Medication Aides

Nurses General Nursing

Published

:confused:

I am asking this question of you because I have looked for days for my answer and am still empty handed. I need to know where I might find information on medication aides and their state practice limitations for Massachusetts. I know this is an odd forum to ask this question but I am at my wits end. I am doing this for a friend who Manages a Community Health Center. Thank you!

It is so amazing to me how nurses talk down on other professions like the one you are talking about in this thread CNA, CMA, and MA. I happen to be a CNA and have been for 12 yrs. I have also trained in the military as a EMT-B, and I have also got my Phlebotomy training as well. I have never passed meds, but I have started IV's , draw blood, did straight caths, foley caths, sterile and non-sterile wound care. I have also assisted in a codes and the physician when needed.In military we are allowed to give injections too.

We are not trying to take your job some of us are happy with the jobs we have and just because we are not RNs doen't make us any less of a person. And if we are being refered to as a nurse just because we wear the same scrubs why is that so threatning to you???

First off the training a Corpsman or EMT in the military is nothing like that of a CNA. Military training is to the LPN level -- at least. But until they are an LPN or an RN they still are not a nurse.

As for the CNA'a being called nurses. It threatens the patients! And I believe it is illegal (I am a prenursing student). And my understanding is if a CNA passes herself off as a nurse and gives advice the RN is still responsible and can lose their license as a result (not sure if an LPN who has a CNA working under her can lose hers/his too). So it also threatens their livelihood. Am I wrong, experienced ones? And while you may hear that an LPN also works under the RN's license. They are nurses and can call themselves nurses and have taken pharmacology, a&p and the first year of nursing an RN does (at least in my area). A CNA has no business not correcting an assumption they are a nurse.

No one is saying a CNA is less of a person. But they do not have the same training and education as a nurse. And I would not want a CNA giving meds to me or my family members. But yes CNAs are an essential part of the healthcare team but I think there scope is getting a little too dangerous.

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hello everyone. Medication Aide from Kansas, and let me tell you something about Medication Aides. I am very PROUD to be a CMA. I don't really care what others may think of CMA's because I'm really no different than anyone else in this forum. We all wear the same kind of scrubs and basically do the same thing as a LPN. Only I don't give injections. I have worked in Hospitals as a CNA11 and have done several cath placements, sterile and non sterile dressing changes, and hey, what do I care if you think that I'm not qualified to this kind of job. I believe in myself and I do my job just as well as any of you "NURSES" out there. You want to get defensive and say how Med Aides make med errors all the time, well hey, what about you Nurses out there making the fatal med errors, stealing narcs and whatnot. I'm just as human as you. Everyone makes mistakes, but hey, I geuss your PERFECT!!!! You obviously dont make any mistakes like us LOWER THAN DIRT PEOPLE WHO PASS MEDS AS A CMA. I'm very thankful the good Lord gave me the opportunity to learn and to advance my knowledge and my skills. I'm currently in Nursing School, and its helped me alot with knowing all the meds and what side effects there are and what can happen. i've been a med aid for 4 years now, and have had only 1 med error in those 4 years. How many med errors have you made as a nurse in your whole career?

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First off the training a Corpsman or EMT in the military is nothing like that of a CNA. Military training is to the LPN level -- at least. But until they are an LPN or an RN they still are not a nurse.

As for the CNA'a being called nurses. It threatens the patients! And I believe it is illegal (I am a prenursing student). And my understanding is if a CNA passes herself off as a nurse and gives advice the RN is still responsible and can lose their license as a result (not sure if an LPN who has a CNA working under her can lose hers/his too). So it also threatens their livelihood. Am I wrong, experienced ones? And while you may hear that an LPN also works under the RN's license. They are nurses and can call themselves nurses and have taken pharmacology, a&p and the first year of nursing an RN does (at least in my area). A CNA has no business not correcting an assumption they are a nurse.

