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.
Wow this is really ,,,,,, really scary ! I hope I never go to a Dr's office that an MA is writting prescriptions. I will be on their case so fast ! This is why MA's need regulated by the nursing board. They need a scope of practice ! The things you are doing are amazing ..... not in a good way !
I'm only a nursing student, and I completely realize that this is a nursing website that is supposed to be supportive of the profession and that nurses often feel defensive because their expertise is sometimes denegrated. But you know what, it still only takes 2+ years to get certified as an R.N. That's really not all that much education to enter a profession. Consider that most states require public school teachers to have a master's degree and most "pink collar" office jobs require a B.A. anymore just to be considered.
FIRST OFF, LET ME SAY THAT I KNOW THIS IS A VERY OLD POST/THREAD, BUT IT WAS STILL BOTH AN INTERESTING/INFURIATING READ. (heh)
I never, before finding this forum, realized there was such an issue surrounding MA's and nurses. Makes a lot of sense, though.
I laughed at how many posts focused on who came in to the room to do the history and VS when you got to the doctor's office (I won't mention that poster's name, it's probably irrelevant now, anyway). The point was TOTALLY lost in that it's not necessarily a problem WHAT that person's title is, as long as it's not misrepresented...
The statement that I enlarged above, while it angered me to no end (old as it is), since I am an associate degree RN myself ~ it lost most of it's impact by saying it only takes 2+ years to become "certified" as an RN. LOL.
"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 am so happy that you have been able to accomplish your eighteen months to become a Medical assistant, but understand this... I two was a medical assistant for a toltal of 8 yeras and I loved it very much, just as you do. However I must make this clear that I in no way am saying that MA's are not like nurses. What I am saying is that MA's do share some similar things such as giving injections and maybe assisting in minor surgery, but you are missing the big picture here Dianne. Just because you assisted in minor surgery, does not prepare you to assist in a major trauma unit such as the ER, that you are not qualified to start an IV or that you cannot make calls independently when it comes to the care of a patient.
*I understand the aspect of writing prescriptions, you are either writing something for a paetient to refill which has been ok'd by the doctor in your own hand and on a script paper, but the fact is that the doctor is the one signing off on it so therefor you just made it easy for the doctor to give the same refill without him just having to write it out himself only sign it.
*I understand the developement of an xray film, just like working the counter at cvs and developing pictures, but you were not qualified to shoot the amount of radiation into the patient to obtain the xray, technologists do that.
*Assesing your own patients...wow! that is all I can say, maybe I have in some cases given an idea to the doctor as to what I personally think the condition is, but in no way shape or form was I allowed to diagnose.
*Ahhh...performimg physicals, I remember the days of taking vital signs, testing vision,doing pulmonary function test, using the ishihara plates and vision tittmus as well as an audiogram (yeah I am CAOCH certified). because of doing all of this as part of a PEX did not actually mean I did it, I never check for crackles in the lungs, motor function and hernias...I am so sure you have done this since you stated you do your own physicals.
*Lancing abcesses can be fun, but if you are not sterile you can introduce bacteria which I am sure you know that. If a person presents a law suit for malpractice, yes your doctor may loose his license or have it suspended and you will never be able to perform as an MA and if that was to occur you can forget about nursing school.
****Last, but not least...if you are seriously telling the doctor which medicine he should be giving a patients in regards to his/her ailments, I would suggest you check to make sure the doc is not a quack (no offense), but you should not be diagnosing and telling the doctor what to prescribe(after all he did complete the 8+years of med school), you did state you just finished school, but it was not medical school..ooops! There are certain things you should not be doing just because the doctor tells you to, if the doc tells you to insert a chest tube and a patient dies how would you feel? you need to seriously look at your scope of practice! you do not have a license sweety and sometimes you just need to learn how to say no .****
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:
Not sure what state you are doing the above, but before I became a nurse I was a Medical Assistant. I can tell you that in my state, you would be WAY out of the realm of what you are certified to do and I am pretty sure this would go for ANY state! Scary thought, that as a non-licensed healthcare worker that you would be allowed to do these things!! WOW!! Somebody really trusts their malpractice insurance to cover you if you make a mistake.
O and not to sound rude, but you are NOT licensed in ANY state, certified maybe, but not licensed. So really you are trying to compare apples to oranges. You might want to watch your back when bragging about all that you are getting away with doing while working under someone else's medical license, cause when it comes right down to it I can just about promise you that NONE of them are going to take the fall for you!!
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Since someone decided to resurrect this thread again I may as well let people know that the issue that the long ago OP asked about is now changed for allnurses has added MAs and PCTs to the forum mix.
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time4meRN
457 Posts
Wow this is really ,,,,,, really scary ! I hope I never go to a Dr's office that an MA is writting prescriptions. I will be on their case so fast ! This is why MA's need regulated by the nursing board. They need a scope of practice ! The things you are doing are amazing ..... not in a good way !