MAs are better than LPNs and RNs?

Nursing Students LPN-RN

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I'm a student in the LPN program. I'm planning to transfer into the lpn-to-rn program after six months of working. I have a friend who is a MA and she tells me to not go into the LPN program because hospitals and clinics are getting rid of LPNs and just using MAs. She also told me that LPNs don't learn anything important. They don't know how to draw blood and can't do IVs unless they get certified. so I told her what my plans were and she told me that even when I become an RN, I will only be making $11 and I have to start out in the nursing homes. I have another friend who claims that she has a friend who is an RN. That friend is working in a nursing home and is currently making $10. To me, sounds like that friend is only a CNA, not an RN.

So I was wondering, are any of her claims true? Is she just telling me this to scare me from becoming an RN? is it jealousy? She wanted to get into sonography but wasn't accepted and she went into MA. I got accepted into Sonography but didn't go because I couldn't see myself working as a sonographer. Now, she's telling me that if I wanted to go for RN, I might as well go for MA instead because they are smarter than most RNs.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Don't believe anything she says. She is wrong about just about everything.

You are probably right in thinking that she might be jealous and therefore not wanting you to "get ahead" of her in any way. Browse this website and you will see plenty of threads about nursing salaries, etc.

Yes, it is true that a lot of outpatient clinics hire MA's rather than LPN's and RN's. That's because MA's make less money and are therefore cheaper for the employer. It's also true that the current job market for just about every career is tight at the moment because of the poor economy. But the long-term outlook for nurses is very bright.

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Oh my gosh I would be furious and probably no longer a friend to this girl if I were you. First of all, good for you getting in the LPN program and becoming a nurse. LPNs are licensed nurses, what the heck is she talking about when she said they don't learn anything important! Most programs include IV certification which allows you to draw blood (which is not a big deal!) and start IVs, hang blood etc. MAs work under a doctor or nurses license, we are their supervisors. We give meds, perform assessments, listen to heart/ lung sounds, perform wound care, put in catheters etc. They make a measly $10/ hour- same as a cna, and take vitals and do paperwork and set up appointments. LVNs in my area make 18-22/hour, RNs make 34/hour. She probably is just jealous of you or is stupidly mistaken, don't listen to her and don't let her make you doubt becoming a nurse.

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab, CNA, HHA, Nurse Mentor.

lvngrad is right on the money. Being a Medical Assistant is great and has its perks, but there's not really enough room for advancement and not allow you to get a wide variety of choice or pay. Most Medical Assistants work in clinics or doctor's office and to top it off, I don't believe there are any Medical Assistant Bachelor or Master Degrees out there. *lol* I could be wrong but be proud of your decision and kudos to you for being a nurse and wanting to be one!

:nmbrn:

“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest”

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Hi, I just wanted to say that I went ahead and got my LPN first because I kept on hearing how hard the RN program was. The student would say that they missed it by 5 points or even one-half point. Wow!!! I figured that if I got my LPN and went on to be a RN and had difficulties, I could always go back to being an LPN. This can never be taken from me. This is what I encourage students that I meet or people I meet who want to become a nurse.

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Don't believe her! I have several MAs in my classes in the LPN program I'm enrolled in...each of them want more money and better opportunity for job growth!

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Your friend is mistaken, there are no RNs that only earn 10 dollars you can probably triple that amt. also Lpns do learn alot, I started out as a ma, than an lpn, and bridged over to an rn. So do what is best for you, they may not use lpns in hospital, but I'am not sure that they use ma's in the hospital, lpns do more nursing homes, and some home health. Rn's can pretty much choose anywhere to work.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
because hospitals and clinics are getting rid of LPNs and just using MAs.

More clinics are going to hire MAs than LVN/LPNs. They are not hiring LVNs in many hospitals (not all), but I have never heard of an MA in the hospital at all.

They don't know how to draw blood and can't do IVs unless they get certified.

I do not know the rules on an LVN/LPN drawing blood, but I imagine it would depend on hospital policy...its not a hard thing to do. And MAs do not start I.V.s either...they dont even have the option to get certified in I.V.s like a LVN/LPN does.

she told me that even when I become an RN, I will only be making $11 and I have to start out in the nursing homes.

If you are in an LVN/LPN program it is a good chance that your first job will have to be in a SNF...but you will NOT be making $11/hr....your friend the MA however might... I am an RN-BSN and my new grad pay is over three times as much as when I was a CMA.

she has a friend who is an RN. That friend is working in a nursing home and is currently making $10. To me, sounds like that friend is only a CNA, not an RN.

That is what it sounds like to me. I am not sure where you are from but I doubt an RN would only make that much even in a nursing home.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I am a CMA and a new practical nurse graduate. My salary as a per diem CMA was 14.00 an hour now thats more than I would make an hour in a dr offices as a CMA here. The hospital only pays a new LPN 13.50 where the nursing home pays between 17.00 and 21.00 so I am sure the RN makes more. Your friend was probably handed the same bull that I was while I was becoming a CMA. I was told that CMA's were going to take over the job as an LPN. Tell your friend to try and get a job in a nursing home or in a hospital as an MA. She will not get a job because they do not hire them or at least here in North carolina. I have both and I am planning on getting my RN I think your friend has been misinformed but DR's office's will hire an MA because they don't have to pay them as much as a Nurse would make. MA,s do not have the ability to assess a patient nor to critically think in a situation that a nurse would have to use those skills. We were taught critical thinking but not to the point as we were in nursing school and about 7 of the girls in my nursing class were CMA,s before coming into the program and I am sure that they did not do it because they would be making less. An LPN can draw blood if they are trained just like pushing IV Meds it all depends on where you work and the training that you receive. If your friend was to take the practical nursing course should would change her mind about the way she thinks but this is the type of misleading information that they are given by those who hire them or they go through a program. The board of nursing at convention this year assured us that the LPN will not be phased out and that they are even trying to widen our scope of practice.

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Perhaps the RN working in a nursing home making $10 an hour is one of those who is an RN in her own country and working as a CNA here. I've encountered plenty of them in my day. Some of them will even tell you that in their country they are a doctor. All well and good, but I would not pay any attention to this person. They are jealous.

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thank you all so much! I was a little confused because she was telling me all this and this, but the researches I did said something different. I kind of think it was all out of jealousy.

I've done extensive researches on this site specifically and many RNs on this site are worth so much more. One thing that kept me from believing everything she said was the competitiveness of the RN program. I was like, "if they only get paid $11, then why is the program so hard to get in?" the MA program, you can just sign up and start, but nursing programs you have to test in. So.. Thanks again so much.

I love everything I am learning so far in the LPN program. I get so excited thinking about all the different faces that I will come across in my career, and all the lives that I will save and change. :nurse:

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Oh my gosh I would be furious and probably no longer a friend to this girl if I were you. First of all, good for you getting in the LPN program and becoming a nurse. LPNs are licensed nurses, what the heck is she talking about when she said they don't learn anything important! Most programs include IV certification which allows you to draw blood (which is not a big deal!) and start IVs, hang blood etc. MAs work under a doctor or nurses license, we are their supervisors. We give meds, perform assessments, listen to heart/ lung sounds, perform wound care, put in catheters etc. They make a measly $10/ hour- same as a cna, and take vitals and do paperwork and set up appointments. LVNs in my area make 18-22/hour, RNs make 34/hour. She probably is just jealous of you or is stupidly mistaken, don't listen to her and don't let her make you doubt becoming a nurse.

Amen!

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