fyrelight74

I'm a PA. Graduated just a few months ago. Although we had to get checked off on some things, there are still some things that I am allowed to do that I never did during my training. That's because, even after certification, we are still able to gain skills. Most medical schools and PA schools have the phrase "see one, do one, teach one".... meaning you observe someone do it, next time you do it, and the next time you can teach someone else to do it. My doctor and I have a very good relationship, and if there is something I haven't done or don't feel comfortable with, I just say, "Hey, would you mind doing this procedure this time so I can watch your technique and you could give me tips?" He is always very happy to do this, as I'm sure your colleagues would be. No one in their right mind should look down on you for wanting to improve your skills.

I am a certified medical assistant CMA (AAMA), and never want to be called a nurse. The doctor's office I work for doesn't seem to have a problem calling us nurses, though I have mentioned they should not say that. The doctor has slowly started introducing me as "his assistant", which is fine, but sometimes the patient will be told to return for a "nurse visit"-- which is a low level coded visit where they only see an MA, not a nurse, and he tells them, "You'll just be seen by one of the nurses". I have tried to correct the staff, doctor, patients, but the older ones especially do not understand that there are other staff besides nurses and doctors. The same population do not understand the role of NPs or PAs. I have an Associates in Medical Assisting, an Associates in Human Biology, and a Bachelors in Bible. I am educated, I am good at my job. I do NOT want to be a nurse. I am in the process of applying to PA school. So, I think it boils down to education. BTW, CMA(AAMA)s don't like it when MA's call themselves certified, just because they have a certificate. There is a difference in being certified and certificated. CMA (AAMA)s have to keep our CEUs up to maintain our credentials.... so CMAs and MAs have our own little war to fight regarding names. That's one reason the CMAs have asked for possible licensing, so to differentiate between the trained, educated MAs and the MAs trained on the job or in some 6 week clinic.

Yeah, from Herpes Zoster/Varicella virus.... the office I did my MA externship in was considering buying Zostavax vaccine for their older patients who were prone to get shingles.

Yeah, watch the schools.. I thankfully went to a community college, which in California is VERY cheap... $26 a credit hour. Tech schools often aren't accredited by the CAAHEP, the AAMA accrediting authority.