No one is saying a CNA is less of a person. But they do not have the same training and education as a nurse. And I would not want a CNA giving meds to me or my family members. But yes CNAs are an essential part of the healthcare team but I think there scope is getting a little too dangerous.

CNA'S ARE NOT CONSIDERED NURSES WHERE I'M FROM. WE DO ALL THE "DIRTY" WORK FOR YOU NURSES BECAUSE YOUR A LITTLE TOO AFRAID OF GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY!!!!!!!
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Med aids, cma's and cna's are a far cry from being "basically the same as an LPN" I can't figure out if you are trying to stir up trouble or if you actually believe this. I am telling you this, no one but a qualified nurse (lpn or rn) will ever cath or pass meds to me or my family.

I am not sure what you are so defensive about. No one said you are lower than dirt. No one said we thought less of you as a person. But I do not think a cna, cma or whatnot has the same level of training and education as a nurse. If that was true they wouldn't be paying nurses more money. And of course we are all human and no one said that nurses never make mistakes. And so what if you wear the same scrubs. I can put on a white coat but that doesn't make me as good as a dr. And even you admitted that even as a nursing student you are now aware of the side effects. Gosh don't you think that is important for someone to know when passing meds. Do cma's know how to look at lab values and phone the dr if the med isn't right to treat the values? Or do they just give the med because it was ordered. (Here I am asking as I don't know). And I have no problem getting my hands dirty. I better not as I want to work in l&d. I have worked in a group home and have bathed and changed adult diapers. I also have three little kids and I have been puked on, peed on and even once pooped on. I have had to stick my potty training son in the bath because of an accident. And for me poop, pee and vomit is all the same.

I have to ask if you are so happy with your job why are you going back to school to be an LPN or RN? According to you, you are nearly as knowledgable as one now. Not that I don't think it is great that you are.

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With all the discussion about CNAs and CMTs and CMAs and

CNA 2s and LPNs I think it would be easier and take up less

space if someone who can research this topic and post the laws

in each state for all 50 states.

This should include what levels are legal in each state,

eg. CNA 2s CMTs CMAs

What the prerequisites are for further training in each state.

like one year as a CNA to get into CMA training.

and how many hours are required in each state.

It should be posted as a graph so it's easy to read.

Then there should be some statistics on how many

CMAs make med errors compared with how many RNs

and LPNs and what percent of them were life threatening

errors compared with how many harmless errors.

There seems to be some confusion about how many hours

are required in various places with the idea of, "two weeks,"

being brought up a lot.

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i don't recall any of the nurses here stating that cma/cna/etc.. are "lower than dirt". What i do see is that they feel that some facilities are utilizing unlicensed personel in ways they feel are dangerous to the patients and threatens their license (delegation/responsibility). Just because you "wear the same scrubs" doesn't make you a nurse. Janitors, dietary staff and even secretaries wear scrubs at some facilities, yet they are not nurses or even nurses assistants. some nurses Rts, pts, phlebotomists, parmacy techs etc.. all wear white coats, does that make their level of knowledge equal that of a doctor? NO! This isn't a question of who is a better "person", it is a question of who is a safer health care provider due to their education. Also it is absolutely ILLEGAL for a person who is not a nurse to refer to themselves (or allow others to refer them) as a Nurse. Of course the nurses are going to be indignant about this! If a nurse was passing herself off as a doctor that would be illegal as well and you'd better believe the Docs would be angry (even if the nurse is an NP and functions in a very similar role). The bottom line is that only a nurse can and should be called a nurse. Having been a health assistant myself (now a prenursing student) i personally can't understand why assistants need to give meds, when assistants take care of most of the time consuming personal care, instead of more highly skilled nursing duties, the nurses have more time to do these tasks and assess and evaluate their patients which inmo is the better use of the nurses time.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
We all wear the same kind of scrubs and basically do the same thing as a LPN.

