Medical Assisting

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I am new to allnurses.com and I was wondering how come you don't include Medical Assistants in any of your groupings?? I went to school for 18 months to get my honors degree and I have wanted to be a nurse all my life (eventually I will work my way up to RN). Your website was discovered by while trying to find a college in my area (Indianapolis) that has a LPN course that will accept my transferring credits (still haven't found one).

But if you could answer that question as to why MA's are not included it would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone knows of a college in the Indianapolis area that accepts credit transfers from Indiana Business College--Medical that would also be appreciated.

Thanks

DiAnne (VERY proud MA):balloons:

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Congratulations on finishing school. I'm sure you worked very hard. The reason that MA's are not included in the groupings here is MA's are not nurses in any form or fashion. The two are totally separate. MA's deal with mostly office work and may be allowed by some doctor's to give injections, but this in no way makes them nurses.

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Hi DiAnne,

You need to check with the various colleges and universities to see if they accept any credits from the business school you attended for your MA. They'll be able to tell you if they do or don't. Sorry I can't be more help than that....

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People who are looking to apply to nursing programs do frequently use this site, whether they are medical assistants or not. Check out the Pre-Nursing Student Forum as well as the nursing forum for your state and you are likely to get many of your questions answered. But Sis123 is right. Once you pick a program, you should contact them directly for information about transfer of credits.

If you're looking for a site that deals specifically with the issues that medical assistants face (just as this one deals specifically with the issues that nurses face), you might check out this one:

http://pub10.bravenet.com/forum/792761550

Good luck!

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Dear Motorcyclemama

At the risk of sounding rude, which I don't mean to be, MA's are NOT necessarily office personnel. Some people to go to school to specifically become a Medical office assistant but this does not make them an MA it makes them a MOA.

I am not just trained to do a few injections. I am trained to do EKG's, assist on small surgeries, set up pt't for x-rays and then develop them, phlebotomy using all gauges of needles, EKG Tredmill stress testing. When I was working in a doctors office I was seeing my own patients and writing Rx's and then having the Dr. sign off on them. I check in patients into the exam rooms and depending on their ailments am able to suggest medications to the Dr. which I have also spent an entire quarter in school learing the differences of. I have also removed stitches, lanced abcesses, given complete physicals in addition to the paperwork of prior authorizations and worked with insurance companies.

You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse. I feel that I am an incredible Medical Assistant and love what I do. With the amount of interraction I have with the patients I feel that I am far from office personnel.

DiAnne :balloons:

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
Dear Motorcyclemama

At the risk of sounding rude, which I don't mean to be, MA's are NOT necessarily office personnel. Some people to go to school to specifically become a Medical office assistant but this does not make them an MA it makes them a MOA.

I am not just trained to do a few injections. I am trained to do EKG's, assist on small surgeries, set up pt't for x-rays and then develop them, phlebotomy using all gauges of needles, EKG Tredmill stress testing. When I was working in a doctors office I was seeing my own patients and writing Rx's and then having the Dr. sign off on them. I check in patients into the exam rooms and depending on their ailments am able to suggest medications to the Dr. which I have also spent an entire quarter in school learing the differences of. I have also removed stitches, lanced abcesses, given complete physicals in addition to the paperwork of prior authorizations and worked with insurance companies.

You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse. I feel that I am an incredible Medical Assistant and love what I do. With the amount of interraction I have with the patients I feel that I am far from office personnel.

DiAnne :balloons:

You write prescriptions??????:eek: I am a medical assistant as well, and we don't fall under the category of nurses. we may be able to do many of the skills that nurses do, but we are not nurses.

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In your post you say this:

" You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse. "

I agree with Jess, in that you may share some duties of nurses, but you should know that you would be breaking state laws (at least in MY state) if you were to refer to yourself as a nurse, and represent yourself as one.

I find it interesting to say the least that you feel qualified to assess "your own patients" and then suggest prescriptions to the doctor after one quarter of pharmacology. Yes, very, very interesting.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I used to live in Indy - loved it by the way. I went to Marian College for my ADN and they did accept CLEP scores - maybe that would help. I do know having practiced in IN as an RN, that MA's are NOT to be writing prescriptions. I would question a supervisor RN or MD requesting that you do this.

As to suggesting medications for patient - again this is out of your scope of practice. Please be careful.

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Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.

Going to interject on this one. MA's don't have their own forum at allnurses as they are not nurses, as posters have already indicated. That position is a valued one independent of nursing, and you are more than welcome here as we may share some of the same issues. MA's often transition into nursing as many are found here in the process of going through nursing school.