I've just finished my MA school, so I'm up on this! :) Our AAMA national "scope of practice" is located here: http://www.aama-ntl.org/resources/library/Role-delineation-2003.pdf I'll attach it below. Granted, all MAs don't have the same training.... a lot aren't in the AAMA which requires CEUs and has higher standards for schooling. I took A&P, and it was the half year course that the LPNs in our school take, as well as the EMTs. We also had Human Disease, Medical Terminology, plus all the general Ed, computer classes, and clinical classes in order to get the Associate's degree. No, we didn't take Micro or Chemistry. I had 220 hours of externship (which I just finished) in a doctor's office. I'm a back office assistant, so it may be a lot different for administrative MAs. The MAs main duties where I was placed were rooming patients, getting vitals, asking which medications they were on and what their chief complaint was; drawing up and giving injections, drawing blood, running EKGs, performing pulse ox and peak flow and nebulizers; running UA, Hgb, Hct, glucose, audiometer and Snellen vision tests; assisting with minor office surgeries such as colposcopies, mole removals, etc; refilling prescriptions, getting prior authorizations for prescriptions, carrying out any doctors orders for patients (mailing out diet info, etc), calling patients to deliver lab results, answering phones, answering whatever questions we could and delivering the rest to the MD; sterilizing equipment in the autoclave which involved knowing what procedure took what equipment so that it was autoclaved in the same pkg; stocking and ordering supplies. I didn't do any up front duties, but we could also schedule patients, do referrals, coding, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even though there wasn't a spare minute sometimes to even think. Now I'm out looking for a job. In the next 2 years, I WILL be going back to school to take Chem, A&P (the harder 2 semester version), and Micro.... so I can apply to Physician Assistant school. Why did I do the MA then? You have to have so many hours of patient care experience to get into PA school, and I prefer doing that in a doctors office where I have repeat patients, rather than in a hospital as a CNA. I also didn't want to do LTC. I love being an MA! Sadly, the other office personnel didn't understand that we were MAs and not nurses. I would hear them on the phone saying "I'll let you speak to his nurse". Then, the patients don't understand what MAs are either, and assume you are a nurse. Even if you correct them, they still don't get what we do. That's the main reason MAs want a real national group, like the AAMA.... to get the word out so people know we aren't trying to take nursing jobs-- we have to much to do with just the MA responsibilities!!! I have no desire to be a nurse, though some of my classmates do and are going back to school for that as well. Ok, here's the AAMA's list of duties: Medical Assistant Role Delineation Chart CLINICAL Apply principles of aseptic technique and infection control Comply with quality assurance practices Screen and follow up patient test results Collect and process specimens Perform diagnostic tests Adhere to established patient screening procedures Obtain patient history and vital signs Prepare and maintain examination and treatment areas Prepare patient for examinations, procedures and treatments Assist with examinations, procedures and treatments Prepare and administer medications and immunizations Maintain medication and immunization records Recognize and respond to emergencies Coordinate patient care information with other health care providers Initiate IV and administer IV medications with appropriate training and as permitted by state law ADMINISTRATIVE Perform basic administrative medical assisting functions Schedule, coordinate and monitor appointments Schedule inpatient/outpatient admissions and procedures Understand and apply third-party guidelines Obtain reimbursement through accurate claims submission Monitor third-party reimbursement Understand and adhere to managed care policies and procedures Negotiate managed care contracts Perform procedural and diagnostic coding Apply bookkeeping principles Manage accounts receivable Manage accounts payable Process payroll Document and maintain accounting and banking records Develop and maintain fee schedules Manage renewals of business and professional insurance policies Manage personnel benefits and maintain records Perform marketing, financial, and strategic planning GENERAL Display a professional manner and image Demonstrate initiative and responsibility Work as a member of the health care team Prioritize and perform multiple tasks Adapt to change Promote the CMA credential Enhance skills through continuing education Treat all patients with compassion and empathy Promote the practice through positive public relations Recognize and respect cultural diversity Adapt communications to individual's ability to understand Use professional telephone technique Recognize and respond effectively to verbal, nonverbal, and written communications Use medical terminology appropriately Utilize electronic technology to receive, organize, prioritize and transmit information Serve as liaison Perform within legal and ethical boundaries Prepare and maintain medical records Document accurately Follow employer's established policies dealing with the health care contract Implement and maintain federal and state health care legislation and regulations Comply with established risk management and safety procedures Recognize professional credentialing criteria Develop and maintain personnel, policy and procedure manuals Instruct individuals according to their needs Explain office policies and procedures Teach methods of health promotion and disease prevention Locate community resources and disseminate information Develop educational materials Conduct continuing education activities Perform inventory of supplies and equipment Perform routine maintenance of administrative and clinical equipment Apply computer techniques to support office operations Perform personnel management functions Negotiate leases and prices for equipment and supply contracts

here's the ucdavis website where they combine the pa and fnp programs: http://fnppa.ucdavis.edu/index.htm and here are the requirements: http://fnppa.ucdavis.edu/admissions/require.htm they both require 4000 hours hands on experience, to be gained as a nurse for the np, as an ma, paramedic, emt, or whatever for the pa. rns must be licensed in california, plus have some specific courses, and if they are doing the "master's track", they must have a bachelor's. pas must have an aa, plus some specific courses such as a&p, microbiology, etc. here is a quote from their website: "what is the difference between an fnp and a pa? an fnp comes from a nursing background while a pa generally has a different health career background. their respective fields have quite different origins and histories. they operate under different state laws and titles. however, their roles in the health field can be so similar that the uc davis fnp/pa program educates these professionals together. "

