Is a Certified Back office medical assistant replacing LVN's

[nycgranni]

I went to North Valley Occupational center to inquire about their LVN program. They are part of the lausd but they are offering the year long program for $10,000; they only accept 15 students plus 5 alternates; after they interview you & testing. I also have been a certified CNA.

I then found another school in the Conejo school district for $3,125. This is a front office medical assistant and phlebotomy class; with two externships. They have said that this program is replacing LVN. The class is 10 weeks & prepares you for certification.

Do you recommend this for someone who wants to get into the medical field.

nycnj12:confused:

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

No, I do not recommend the medical assistant program as a way to enter the field unless you really want to become a MA. Medical assistant jobs usually pay poorly, even in areas such as southern CA that have a high cost of living. Jobs are hard to find without one to two years of experience.

In addition, while MAs are extensively used in doctors' offices and clinics, they will never replace the role of the LVN in other healthcare settings such as nursing homes, rehab, psych, hospice, home health, etc.

[nursel56]

Unless she meant phasing out training to become an LVN at their school - no, a medical assistant cannot replace an LVN. You don't mention whether or not you need to consider cost and length of time in your decision making process, or whether or not you want to work in a doctor's office to the exclusion of other areas but in general my feeling is that I would never spend the money to become a medical assistant because:

• though some doctors may require it, a certification isn't a legal requirement to be a medical assistant in California so is not a credential you take with you from one job to the next as a license is

•a medical assistant can be trained to do some of the things a nurse can do, but an LVN can do everything an MA can do and more, and has the ability to seek employment in a far greater number of areas in addition to a doctor's office

•if you should decide to become an RN you have many options for bridge programs not available to medical assistants

The things most typically taught in a medical assistant program but not in a nursing program (that I know of) such as how to do an EKG or phlebotomy I learned on the job as well as the skills particular to one type of MD practice that no MA course could possibly get covered.

If your ultimate goal is to work in an acute care hospital those positions are pretty much gone but the rest as Commuter mentioned are possibilities assuming this ^%*=#!!* economy ever gets better!

Best wishes to you!

[conroenurse]

I know several nurses, and a few MA's that made the mistake of getting MA certification, paying out all that money, only to find few jobs and poor pay and then having to wait for admission to nursing school longer than if they had signed up there to begin with.

In EACH case they were just really upset over what the school quoted would be a comparable salary , and also what they were told was a bridge to getting nursing license. I really think all the MA's ought to get together and sue the crap out of those schools. Just wrong to misrepresent THAT much.