Medical Assistant to RN

hi atchdee,

I too worked as a MA for many years and a CNA in LTC. I think Nursing fundamentals is closer to what you learn in a CNA course and then some! As an MA you do more office type procedures like venipuncture,ekg's etc depending on the specialty of the doctor. I think what you learn in Nursing Fundamentals will be a little different and some of it a lot more difficult! Hope this helped some.

I just finished my MA externship in June and I am now entering the nursing program for the Fall. From others at my school that I have talked to and a nurse that was at the office of my externship there are some similarities. Skills that are the same include vitals, dressing changes, medication administration, patient education, patient interview/history, ear/eye irrigation, documentation, wound assessment, and many others. I think I can say that all the skills I learned in MA lab will benefit me in nursing whether it be inpatient or outpatient care. Administration is not as enforced in nursing as in MA but that is not surprising too me. As weird as it sounds I learned and practiced venipuncture in MA and the woman that was in the program I am going into said she was never taught that and she had to learn after school. Another main difference is that you learn a lot of therapeutic communication and ethics in the first semester of nursing, where as we spent little time focusing on this in the MA program. Overall the experience you have as a MA will give you a little heads up compared to other students that do not have any health care background, but that does not mean you can slack off the first semester and avoiding learning and reading things you already know, take that as a chance to refresh yourself and become more proficient in your skills. Good luck :)