Nope, that's what's confusing... I do work out daily.. but often only a 30 minute walk, (I only do my 1 hr+ workouts 2-3 days a week). I'm overweight, too, so its not that I'm all that athletic... lol. I've also had times when I frequently had tachycardia... over 100 bpm, but STILL had the respirations of 8-10..... that's why I'm confused..... Am I an ALIEN? :chuckle

I'm in medical assisting school, and right now we've been practicing vitals in one of my clinical classes. My question is with respirations. I know normal is 12-20 per minute, but my personal respirations run 8-10 per minute no matter who takes it, so I know its not a flub. Anyone know why my respirations would be so much lower than everyone elses? My pulse rate is 80-100, so we're ending up with a ratio of 1:10 R:P rather than the usual 1:4. I'm not on any medications that would affect this, and as far as I know, I've always been like this, even in my childhood (I remember watching my parents breathe while sitting in the car and wondering why they breathed so fast, but I chalked it up to they were older and they were smokers) So, anyone else here have bradypnea normally or know why someone would?

BTW, CMA typically stands for Certified Medical Assistant... different from an MNA. CMAs are from accredited institutions, certified by the AAMA... Here's what they are allowed to do: http://www.aama-ntl.org/resources/library/Role-delineation-2003.pdf Sorry, just had to clear up some confusion there. I'm in CMA school getting my Associate's degree.

http://www.aama-ntl.org/resources/library/Role-delineation-2003.pdf has the list for what the MAs are qualified to do. Oh, yeah, MA's are not to be confused with medicine aides, although I understand they have the same initials... :)

I'm currently in an A.S. program for Medical Assisting. CMAs/RMAs are graduates of accredited institutions-- CMAs from CAAHEP, RMAs from ABHES institutions-- who have taken and passed the CMA exam from the AAMA or the RMA exam from the AMT. There are MAs who aren't CMAs-- usually those are the ones with only on-the-job training or from a vocational school. Within the MA/CMA realm, there are 2 categories... Administrative Medical Assistants, and Clinical Medical Assistants. The clinical requires more lab hours on campus, and they are qualified to give injections, run EKGs, perform spirometry tests, check vitals, draw blood, start an IV(though we can't push meds through), etc.... with the STRICT clarification that a DOCTOR must be present in the building with which we are working. We are under his license, and therefore he must be present. THAT is why we can't work in nursing homes, home health, etc-- not always a dr present. That's also why we can't work in hospitals-- we have to receive our orders directly from a doctor. Technically, MAs only work in dr offices for that reason, and our equal partner in hospitals is an LVN/LPN (well, those who are CMAs, anyhow). We can't do catheters, push meds via IV, and several other things. We also get paid WAY LESS than nurses, but the trade off is that we don't have to have wild hours in hospitals, get our own licensing, etc. CNAs are basically assistants for the nurses.... and they do get the dirty jobs. They typically have less training (some just a couple of weeks!), and they work mostly in hospitals and nursing homes. MAs sometimes use the MA program as a starting point to get into Physician Assistant school. You get your A.S., get a few more courses in (Microbiology, etc), get your Bachelor's (though that is optional for some PA schools I think), get 2000 or so hours of medical practice hours, then apply to PA/NP school. The only difference between a PA and a Nurse Practitioner is an NP has a nursing background... they even go to the same classes/degree program, but end up with a different set of letters behind their name. That is my ultimate goal-- PA school. I have a B.A. in an unrelated field, and getting my A.S. in Medical Assisting now. After a few years of practice and a few more courses, I intend to apply to UC Davis Med School for the PA program.

Question: What do y'all do about wedding rings that sit kind of high up and tend to snag on gloves? Any tricks from you veterans? I've heard some cover them up with bandaids, others just take them off and wear them around their neck.... what's your solution?

I have no issues with male or female nurses or doctors doing their jobs. I'm infertile and have had several gyn surgeries and such... doesn't bother me who does what as long as they're good at it!