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.
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.
You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse.
I should go to school for MA instead of Nursing. Why waste all that time on a Master's program when you can do the same thing as an MA in 8 months!!!
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:
Actually she isn't mistaken at all. Medical assistants are just that, nothing more and nothing less. They are not nurses. Just the facts. I do realize they can perform many more procedures than just giving injections, but if you are truly writing scripts and having the doctor sign off on them, then you are performing outside the scope of your practice and the doctor who is allowing it is acting in a very unsafe manner. As far as finding classes that transfer, you just have to get your transcripts and syllabi and go in to the schools of your choice and have them reviewed. Chances are it will be very difficult for you to find a school who will allow your credits to transfer because 99% of the time MA classes aren't on the same level of LPN classes. They may take classes that are named similarly but the actual course breadth and depth are very different. Good luck on your search but you most likely will have to take all of the LPN science prereqs anyway. Maybe your learning curve will be a bit lower though because of your medical experience so that is a good thing.
oh boy. one semester of pharmacology, and you are suggesting meds? and writing prescriptions? SO out of your scope of duty.
Exactly!, and having taken that MA pharm course myself because i needed an extra couple of credits one term and thought it could be helpful, let me tell you that there is NO WAY that an MA should be suggesting meds! The course didn't even go in depth about drug interactions, signs and symptoms of toxicity and half lifes of the drugs. No chemistry and no antidote info or assesment of when a drug should or shouldn't be given. It was a very basic class. Good information, but just starting the first few chapters of my RN pharm book it already is VASTLY different!
This sounds an awful lot like what an RPN does in Canada. That would be a Registered Practical Nurse. Of course they do a lot of other duties as well but they are nurses.
Wow! Makes you wander what kind of physician would let a MA write prescriptions and perform complete physicals. I am shocked. That is so dangerous (and dumb)!
This sounds an awful lot like what an RPN does in Canada. That would be a Registered Practical Nurse. Of course they do a lot of other duties as well but they are nurses.
I've worked as an RPN, and no it is not the same as a Medical Assistant.
I was seeing my own patients and writing Rx's and then having the Dr. sign off on them.
given complete physicals
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 would strongly suggest DiAnne, that you learn what your scope of practice is. At 21, with probably less than 2 years experience as an MA, you are in no way shape or form, nor should you be, practicing in a manner more consistant with an RN, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or physician. This is what this physician allowing you to do, that does not make it acceptable by law. If you believe that you are entirely covered under his license, you are mistaken. Please check out the sites posted by NRSKarenRN. Please look into your own state legislation in regards to MAs.
You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse.
It is you are are mistaken, in fact, this should have been one of the first things taught to you while you were being educated as an MA: MAs are not nurses, they should not be representing themselves as nurses. There are many MAs on this forum that will agree that they are not nurses.
It should also have been clear to you throughout your education that there are penalties for falsely representing oneself as a nurse when one does not have those qualifications. The issue isn't about what we feel we deserve to be called, or what others think/believe we should be called, but it is about what our qualifications allow us to be called. Being qualified as an MA does not qualify you as a nurse. It is a crime punishable by law to represent oneself as nurse when one does not have those credentials. Your instructors were lax not to ensure your knowledge in this regards. In a court of law, ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse.
What you are doing, and what this physician is allowing you to do is DANGEROUS TO THOSE PATIENTS. What this physician is allowing you to do is fraudlent, deceitful, and in some areas against the law. He has put you in a very bad position.
Don't remain in a position that could come back and bite you in the butt. At 21, you have your whole life ahead of you. You stated your goal is to become an RN, don't jeopardize this goal, DiAnne. A patient filing a lawsuit could permanently blow your future out of the water. Protect what you have earned and protect your goals for the future.
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:
I NEVER SAID I WAS A NURSE. I never said I was even qualified as a nurse. I would see the patients get the c/c and make the suggestions b/c I researched and learned at the Rep lunches not just taking the free food. I read the PDR. I never signed scripts. I wrote them out, told the Dr. what I did and he would decide if I was right or not. Making a suggestion to a Dr. is not a crime. One said I was only 21 and not old enough to have enough experience to know what to do. I'm 32 a mother and have been learning long before I ever got in school and learning ever since I got out. I never represented to anyone that I was a nurse. I always introduced myself as a Medical Assistant. I would do the physiical part that I was capable of but the pts still saw the dr. I would take the patients to the room and work to anticipate what the Dr. would need.
I no longer work in this office b/c the Dr.s wife wanted me to do things outside my scope and I refused and said I had to and I wouldn't so I quit.
Thank you to the people with the suggestions about furthering my education. I appreciate that but it saddens me that SO many of you think MA's are not qualified or smart enough to do things after what they learn in school.
It saddens me that so many people here are so harsh, this is not the welcoming, kind place I thought it was. I will think twice before I return.
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.
You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse.
This is what you said that hit raw nerves...YOU are in fact mistaken for thinking that you are some shape or form a nurse. Not trying to be unfriendly but your training does not qualify you to call yourself a form of a nurse. Good luck in your studies, after you have a license you will see why we are so offended.
I apologize for the mistake in your age DiAnne. In your second post:
You are very mistaken if you think that MA's are in no way shape or form a nurse.
In fact I did not say MAs were not qualified nor were they not smart enough to do what they are trained to do. They are. Your second post gave a lot of people the impression you were going outside of your scope of practice.
Specializes in LTAC, Homehealth, Hospice Case Manager.
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:
I agree the MA is not merely a medical office assistant. I have been a Registered Medical Assistant for 8 years, and like yourself am proud of that fact. I also worked very hard for my certification & feel that I am good at what I do. When you refer to MA's on the level of nurses, please don't include all of us in on that assumption. However, I feel I have grounds to post a valid response to your referance concerning MA's and nurses. I am going into my last semester of RN training. There is a MAJOR difference between nurses and MA's. You have no clue what you DON'T know about patient care until you go to nursing school. My suggestion is to look up what the scope of MA practice is and follow it. I agree the MA has their place in health care and good ones are a wonderful help, but it is not on the level of nursing. If nursing is truely what you want to do, then go back to school. Most MA courses don't transfer to the college level because it is a technical certificate. Pre-req courses for nursing are much more in depth than what is taught on the technical level. My MA pharm was nothing like my nursing pharm. Any MA who thinks their training has prepared them for nursing training is in for a wake up call. I am not trying to imply that because I'm a nursing student that I know everything...I will be the frist to admit that I don't and far from it. I truely do apologize if I have come off as being harsh. I don't mean to be, but I have seen both sides. My advice is to know your boundaries and be very careful to protect what you have worked so hard for. :wink2:
oh boy. one semester of pharmacology, and you are suggesting meds? and writing prescriptions? SO out of your scope of duty. 
Hoping LVN2BSN
191 Posts
I should go to school for MA instead of Nursing. Why waste all that time on a Master's program when you can do the same thing as an MA in 8 months!!!
Who knew an MA could assess and diagnose?