MA to Nursing

[JT9195]

Hello. I am currently in college taking pre-reqs and from the looks of it, I am a B student. The reason is, I have two small boys, I'm 41 so I don't have the "punch" as I did and my husband is starting a new career while I slow down on my dog training business. I have wanted to be a nurse for years but with the pregnancies and a sciatica injury, that delayed me a few years. That said, it looks like being a Medical Assistant for awhile until I chip away and get As on my bios & chems for that perfect 3.8 GPA and high TEAS colleges want students to have.

Are medical assistants respected and valued in the clinics/hospitals and what are your thoughts on medical assistants? I also have my CNA license as part of the RN requirements, but here in Washington, MAs have more range and $. Thank you for your time.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

To my knowledge there are no bridge programs from Medical Assistant to RN. If your dream is to become a LPN or a RN, then go that route directly. Please do not let "age" alone be any barrier.

In so far as I know, all healthcare jobs are respected and valued; now, whether they receive pay commensurate with such value, will vary from facility to facility.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

In my part of the country, Medical Assistants are not employed in hospitals or other inpatient settings. They are only employed in clinics and physician offices. MA programs are not based upon college hours, so none of the coursework is directly transferable to a degree program. However, some programs may have s process that would grant you course credit via a 'test out' process for students with specific types of prior training & experience... I know that this mechanism is used by "Vet Friendly" schools to grant credit for military training.