Medical Assistants - Good Career Move or Not?

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Jan 11, 2014

Moved to Medical Assistant Forum as better suited to this type of inquiry :)

bluescrubs16 · Jan 12, 2014

I am neither a medical assistant nor a nurse (yet) but something to keep in mind is that if you go to school for medical assisting there is no bridge pathway to become an RN. Instead why not become a licensed practical nurse (LPN)? The academic program is similar in length to a medical assistant and if you decide you would like to continue your nursing career there are program that offer an LPN to RN bridge that might save you some time. Best of luck with your educational goals!

Guest757854 · Jan 12, 2014

EVERY SINGLE LAST medical assistant i know has went back to school for nursing. whether its RN or LPN.

allnurses Guide · Jan 12, 2014

Basically, Medical Assisting is completely different from nursing. There are some tasks that overlap, especially in outpatient settings but in my view the similarities end there.

I will say that the entire healthcare workforce is in a state of realignment at present with some MAs working in hospitals as medication CMAs or techs...still if you know you want to be a nurse an LPN course will provide a much more cohesive course of study and make your options bridging to an RN both easier logistically (because there are so many choices out there) and academically as the concepts will already be familiar, but more in depth compared to what is taught in an MA course.

Additionally, at present MA requirements vary quite a bit from state to state..a nursing license is issued by the state BON after passing an exam that is the same for all states (NCLEX-PN), where there is a pre-existing pathway to eligibility to practice in another state if you want to.

There are other points to consider as well...I know if you do a keyword search you can find numerous more detailed discussion of these....best wishes to you!

xrsm002 · Jan 13, 2014

Where I live most of the doctors offices and clinics mainly use MAs they don't have a lot if nurses.

sueall · Jan 13, 2014

Same here -- more MAs than nurses in private/small group offices. HOWEVER -- the MAs are not paid well at all, and any advancement is in the administrative direction, with a definite limit on how far you can go without additional education. MA is very task-oriented work.

Nursel56's post is spot on.

mstearns09 · Jan 14, 2014

One of the wonderful LPNs who worked in the clinic attached to the hospital recently retired. They are looking to replace her with a MA over a LPN for one simple reason: Pay. It will cheaper for the clinic to hire a MA than a LPN.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2014

I completed a medical assisting program in 2000 and was unable to ever secure employment with my training. I completed an LVN program in 2005 and worked as one for 4 years before finally earning my RN license in 2010.

The medical assistant pathway was not a good career move for me, but your mileage may vary.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2014

Hello everyone; I was thinking about attending medical assistant school to gain some experience in nursing.

By the way, I wrote about medical assistant-to-nursing mobility last year:

https://allnurses.com/cna-ma-nursing/nursing-degrees-faqs-893996.html

Medical assisting is a part of the medical model of care provision, while nursing has its own nursing model of care. Due to differences in provision of care, MA-to-LPN programs do not exist. MA-to-RN programs do not exist. If you want to be a nurse, go to nursing school.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Jan 14, 2014

In my system they hire LPNs or MAs in the medical offices with all the MA positions being open to LPNs or new LPN graduates who will be licensed in six months. I told my friend about it and she is jumping on the 9-5, no weekends, full-time position.

PTKChic · Jan 24, 2014

You must not know too many CMAs.