I was a med asst also- and actually you could "technically" challenge the NCLEX- however, and this is a big however, the requirements to challege are huge- 9 years of bedside care- as a med asst who gives "bedside care"? Also, you have to do every specialty area they list for a specified amt of time- it ends up being prohibitive. I am actually in LVN school now and doing a transition course in the fall- and I am glad I did. I in no way would have passes the NCLEX- and I had worked in peds, OB, urgent care, Pulm and Cardiac. We just didn't need the whole nursing process to do our jobs, or the amt of meds. However, my work Hx was a huge advantage when it came to school- I have the highest average in a class of 40 and am also taking additional classes at night., to finish my pre-reqs for RN. Also, one more thing they don't mention when challenging- is that you can not transition to RN you would have to do a 30 unit option- which means you are not a fraduate of the RN program- you can just sit for the boards- and other statesmay not recognize your license- which means you are limited to CA. and should you ever move you are SOL (s--- out of luck). Much better to bite the bullet and take the class paige:eek: