparison. I dont know what you make but I make $12.03/hr more as a nurse than as a CMA. Last, CMA's are not taught the med-surg base for all these med's they are giving. How can someone give medictions when they have no idea what they are for, or the patho behind it... Im just amazed.

=Quita]I am a certified medical assistant and I must say we go to school just as long as LPN's ,so why shouldn't we be able to give injections. LPN's and medical assistant's have basically the same duties on their job and get paid about the same thing so why shouldn't we give injections.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Jul 6, 2005

Are you a licensed nurse?

I don't get it... issue a CMA license and be done with it, then they will meet all of your precious licensure requirement.
The facts are that a CMA has better training than most LPN's I've hired for working in physican offices, this includes things like lab work, how to document, how to perform plebotomy, etc.
The license is a legal requirement. Their education is already there, and the legal requirement is met by the fact they are working under the MD supervision.
If you feel so strongly that they should have a license of their own (which is not required legally), then I suggest you start lobbying your legislature to pass a medical office assistant law -- and require everyone who works in a medical office to pass it. I doubt very many LPN's could pass it on a first sitting unless they had OJT or had studied extensively.

smk1, LPN · Jul 6, 2005

I don't get it... issue a CMA license and be done with it, then they will meet all of your precious licensure requirement.
The facts are that a CMA has better training than most LPN's I've hired for working in physican offices, this includes things like lab work, how to document, how to perform plebotomy, etc.
The license is a legal requirement. Their education is already there, and the legal requirement is met by the fact they are working under the MD supervision.
If you feel so strongly that they should have a license of their own (which is not required legally), then I suggest you start lobbying your legislature to pass a medical office assistant law -- and require everyone who works in a medical office to pass it. I doubt very many LPN's could pass it on a first sitting unless they had OJT or had studied extensively.

Of course an LPN can't pass a CMA written exam, because the CMA classes also include medical office info that is not in the LPN curriculum. However clinically, they would pass with no problem, because their scope of practice exceeds that of an MA. An LPN can do all of the clinical procedures that an MA can, but the reverse is not true. LPN's can work in hospitals and clinics, doctors offices and nursing homes, MA's are concentrated mostly in doctor's offices because that is what they were specifically trained for. Ma's would not function in the same capacity of an LPN in a hospital or a nursing home. This does not make them less smart or "inferior", it just makes them different. The educaction may be the same length, but the rigor of that education is usually different. When we had an LPN program at my school the classes were all college level sciences, the MA program has technical courses that are not college level and are classified as basic concept classes. The length of time spent in school before recieving your certificate or AA is not the issue, it is the level of the classes and legal scope of practice. Ma's are not the same as an LPN.

SmilingBluEyes · Jul 6, 2005

The incident with the allergist was in Indy about 10 years ago. Medical assistants should be answering phones and giving patients gowns to put on, not administering meds.

Amen.

MacNurse · Jul 6, 2005

My :twocents:

Here in Ontario they changed the requirements for entry in to practice for registered nurses. To enter the profession you have to have you BScN. Why did they do this?? Because literature showed that mortality rates go down with the higher level of education, (I'm not flaming anyone here that doesn't have a BScN!) so the thought of some unregulated health care worker hanging a med or giving an injection scares the crap out of me!

Leave the meds to the professionals. You need critical thinking skills to monitor your patient and know what to do, not just knowledge about A&P, how the drug works, etc.