LPN versus CMA

Nurses LPN/LVN

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YngNrse2b

2 Posts

Ok. soo...Im currently in school for my RN and although starting out as a CNA did help me with my hands on bathing, positioning, etc. pt. care the skills that i acquired as a CMA i personally feel has contributed alot more. Also the pay was a significant amount higher as a CMA. I still work part time at an Urgent care/family practice as a CMA and my duties include, taking vitals, administering injections, (ceftrioxone, toradol, reglen, depomedrol, etc), venipuncture, ekgs, wound care, fracture stabilization, remove sutures, assist with minor surgeries, administering PO medications, monitoring patients, patient teaching, calling in prescriptions, etc. As a CNA I was limited to assisting with ADLS, blood pressure,monitoring patients. As far as pay goes i made 9.00 dollars as a CNA and I make 15.42 as a CMA. Ive only been working as a Cma for 7 months. I feel my skills as a CMA have made a solid foundation for me to build on. I am in california by the way. I just thought id share this information since you dont seem to have anything constructive to say regarding the skillset of CMAs. I am a great CMA. I am intelligent and capable. My experience as a CMA has and im sure will continue to help me be a better RN when i finally sit for my NCLEX.

In Texas you can work in a hospital as a Certified Medical Assistant. In Texas, you can become a LPN in one year. Most of you that are doing the posting should do a little bit more research on what a CMA and not a NA can do apposed to a LPN or LVN. A Certified Medical Assistant can do everything that a LPN can do. You just need to check the state that you are working in. Texas is phasing out LPN's and Certified Medical Assistants are taking their places.

Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

i'm not sure where you are getting your information but most of this is incorrect:rolleyes:. in a hospital environment the cma functions in a tech position and the lvn is in the licensed nurse role. there is no way a hospital is going to put a non- licensed personal as a primary nurse and risk all the legal issues that go with that...a cma is not a nurse no where near...ive said this over and over... you do not do everything a lvn can do and your education is not equal. however, the only way your going to realize this is to do both roles. the education lvn's receive is much much more in depth. cma's just scratch the surface ....cma's do not have the physical assessment skills the lvn does. there is no way a cma is allowed to sink a ng tube or work with central lines.. i can go on and on about the differences..... just in case your wondering i was a cma, lvn now rn and i live in texas....

in texas you can work in a hospital as a certified medical assistant. in texas, you can become a lpn in one year. most of you that are doing the posting should do a little bit more research on what a cma and not a na can do apposed to a lpn or lvn. a certified medical assistant can do everything that a lpn can do. you just need to check the state that you are working in. texas is phasing out lpn's and certified medical assistants are taking their places.

mama_d, BSN, RN

1,187 Posts

Specializes in tele, oncology.
In Texas you can work in a hospital as a Certified Medical Assistant. In Texas, you can become a LPN in one year. Most of you that are doing the posting should do a little bit more research on what a CMA and not a NA can do apposed to a LPN or LVN. A Certified Medical Assistant can do everything that a LPN can do. You just need to check the state that you are working in. Texas is phasing out LPN's and Certified Medical Assistants are taking their places.

Gah!!!!! :banghead:

No, you can't do everything I can. Just like I can't do everything a RN can.

I've nothing against CMAs...I've only ever worked acute care, so I have no experience working with them personally, but from what I've read on here I'm certain that they have an essential role to fill in certain settings.

But it is insulting to me to have someone claim that they can do everything I can when it's certainly not true. Just as it would be insulting for me to claim to be able to do all that a RN can do. Quite simply, legally I can't...I don't have the same education, or licensure, although I'm working on it. I am quite happy and pround in the interim, however, to know that I'm an essential part of the healthcare delivery team...within my legal limitations.

Sorry, I know it's a dead horse issue, but I couldn't help it.

emt2lpn2

57 Posts

Specializes in pediatrics.

