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?
When i moved to this area, and needed to get a primary physician, and a "down there" physician, i also asked about the other employees in their office. And this may sound a touch paranoid, but i want a nametag with a job title on it.
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.
what was that old saying? "ignorance of the law is not a defense." they better really hope they don't get caught.
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.
They don't hire high school graduates here to be clinical staff. You must have a state certification. Do they still train people off the street to be MA's??
Do they still train people off the street to be MA's??
That is exactly what they do where I live. All of the doctors offices are flooded with lay people that give shots, draw blood, give medications, shoot x-rays, you name it. And the doctor refers to them as "the nurse" and if you ask them what they do, they state "I'm Dr. so-in-so's nurse" :angryfire It really makes me sick. I worked so hard to get where I am and they are the ones with the great working conditions i.e., preferable hours, no weekends while I'm stuck with crappy 7p-7a hours. Of course I know that their pay is no where near what I make, but that's not the point. The doctors just think they are saving money hiring all of these people to work for peanuts when I am confident I could do the work of at least 2 if not 3 of them...that may sound over confident, but I think education as well as experience counts for a lot. Get this, I tried to get a job at one of the local clinics and guess who was interviewing potential candidates? A freaking lay person! She called herself the head nurse! :rotfl: You can guess whether or not I got that job. This should stop, a huge disservice is being done to the public by lulling them into a false sense of security about their so-called nursing care. It is issues like this that our profession as a whole should unite to abolish such practices.
And an afterthought, why did I have to go to nursing school to "learn" to give medications when the common person off the street can draw up x amount of medication and administer it? Am I incorrect, or are injections still not considered medications? I'm quite sure that no one has to double check their dosages prior to them giving the medication. Do you remember how many times you gave medications in nursing school and the dosage had to be reviewed by your instructor? :uhoh21:
well I am a CMA now going to school for ADN. I feel that the properly trained certified MA's kind of get a bad rap because of the lay people. We are both called " medical assistants". I couldn't imagine giving injections without proper training. Talk about a liability. CNA's have infection control training, some info on disease etc, and all they can do is poke a finger for a blood sugar. Training someone off the street... yeah that makes sense, not.
I was the first certified MA hired at a clinic 10 years ago. They wouldn't let me do anything but check weights and temps. They didn't know what I was even trained to do. It's a shame.
I'm sure there are plenty of well trained and knowledgeable MAs out there, but they're still not a "nurse", therefore the ones that refer to themselves as such are wrong.
"Employers should be told politely not to refer to medical assistants as nurses Take heed, for this is one situation in which ignorance of the law is no excuse!"
Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN
12,126 Posts
When i moved to this area, and needed to get a primary physician, and a "down there" physician, i also asked about the other employees in their office. And this may sound a touch paranoid, but i want a nametag with a job title on it.