I will suggest that if you are performing in the scope you have indicated, your doctor is seriously jeopardizing his license and practice through some of those actions. If he is billing for physicals performed by an MA (or an RN for that matter) he is committing insurance fraud on top of it. Respectfully, I suggest you protect your own certification by not working outside your scope.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
Dear Motorcyclemama

At the risk of sounding rude, which I don't mean to be, MA's are NOT necessarily office personnel. Some people to go to school to specifically become a Medical office assistant but this does not make them an MA it makes them a MOA.

I am not just trained to do a few injections. I am trained to do EKG's, assist on small surgeries, set up pt't for x-rays and then develop them, phlebotomy using all gauges of needles, EKG Tredmill stress testing. When I was working in a doctors office I was seeing my own patients and writing Rx's and then having the Dr. sign off on them. I check in patients into the exam rooms and depending on their ailments am able to suggest medications to the Dr. which I have also spent an entire quarter in school learing the differences of. I have also removed stitches, lanced abcesses, given complete physicals in addition to the paperwork of prior authorizations and worked with insurance companies.

You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse. I feel that I am an incredible Medical Assistant and love what I do. With the amount of interraction I have with the patients I feel that I am far from office personnel.

DiAnne :balloons:

No offense, but it sounds like you may be working out of your scope of practice and you and the practice you are working for could get into big trouble! I am also a medical assistant. I agree that we are far more than office staff. I have found charting mistakes by doctors, found atrial fibs on patients while doing intakes ect... however...we are NOT aloud to write Rx's or even suggest them!!! (unless you count suggesting the doctor allows the patient to have a bunch of the exess free samples, of which medication he is already taking) I have written out RX for the doctor's to sign, only after the doctor told me to (like if a patient sends note asking for a written Rx for mail order...I copy what is in the patients chart on an RX pad and the doctor signs it)... but I do not prescribe them myself!!!! I am sure this is illegal in ALL states. Although Medical Assistants do a lot of the same things nurses do, they arn't in any form and shape a nurse, its illegal to say otherwise. Also, I should hope that you are not doing complete physicals....the patients are paying over $100 for the MD to do this, unless you meant that you take their weight, height, vision, vitals, hearing, write down their meds, chief complain ect....

Although I understand that you worked hard to become an MA (I have too, studied hard to become certified by the state) I know you could offend a lot of people here saying you so much like a nurse. I know that when I get my BSN and have been in school for four plus years (although it feels like its been that long already) I would also be offened if an MA compaired themselves to me. Like I said. We do a lot of the same things that nurses do, but that does not make us nurses, or even partial nurses.

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Specializes in LDRP.

:uhoh3: oh boy. one semester of pharmacology, and you are suggesting meds? and writing prescriptions? SO out of your scope of duty. When you have a LICENSE you have to be worried about, you'll be more careful of doing things you shouldn't be doing.

there are many threads about this topic. Let me sum up my point of view, and that of others as well

MA'S ARE NOT NURSES. NO WAY, NOT AT ALL. NEVER. IF YOU THINK YOU ARE-ASK YOUR STATE'S BOARD OF NURSING. I'M SURE THEY'LL AGREE WITH ME, NOT YOU. IF YOU WANT TO BE A NURSE, GO TO SCHOOL.

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Specializes in CIC, CVICU, MSICU, NeuroICU.

Hi guys here are my take on it.

I was recently relocated to Nevada from Cali. I am an RN in California but I have to wait for my endorsement in the state of Nevada so I took a job as a MA. Everyone in the office knows that I'm an RN in California but I told them specifically at the beginning that I will only perform my duties as a MA. There is another MA in the office that is working along side with the RN and MD.

Here is what I noticed.

The MA draw blood, start IV, take VS, give SQ and IM injection and put pt into the exam room. I also noticed that the MA call Pharmacy for refills and inform pt with their NORMAL lab and test results. In my opinion, this MA is good at what she does because she has been there for over five years. She doesn't know why the pt is taking certain medications or why the pt is calling to c/o of the medication side effects.

It may be true that the MA in this particular office does similar tasks to an RN with one major distinction; there is no nursing process. In nursing school you learn that you can basically teach someone to do IV and give injection but you can't teach them to think like a nurse. By that I mean the ADPIE or assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation.

In conclusion, MA job description is more tasks oriented and RN involves critical thinking.

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