I work in VA as an LPN in a pediatric clinic. I started out as an (carepartner) umbrella term for emt,nursing student in med surg,medical assistant, and cna. I am also an emt-b that's how I worked as an carepartner first. I work in a clinic with NO cma. The clinic I work at is under hospital scope of practice because it's a clinic for a hospital. Reasoning being NO unlicensed personnel can pass medicines or give vaccines. If you notice everyone under that umbrella term has no license only certificates regardless of the education. We also have paramedics that work there they are separate and are separate and still cannot function as license staff they function only as paramedics because in the field they function just like and RN /doctor, but they cannot perform any duties as if they were in the field like intubate. I went to school with cma some due receive associate degrees, but based of your state scope of practice regardless of what you learned in school you can only due what your state says you can do.

rayshettabrown

45 Posts

Specializes in clinical setting,MS,ER,Short Stay.

I can't speak on Texas but here in Maryland there is a difference. I was a CMA for 15 yrs,2yrs as a LPN. My job won't allow CMA to do any medication,etc. Unless your a nurse(LPN,RN). We have had CMA trying to do things out of there scope and have ended up fired. Our board of nursing here doesn't recognize CMA only CNA,LPN,RN. I'm not putting anyone down for being a CMA,I was one for 15 yrs. Kaiser permanente only recognizes CNA,LPN,RN here in Maryland. I do know that in private practice here CMA can act as LPN. Hospital,nursing homes,urgent cares use LPN,RNs. CMA work as. Techs.:nurse:

aw70

5 Posts

Why is it that people cannot understand that different states have different regulations for ma's? And why is it that most postings I have read thru consists of putting down someone that worked at going to a program by studying and paticipating in what was offered and went on to pass the certification?

I respect ones that post what they DO know about at least the state they are in..but to say ma's ca't do this or that based on their state regulations is rediculous and tiring. In Florida cma's can give meds, and I understand in other plaaces they can't. I'm sure that there are even some places of employment in Florida that they do not allow thier cma's do certain tasks even if the state says they can due to just having their own regulations and standards and save those particualr tasks for the more trained lpn's or rn's.

I have just signed up for a ma program, and am satisifed with the decision because I researched my area. I took into consideration a number of things....such as the scope of patient care I would be able to have, what you are allowed to do in a hospital setting, clinics, private dr's in different types of practices, the pay, for all those places as well as the NEED for cmas.

I am going to take this step heading in the direction of one day being a RN. I chose cma over lpn because if I was going to go for lpn I would want to go ahead and participate in the program that includes an associates degree and the length of that is quite a bit longer than the 10 month ma program. With wanting to be an rn and wanting to quickly get back in the medical field and do patient care cma was what sounded appealing to me, so why go for a lengthier program when I would shortly be going back for RN?

I understand the whole credits won't transfer thing....but it doesn't matter for me because I am simply wanting to secure a job quickly to include patient care and am wanting to start off slow to get in the swing of things and not go into the RN program completely blind. I feel it's enough to get my feet wet, and I can enjoy what Im doing while working to achieve that main goal!

This web site could be a great tool and social area for people to give eachother some guidance, and simply positive words during their long road of achieving whatever it that they are working for, but unfortuantely, I have read more you know contests between the different fields than any postive words. There have been some cheering others on with positive thinking and conversation but its definitely out weighed by nastiness!

I worked a cna years ago and the way nurses treated us cna's was pretty much how nurses are wuick to put down cma's on here. I also teched in the ER, but the nursing staff was always so supportive of me and actually would take time to teach me things and appreciated all that I did to make their job easier. But needless to say there were alot of of cat fighting between the rn's and lpn's in the er and all over the hospital. And working in HR for years there was a lot of cattiness between the different titles....so I suppose there are people everywhere that can only feel good about themsleves by putting others down and making others feel less needed and less important than themselves.

Kudos to everyone that takes the time to encourage and understand others, and that can state facts without eating someone alive and taking their first born!:lol2::lol2:

PeepnBiscuitsRN

419 Posts

Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

As the original author of this post, I find it fascinating how huge it became. I wrote this post way the heck back when I was debating going for CMA versus LPN. I chose LPN, and what is it? 6 years later I'm an Associate RN now completing my BSN. A few things have changed since I posted this- where I am anyway. When I was schooling for my LPN I was told that they were phasing out LPN's for CMA's...but that would come full circle in that now that there are Rad-techs, Lab Techs, medical office assistants and the like, there would seem to be no huge distinguishing element for CMA's. This is where I am anyhow. In the last 6 years I haven't encountered any CMA's in the lab or radiology or at the front desk. I worked in a clinic for 4.5 years and the CMA's/MA's I worked with were all rooming staff like us LPN's.

