M.A. and CNA a good idea?

muirite · Feb 15, 2016

CnA is a nurse assistant and MA is medical assistant. They are different CNA will get you more exposure to nurses while MA is almost always working in a clinic.

I did the MA route in HS. When I started nursing school I did not have much knowledge compared to the people who WORKED as CNA.

You have to decide what's more important for your time. I did not wan

MochaFiend · Feb 15, 2016

I am currently enrolled in an Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assistant. I am currently not working though because I really do not want to continue working in retail because I am 22 and just really just want to get my foot in the medical door (I hope this did not make me sound lazy. Also your replies might help me figure out if I am just being silly).
I finish my last class at the end of May 2017. I am close to finishing my core curriculum and internships are included in the program and my school schedule from now till graduation will be very flexible. I am going to be volunteering at a local Medical Center and am wondering if I should get a Certification for Nursing Assistant during June (the course starts in June). I have read on these forums that others feel that "a CNAs job description and duties are more pertinent to the field of nursing" and down the road I would like to return to school for LPN or RN.
I want to get the certification so I can work in a medical field now but I do want to work with my Medical assistant degree too. Am I going at this too quickly? Should I work as an M.A. for a few years then just go to LPN/RN? I know I need experience for CNA positions will my M.A. internships and volunteer work be enough to get me in the CNA door? If you have done the same please let me know of your experience.

NJ*

Hello!

I'm a pre nursing student with a diploma in Medical Assisting & EKG and limited scope X-Ray. Despite getting my certification as a Registered Medical Assistant via American Medical Technologist by examination after passing the program, this did NOT help me get a job in the hospital. With all the wonderful training you get in school for medical assisting, it is not all that equivalent to the training for CNA. You will need the CNA certification to get a job as a CNA in or out of the hospital. I know, I've applied to so many positions with my MA and Navy Hospital Corpsman training and it rarely panned out with the exception of my most recent position as a monitor technician.

If I could do it all over again, I would have went for CNA instead of MA. Being that you are planning to return to nursing school, or become a LPN, go for the CNA. I'd become a CNA and if possible, not go into the MA part of your degree. This would be ME, not you. I would look for schools that offer nursing/lpn programs and see if my core curriculum courses would transfer and start there while working as a CNA. I basically got a diploma that as it turns out, I didn't want because it actually took me away from the nursing track.

Good luck!!

mindofmidwifery, ADN · Feb 15, 2016

Why get your associates in medical assisting if you plan on being a nurse in the future? You would've been better off just taking the 12-15 months to get your LPN.

If you plan on continuing on the pursuit of this associate's, I'd recommend getting your CNA if you want any exposure in the nursing field.

HappytobaCNA · Feb 18, 2016

Let me tell you a little about myself. I always wanted to be a nurse for as long as I can remember. I was a horrible math student in high school so I wasn't able to enroll in the LPN program and settled for an MA program to get my foot in the medical field. My thought at the time were I want to be a nurse bad enough I'll go back to school someday soon. I happily worked as an MA but always felt I wanted to be more. Fast forward many years, a marriage, child rearing with a number of years absent from the work force and just plain life getting in the way, I was still an MA. After returning to work from that long absence, a position I dreaded everyday I worked, the feeling of wanting more was stronger than ever. I like drawing blood, doing ekg's, blood pressures, and spending time with patients but really wanted to be in hospital setting. Doing some research on what qualifications I need to be in that hospital CNA kept coming up. So CNA it is. Life was not getting in the way this time. In January 2015 I completed CNA class, passed my certification on the first try and met some great people along the way. I realized CNA's do not do many medical assisting "things" but a Patient Care Technician is a perfect mix between an MA and a CNA. I agree with everyone who says being a CNA/PCT will prepare you for nursing 100%. So my answer is YES get your CNA and work as a CNA/PCT. I happily go to work as a PCT still doing the MA work I like in that hospital I wanted. I have come to peace with the fact that I will never be that nurse I wanted to be. I work side by side with them instead.

grt4me · Mar 2, 2016

Please do your research in your state. I graduated from a medical assistant program in AK with a 4.0 GPA. I thought I could find a job that paid well like AK and work while in nursing school.My husband and I got stationed in a different state. I could not find a job as a MA. When I applied to an ADN program and was told non of my credits from MA would transfer. So I took a CNA course. I wish I would have saved time and money and not taken the MA course. I just found out that I was accepted into a ADN program 2016 Fall program. Now I am debating on taking a CNA II course in order to work part time in the hospital while in school. So please do your research. Good Luck!!