Medical Assistants - Good Career Move or Not?

[igus2666]

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

What I want to know is this the best idea or will it be a waste of my time?

I hear different opinions, but I would like to hear from current medical assistants and licensed nurses. Thank you!!!

[PTKChic]

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....

Med techs ARE NOT Certified Medical Assistants. Please learn more about CMA from the AAMA and not from people aren't medical assistants. CMA's are employable in clinical setting only, we work under a physicians licenses, not nurse's licenses.

[nursel56]

Med techs ARE NOT Certified Medical Assistants. Please learn more about CMA from the AAMA and not from people aren't medical assistants. CMA's are employable in clinical setting only, we work under a physicians licenses, not nurse's licenses.

First of all, the tone of your reply makes me wonder what is so objectionable about being a med tech, yet another category under the umbrella term of UAP, but that I happened not to mention when I referred to Certified Medication Aides.

Perhaps you should educate yourself on the broader topic of the regulation of Medical Assistants, CNAs. Patient Care Techs and any number of terms used by those states with their own acronyms specific to that state before assuming and responding the way you did. Since my reply answeredd the question actually asked by the OP I wasn't concerned about defining the acronyms in minute detail.

I know that some medical assistants work in hospitals or LTCs because they've said so on this board.

Edit to add: I'm not sure what you were trying to conyey by saying that MAs "work in a clinical setting only" but just in case you meant working in a clinic that's incorrect. Both inpatient and outpatient are clinical settings.

[ladyvp05]

I got a job as a medical assistant easily right out of school. I was blessed to be hired by my extern site. I have been there almost 2 years. However, If i could do it all over again I would have opted for at least LPN. The main reason is money. We don't get paid squat. I am now finishing up my prerequisite courses and hoping to start RN school this fall.

[sueall]

In defense of nae312213's post, that's the Official Claptrap direct from the AAMA -- CMAs work in private doc offices and are directly supervised by the physician. That may be the AAMA's idealistic view, but the reality is different. CMAs work in many settings and, particularly in clinical settings, may be supervised or managed by an RN, LVN, or head CMA.

For example, a current CMA job listing at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic states: Per Diem Certified Medical Assistant provides supportive patient care functions for an assigned clinical area, under the supervision of a Physician, Registered Nurse or Licensed Vocational Nurse, ensuring the safety and comfort of patients and families according to legal, organizational and professional standards. Some duties may be delegated to the MA by the physician or RN.

From a legal standpoint, the physician is responsible for a CMA's acts. From a work-day standpoint, a CMA will get marching orders from many sources.

[Ella26, BSN, RN]

To OP,

I would just like to say make sure you do your research for each title: CMA, LPN, and RN. I was going to do the MA program at my technical college if I was not able to get into my LPN program. I ultimately wanted to be a nurse though. I am glad I was able to get right in to the LPN with a goal of getting my RN. I am now an RN. I do work at a clinic where we have CMAs, LPNs, and RNs. I do feel that I have more mobility as far as job growth and opportunity outside the clinic setting being a nurse. The job listings I see for CMAs are mostly (like 98%) at clinics. So like another poster has said, if you want to be a nurse go to nursing school, not MA school.

[PD82]

If your goal is nurse then your better off trying for your CNA or unit secretary/tech. MA's usually work daytime hours/days and that type of schedule will not work for nursing school. Also, working as a MA is way different than working at a hospital/LTC/etc...Its is a decent job but not a starting point if your goal is to be a nurse.

I am a MA graduate and current nursing student and PCT. Good luck!! :)

[Philly_LPN_Girl, LPN]

From my experience, I would either A: do cna first, lpn, then rn or B: Go straight for lpn thrn bridge over to Rn or C: do cna, take prereqs and then do rn because you said that you would like experience.

Cna will help you out as far as clinical experience , patient care and some parts of nursing fundamentals in nursing school but not really the nursing part which is totally different.

Many ma's dont get a decent pay, jobs are limited and isnt a stepping stone for anything.