That said, I worked with a few CMA's who knew more about the practice than I did in my pinky finger. And that was AFTER the 4.5 years! So really, I don't know that it comes down to so much the title as it does the experience you have in either...worked with an LPN who had been an LPN since 1966- wow!

This I will say- I had some CMA students I precepted at the clinic, and their instructor would come to check in on them- even their instructor would be very insistent "you CANNOT call yourself a nurse. You are not licensed, you did not take NCLEX, your scope of practice is entirely different, even though you do much of the same things". In clinic LPN's were allowed to order vaccines independently, and that...that really was about it. We did do a lot more that would probably incriminate (in an innocent way) us- like triage walk in's... but that's the RN vs LPN debate which we won't go into because that gets pretty ugly pretty fast.

One thing I notice in a lot of these threads- it must vary by locale, but where I am, LPN's are not allowed to "assess". Of course they DO, because what exactly are you doing when you take a BP or set of vitals?:confused: There's a lot of semantics; LPN's "gather data/information" RN's "assess". Funny, right?

Anyway...I think that as the health care field becomes more and more expanded I think a LOT of fields are losing autonomy, don't you think so? RN's are losing autonomy (as I've found, and I've only been an RN for a year) LPN's are, Medical Assistants are...the health care industry is trying to pinch pennies and creating job roles that they can pay less to do more. How interesting...how sad...I wonder what the backlash will be? Will we come full circle again?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
With wanting to be an rn and wanting to quickly get back in the medical field and do patient care cma was what sounded appealing to me, so why go for a lengthier program when I would shortly be going back for RN?

1. Florida has plenty of LPN-to-RN completion programs, but not one single MA-to-RN completion program.

2. The MA is a part of the medical model of care provision, while the LPN is a part of the nursing model.

3. The average new grad LPN in Florida is earning in the $18 hourly range, while the MA is earning in the $9 to $12 range.

4. MAs traditionally work bankers' hours (Monday through Friday, 9 to 5pm), but most RN programs are also conducted during daylight hours. If you become a MA, you will not be able to work as one while attending school for nursing. However, LPNs can work nights, evenings, and weekends while completing their RN. I worked weekend double shifts as an LPN while attending an RN bridge program and earned a respectable $47,000 that year.

PeepnBiscuitsRN

419 Posts

Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

You know, there were rumors of a CMA to RN program at the school I went to for my RN. That school has CMA program too, actually. There is a paramedic to RN program there too. I suppose it's still a different scope of practice.

Thujone

317 Posts

Let me put some of my thoughts on this.

First, a little history on me. I am currently a CMA student who will be attending RN school right after I graduate with an Associates Degree in Medical Assisting. I will be doing things in this order because the next RN acceptance at my school is Fall of 2013, and I will be finished with CMA in Spring of 2013.

Medical Assistants and LPN's are trained in different areas of care. Sure, some of the classes for the programs are the same, but ultimately, MA's are trained for a clinical setting, and LPN's are trained for bed side nursing. That being said, it depends where one get's their education from, level of dedication, ability to remember what they study, and location of residence, so when it comes to knowledge of pharmacology between the two, it is practically the same where I live. Salary wise, if an LPN works in a LTC facility, in my area they start off around $16 an hour, while CMA's start around $12 an hour, so there is about a 4 dollar difference, granted some MA's and LPN's start off at higher salaries. In terms of scope of practice, where I live, the scope is practically the same, the only real difference is that LPN's are geared toward bed side and MA's are geared toward an ambulatory care environment. Also, CMA's are certified, and can lose their certification just like a LPN can lose their license, LPN's, in my area work under the direct supervision of an RN, and the RN takes orders from the Physician. The CMA takes orders from a Physician as well, but they may have a registered nurse on staff to do certain things that is out of their scope of practice, but most clinics only have 1 or 2 RN's on staff at the most. Now, to end, neither title/profession is 'better' than the other. It's silly to compare them with the goal of determining which one is 'better' because it's a personal preference kind of thing.

The end.

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