MA or LPN which is best?

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I'm a 29 yr old stay at home mom who has decided that I want a career as my youngest will start school next year. I babysit to supplement our income but my hubby and I have worked it out so I can go to school full time. I've been wanting to be a medical assistant but my hubby thinks that if I do that I might as well be an LPN. I'm not sure which would be the better choice. The LPN program at our local school has a waiting list of 200 and I don't know if I want to wait that before I can work. I also don't want to do the MA courses and switch over to nursing because nursing won't transfer over any classes. I would just like some input from people that are doing both of the jobs as to the pros and cons of each. Thanks so much!

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Well, it depends on your need. I have seen that many medical assisting programs are not that regulated...some schools have programs for 6-9 months, while others have an associate's degree. Medical assistants are primarily trained for ambulatory care in clinics. Offices have hired people whether they were certified, registered or trained on the job. And, most times, unfortunately, the tuitions are usually high (some start with as high as $12,000--what a person can pay to become an RN) and the rate of pay for most medical assistants is not that much. In addition, many times, people do not find jobs.

Nursing programs are very competitive (as you see there is a long waiting list), and riddled with politics. You will have more opportunities in other areas such as nursing homes, assisted living, home care, hospitals and corrections. It will be the matter of getting accepted and being able to make into and then, through the program and take NCLEX in order to practice.

I really agree with your husband about pursuing nursing school itself versus the medical assistant, but the choice is yours.

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Thanks pagandeva2000 for replying. Since I made this post I think I've definitely decided to go into nursing but now I'm waffling between the LPN or RN programs. I think that I want the RN but the waiting list is longer and the school is longer. I'm going to call the school and talk to one of the advisers and I'm also setting up a time to shadow an LPN and an RN at the hospital. I really the RN because I want the degree and I want the opportunity to be able to further myself down the road. BUT the LPN program doesn't have as long of a wait and I can start working sooner. Then I would want to go back and finish the RN program. But I don't know if I could work , try to finish college and have time to be with my family and everything. My husband has said that I should just do the RN if that's what I want and we'll find a way to cover the finances until then. I"m just so frustrated!!:bugeyes: I think I'm going to do the job shadowing and see what comes of that. It depends specifically what each of the jobs actually do. Thanks for letting me kind of rant about this. I've been talking my hubby's ear off about and I know some of the people on here have gone through the same thing.

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Have you had the opportunity to talk to any nurses and/or medical assistants? Ask friends and family if they know anyone in the field you could talk to and maybe even shadow them at work one day. Have you considered volunteering in a health facility to get a feel for the work, the environment, etc? Having some concrete experiences might make some of your decisions easier.

For me, it's easy to get caught up in comparing pre-reqs, time commitments, costs, potential income, career growth, etc and forget to factor in my personal preferences. If you end up using your training, you're looking at potentially 40+ hours/week doing whatever it is you trained for. I eventually discovered that I prefer a quiet office environment for my full-time work... not the average environment for most nursing jobs (I don't currently work as nurse for that reason among others).

I'd suggest starting with some kind of health related experience (volunteering, EMT or CNA course) and maybe take a course that would apply to most any health-care related role (anatomy, biology). Consider whether you need to decide right away or not. Will another six months to a year really make a difference in the long run? Especially if the extra time helps you clarify your goals and formulate a game plan?

Of course, it depends on you. I do better taking things step by step. Others do well jumping right in and going for it all out. Good luck with whatever you do! Enjoy the fact that you've got so many interesting opportunities ahead of you!

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I guess I forgot to say that I've worked for most of my working career in a nursing home both in the kitchen and as a CNA. I know without a doubt that I want to work in the medical field. Everything I've looked at just doesn't appeal to me in the least. I just scheduled to do some job shadowing at our hospital this Thurs. and Fri. and I'm very excited by that. I'll be shadowing a LPN and an RN. I don't mind working in busy fast paced environments. The only concern I really have is that I won't be able to handle some of the ooey gooey stuff nurses deal with so I'm hoping I get exposed to that a little when I do the shadowing. Thanks a lot for the reply!

Jenni

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Sounds like you're doing all you need to do to make an informed decision for yourself. Best wishes!!

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I'm a 29 yr old stay at home mom who has decided that I want a career as my youngest will start school next year. I babysit to supplement our income but my hubby and I have worked it out so I can go to school full time. I've been wanting to be a medical assistant but my hubby thinks that if I do that I might as well be an LPN. I'm not sure which would be the better choice. The LPN program at our local school has a waiting list of 200 and I don't know if I want to wait that before I can work. I also don't want to do the MA courses and switch over to nursing because nursing won't transfer over any classes. I would just like some input from people that are doing both of the jobs as to the pros and cons of each. Thanks so much!

I think you would end up with more personal satisfaction as an LPN. Plus, it opens the door for future mobility.

Can you expand your school pool? I would apply to several schools as this would increase the likelihood of getting in a program. A visit to the admissions counselor for each program is probably worth your while. It never hurts to say that you can attend on short notice. Quite often students end up not using a nursing school slot for personal reasons. Schools hate to lose a slot because a lost slot is gone for that training cycle.

Best of luck in your career choice.

HTH

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I live in extremely Northwest Ohio and there is only one college close that I can attend. Any other college is an hour away and I can't afford the gas let alone the extra time for driving. We'll see how the job shadowing goes and see if that helps make a decision. Thanks to everyone for your advice!!

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Well I shadowed and LPN on Med/Surg today and was kind of disappointed. I mean no offense by the following statement but it seemed to me as if in the hospital an LPN is a CNA that can give meds and do IVs. I thought that they would be doing more I guess. I'll follow the RN around tomorrow and see how that goes. I was thinking today though that I may just see about working in a Dr. office. I'm still confused~

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I took the MA course and after I graduated I could not find a job to save my life. Before taking the MA course, I had 3 years experience as a CNA. I thought that would help me but it didn't. In Ct, you don't have to be certified as an MA, it's opitional. But when I went to the job interviews they would ask me if I was certified and I wasn't. Of course I never got a call back. The course cost 12,000, but I only have to pay back 8,000, which is still alot of money. Then I would have to pay $170 to become certified and then wait 4 months for the results. I have to pay all this money to make $14 an hour. Please! It wasn't worth it. I was just accepted to an LPN program that only cost 7,000. After I graduate I'll be making $20-$25 an hour. Now that's much better! Trust me take the LPN course.

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I did decide to take the LPN classes. I am waiting to be placed for when I take my clinicals. I just started 2 online courses to get started and I am freaking out. I've been out of school for 12 years and this isn't coming back to me yet. I'm hoping to get a little ahead this weekend as I'm also babysitting for the summer. Thanks so much for your advice though. I wish I lived where you do because the LPNs around here start at $14 and go to $18 from what I've found.

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