Ok, we've just switched doctors under our medical plan. So I go in for a routine checkup, etc. at this clinic. They tell me the nurse will be with me shortly. Of course, since I'm a student, I always ask nurses how they like their jobs etc. So I ask: You're a nurse, right? She nods. How do you like the job ... blah, blah blah ... Not once did she correct me. Then I ask where she went to school. When she names the school, I'm confused because I've never heard of it.
That's when she says, "Oh ... I'm an MA."
Then the doctor comes in, and tells me "the nurse will be with you shortly." I'm like ... what nurse? Then I find out that everybody at the "Nurses Station" is actually an MA, but everyone, from the receptionist to the doctors, are referring to these MA's as nurses. My husband, who has to go in fairly frequently, says they told him the same thing ... that these MA's were nurses.
Now, I don't know if there's actually anything wrong with this, and maybe this isn't a big deal but, it seemed really weird to me. I've been to other doctor's offices where the staff was very careful to tell me they were MA's, not nurses. Especially when I asked if they were a nurse or not.
Any thoughts? Is this allowed? Why would even doctors refer to MA's as nurses?
I wonder how a certified medical assistant would feel about a person who was hired to work in a doctor's office, with no prior experience or credentials, with OTJ training only, calling themselves a "medical assistant". (After all, they do the same thing, right?)
As a Certified Medical Assistant, it actually wouldn't bother me personally. I know what MAs were designed to do and it is truly a job where you can be trained on the job. It is a skill based job (or should be used as that). I know many an OTJ trained MA that was very proficient at their job. I got my certification for me. I knew that it would not get me better pay or anything. It was a personal achievement.
Most MA schools are technical schools (at least here) anyway and they learn HOW to do things, not why or when. My school actually had very little hands on practice. We learned the whys of things. Our externship was where we really got to do hands on practice. I was very lucky to have learned all that I did in MA school.
We even had RNs that taught about medication administration and the whole class had to keep taking math med admin quizzes until we all got 100%.
I think this is yet another example of just how misunderstood the job of a nurse really is. It also represents a bit of disrespect to us nurses. Let's face it, sometimes our job is pretty thankless. We have to be able to pat our own selves on the back because most of the time, it isn't going to come from anyone else. We also have to be able to let most of the silliness and misrepresentaion that goes on in clinical settings go. I feel sorry for people who aren't proud of what they do and feel the need to lie about their job title. I feel even more sorry for the people who know better and choose to use the title "nurse" very loosely.
i feel sorry for people who aren't proud of what they do and feel the need to lie about their job title. i feel even more sorry for the people who know better and choose to use the title "nurse" very loosely.
In my post I said "CNA or equivalent training." At our community college,
the equivalent training course is called "Basic Skills for the Health Care
Provider".
Perhaps your school did not separate it. I think it's good to have
it as a separate class or separate training before being accepted
into the program, especially since the part about "peri-care" seems
to be a good filter to weed out students who to that point had
not fully considered what patient care entailed.
MrNurse2U
For the first few weeks in school, we checked off on stuff like bedmaking, bed baths, ect and other CNA skills. i thought every program did. we did one week of clinical only doing CNA skills. the next week was CNA skills, and we could give PO meds but not injections.... then on and on...
i did just fine. most of the people that i went to school with had no medical experience before. after the first semester, i got a job as an NA on a medical floor. i do think it helped me, but just in the aspect that i knew my way around a floor and where to find what I wanted a little bit better.
ERRRRRG! I earned the title "nurse". Thank God that where I live it is a protected title even though that does not stop some people from calling themselves that or wearing shirts with NURSING emblazened on them. There are so many different levels and titles of caregivers now that it is not surprising the public is confused. Respect your credentials as they are supposed to reflect what you did to earn them.
j
For the first few weeks in school, we checked off on stuff like bedmaking, bed baths, ect and other CNA skills. i thought every program did. we did one week of clinical only doing CNA skills. the next week was CNA skills, and we could give PO meds but not injections.... then on and on...
i did just fine. most of the people that i went to school with had no medical experience before. after the first semester, i got a job as an NA on a medical floor. i do think it helped me, but just in the aspect that i knew my way around a floor and where to find what I wanted a little bit better.
We had to do TPC the entire way through school until the last 6 weeks... then we could delegate our tasks to techs. but at that point, we had already been taking 4-5 patients TPC. it sucked.
We had to do TPC the entire way through school until the last 6 weeks... then we could delegate our tasks to techs. but at that point, we had already been taking 4-5 patients TPC. it sucked.
MA's are designed to work directly under the supervision of a physician in a clinic setting. There is a reason hospitals do not hire them... they are NOT skilled in bedside care; the assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation .... and monitoring round the clock of acutely ill patients...this is THE biggest difference between nurses and MA's. Making a bed and giving a shot does not a nurse make.
I too get tired of MA's passing themselves off as nurses....had another one last week try to pass herself off as a nurse, finally admitted she was a MA when I pressed her but claimed she was 'better' than a nurse... they really don't seem to understand the difference, or maybe its that they don't want to. Too bad. Maybe they'll get prosecuted for their ignorance.
MA's are designed to work directly under the supervision of a physician in a clinic setting. There is a reason hospitals do not hire them... they are NOT skilled in bedside care; the assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation .... and monitoring round the clock of acutely ill patients...this is THE biggest difference between nurses and MA's.Making a bed and giving a shot does not a nurse make.
I totally agree.
I too get tired of MA's passing themselves off as nurses....had another one last week try to pass herself off as a nurse, finally admitted she was a MA when I pressed her but claimed she was 'better' than a nurse... they really don't seem to understand the difference, or maybe its that they don't want to. Too bad. Maybe they'll get prosecuted for their ignorance.
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
Did she have rationale for that? I'd love to hear it!
But if it's illegal, why is this common practice? How inconvenient can it be to refer to people by their appropriate title? MA's at other doctor's offices were clear about who they were, and didn't seem to have any trouble saying so. In this case, I had to ask a lot of questions before they admitted they weren't nurses.
Alot of times the docs, who are in private practice, have no idea about "scope of practice", when it comes to MA's and RN's. I've seen docs allow MA's to do procedures or give narcotics. I've had to point out that it is illegal to allow them to do these things. Most of the time, the docs said that they had no idea it was not allowed. Others have knowingly allowed them to continue this practice.
Alot of times it comes down to money. Why pay a RN $20 an hour or more, when you can get an high school graduate for $8 an hr. The docs are gambling that nothing will go wrong or that they don't get caught.
breastfeedingRN
209 Posts
As a Certified Medical Assistant, it actually wouldn't bother me personally. I know what MAs were designed to do and it is truly a job where you can be trained on the job. It is a skill based job (or should be used as that). I know many an OTJ trained MA that was very proficient at their job. I got my certification for me. I knew that it would not get me better pay or anything. It was a personal achievement.
Most MA schools are technical schools (at least here) anyway and they learn HOW to do things, not why or when. My school actually had very little hands on practice. We learned the whys of things. Our externship was where we really got to do hands on practice. I was very lucky to have learned all that I did in MA school.
We even had RNs that taught about medication administration and the whole class had to keep taking math med admin quizzes until we all got 100%.