LPN vs RMA

[BCCnurse]

Hi

I need some help members. I am an instructor for an RMA program. I constantly have the challenging task of getting my students to understand the difference between an LPN and an RMA.The word on the street is that they are basically the same, so students really believe this. When I try to explain this to them they think because I am an LPN that I am just trying to make myself and LPN's look better.I have tried several ways to get them to understand that just because the program is approximately the same length that the instruction is different. I would appreciate any ideas that will help me get this through to them without making them feel like they are not important as RMA's.I have really ran out of ideas. It's like saying I can do the job of an RN just because I am a nurse. It's really frustrating.They can potentially harm a patient with this attitude, just as I could if I tried to function outside my scope of practice or the proper knowledge base.Thanks for listening.

[BCCnurse]

Thanks so much. I truly want them to know how needed they are, I just do not want them to cause any harm by thinking they have a knowledge base that they do not.I have worked with some awesome MA's too.I have also worked with some who could have caused harm by thinking they knew more than they did. I guess I am caught up in the "first do no harm" and It scares me to think about the patients thy are gonna be taking care of. We know how bad it can be if you do things with out the proper knowledge base.Guess I just need to chill out some LOL.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Thanks so much. I truly want them to know how needed they are, I just do not want them to cause any harm by thinking they have a knowledge base that they do not.I have worked with some awesome MA's too.I have also worked with some who could have caused harm by thinking they knew more than they did. I guess I am caught up in the "first do no harm" and It scares me to think about the patients thy are gonna be taking care of. We know how bad it can be if you do things with out the proper knowledge base.Guess I just need to chill out some LOL.

I understand your point. Your intentions are correct. Just know that you can't always change people. All of the titles experience this. LPNs feel that they can do just what RNs can. Now, it is true that under these particular circumstances, we are both nurses, but that the RN has a higher responsibility due to her training/education. I think that we can all benefit from trying to understand where the other title is coming from in order the the wheels to travel in the correct direction. Again, because the focus is on RMA, you do have a responsibility to teach them correctly, but the focus has to remain on their training and bolster their confidence there.

[ANTIE RAHRAH]

I am currently finishing up my AS in Medical Assisting. I thought that it would be a good start to nursing if that is in fact what direction I wanted to go. I now wish I had just gotten my LPN. I think most of the clinicals that I am doing are the same duties as an LPN but, I lack the formal training that the LPNs that I am learning from. No matter how you "slice it" my title will only be RMA and I would have to repeat my AS to become a LPN. I am not sure that this is a "gateway" to nursing. If it is, it is a backdoor with less pay. Just earn your LPN and leave all that crappy office work to the RMA. I am lost now and out of time and money.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I am currently finishing up my AS in Medical Assisting. I thought that it would be a good start to nursing if that is in fact what direction I wanted to go. I now wish I had just gotten my LPN. I think most of the clinicals that I am doing are the same duties as an LPN but, I lack the formal training that the LPNs that I am learning from. No matter how you "slice it" my title will only be RMA and I would have to repeat my AS to become a LPN. I am not sure that this is a "gateway" to nursing. If it is, it is a backdoor with less pay. Just earn your LPN and leave all that crappy office work to the RMA. I am lost now and out of time and money.

Medical assisting is part of the medical model of care provision, while practical nursing (LPN) is part of the nursing model of care provision. In other words, the roles are very different, although observers will state that MAs and LPNs seem to do the same thing in doctors' offices. While some hands-on skills overlap, the MA is not a direct gateway into the nursing profession.