medical assistant

Trauma Columnist · Jan 24, 2011

I think you will find this is a very self-limiting career and that most credits (if done at a private tech school) will not transfer.

My advice is to go to nursing school.

CariocaRN · Jan 25, 2011

I totally agree. Some of the medical assistant schools out there claim that you will be earning college credits, but those are very hard to transfer if you decide to go to a "real" school later on. It also takes about 1 year to graduate. You can get your LPN license in the same amount of time and make almost twice as much money and then eventually get your RN in another additional year if you so please.

It all depends on your career goals and the amount of effort you are willing to put in. Nursing is much harder and if you go to a lpn school those are full time for a whole year so you might not be able to work while in the program. I know that's a factor for a lot of people who can't afford to just quit working for a year, but I think it's worth it in the long run.

:)

lillymom · Jan 25, 2011

It depends on where you live. LPN's do not make any more than most CMA's where I am from. In fact there are a lot of office's that are strictly CMA's, office managers included. Most of the people working in doctors office's are CMA's and they don't work anywhere else, LPN's around here work in LTC facilities, and RN's work in hospitals. They do hire LPN's to work in a doc's office but they are generally paid the same as CMA.

When I went I had to go to class 5 days a week 9-1 somedays and 9-3 on others. During externship we had to work 30 hrs per week for 2 months and go to a class once weekly. I did it and worked full time but it was very hard. You also have to learn how to transcribe, navigate electronic medical records, schedule pt's, coding and billing, so there is a lot more than the clinical aspect. The hours for the LPN program is about the same here but focused more on clinical. I actually got my AAS in medical assiting and went for 5 semseters so maybe that is why I am paid the same as an LPN? The program at my college is great for MA's because we do a lot of the injection training and phlebotomy and other CLIA waived tests on each other which the nursing programs do not do. Our old CMA instructor went to a different college and now she is the dean of all health sciences and she is a CMA(she also has her master's in education).

It basically depends on where you live and where you want to work. I get bored in a doc's office so I am going back to get my RN. Almost all the classes at my school are transferrable regardless of what they are but I have a great community college. Hope this helps!

CrazierThanYou · Jan 27, 2011

I agree it will depend on your area. In mine, there are approximately zero job opportunities. Yet, every semester, the MA classes at my school are crammed full. I know people who have had their MA degree for a decade and have never found employment in that field.