Excuse me, but as an LPN I feel that I DO need to respond to this comment! I'm sorry, Yancy, but weeks of training does not equal my year and a half of LPN school, my licensure exam to become an LPN, and the experience I have as an LPN. I am not going to get into what I do vs. what you do, the list is too long...what counts is that a person who has gone through a training program where you get a certificate just can not compare themselves to someone who is a competent, licensed nurse. There is a BIG difference, and you will not realize that difference until you go through LPN or RN school and get your license yourself. Only then will you see how much education we really have, and how it is not about knowing how to do something, but is what you're doing appropriate for that patient, and what will the outcome be? I am not trying to put you down, I was a CNA myself for 3 years before becoming an LPN. All I am saying is, to compare a CMA and an LPN is like apples to oranges. And you really won't see the difference until you get through nursing school and NCLEX yourself. I know because I didn't, but you can bet I do now.

Kacy

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CNA'S ARE NOT CONSIDERED NURSES WHERE I'M FROM. WE DO ALL THE "DIRTY" WORK FOR YOU NURSES BECAUSE YOUR A LITTLE TOO AFRAID OF GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY!!!!!!!
I am an RN who has absolutely no problems with getting my hands dirty and I know several other nurses who would not be afraid to get their hands dirty either. I have worked on a Med/Surg unit that didn't utilize CNAs and many times I found myself doing everything for everyone of my patients (many times I had 10 or more patients) including the "dirty" work. So please do not make broad general statements that are not true.
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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

You have lost your mind!!!! And you do not do the same thing as a LVN/LPN, I dont care what state you are from. No one here is saying your not qualified in your job aspect or putting you down for having the title you do . However you need a reality check you dont do the intense charting that nurses have to do , and if your doing sterile dressing changes your nurses are either dumb or your lying. Plus you do not carry the responsiblility that a nurse has. And what makes you think CMA's dont steal narcotics or make fatal med errors. Remember it us NURSES who fix your screw up's and One med error in 4 years that is BS. What is your hang-up here, what makes you so defensive? If I were you I would shut my PIE HOLE and start learning from the people in here instead of fighting with them. :rolleyes:

hello everyone. Medication Aide from Kansas, and let me tell you something about Medication Aides. I am very PROUD to be a CMA. I don't really care what others may think of CMA's because I'm really no different than anyone else in this forum. We all wear the same kind of scrubs and basically do the same thing as a LPN. Only I don't give injections. I have worked in Hospitals as a CNA11 and have done several cath placements, sterile and non sterile dressing changes, and hey, what do I care if you think that I'm not qualified to this kind of job. I believe in myself and I do my job just as well as any of you "NURSES" out there. You want to get defensive and say how Med Aides make med errors all the time, well hey, what about you Nurses out there making the fatal med errors, stealing narcs and whatnot. I'm just as human as you. Everyone makes mistakes, but hey, I geuss your PERFECT!!!! You obviously dont make any mistakes like us LOWER THAN DIRT PEOPLE WHO PASS MEDS AS A CMA. I'm very thankful the good Lord gave me the opportunity to learn and to advance my knowledge and my skills. I'm currently in Nursing School, and its helped me alot with knowing all the meds and what side effects there are and what can happen. i've been a med aid for 4 years now, and have had only 1 med error in those 4 years. How many med errors have you made as a nurse in your whole career?
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Legal secretaries should not go to court- that's a lawyers job.

Security guards should not try to arrest criminals- that's a cops' job.

Nurses should not try and perform surgery- that's a surgeon's job-

CNAs should not pass meds or do sterile procedures-

That's a NURSE'S job.

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Editing my reply. Some of the posts on here are so bad, they speak for themselves. No reason for me to ad anything else.

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CNA'S ARE NOT CONSIDERED NURSES WHERE I'M FROM. WE DO ALL THE "DIRTY" WORK FOR YOU NURSES BECAUSE YOUR A LITTLE TOO AFRAID OF GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY!!!!!!!

Well, you're right on one point- CNAs are not considered nurses. Because they are not nurses!

I have worked on all nurse units, which do not use CNAs, and I much prefer that.

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