am27

I acknowledged that. Just because there wasn't a law, doesn't mean the concept and implication of patient confidentiality didn't exist.

So prior to HIPAA, there was no such thing as the concept of patient confidentiality? K. Pretty sure HIPAA is not HIPAA worldwide, either.

I am a nurse, thank you!

Just as other professions outside of nurses save lives. I never even implied that saving lives only happens in acute care hospitals. OrganizedChaos first said that medical assistants only work in clinics and are never in a position to even perform CPR or save lives. An obviously ignorant and demeaning statement. Also - patients that are circling the drain are not forbidden to enter clinics. I've also seen patients code in clinics. All I'm trying to say is these generalizations from OC are not respectful.

OP, I was a medical assistant for about ten years before I graduated nursing school and got my first RN job 😊 as an MA, I worked in primary care clinics and it was this experience that lit a fire under my butt and made me want to pursue nursing. I thoroughly loved the relationships I developed with my providers and patients and I became a very valued person as the in-between. All of the things I came to know as a medical assistant (medications and their indications, common doses, side effects, interactions), medical conditions, hands on skills like blood draws, EKGs, collecting specimens and running lab tests, and the list goes on - all proved soo useful in nursing school and now as a nurse. Not to mention the abundance of interaction with patients, families, and other healthcare professionals. Depending on what type of clinic (specialty, urgent care, large chain, private owned, etc), MA roles vary a ton. Some places might have you doing secretary stuff like front office, and other places you never touch a phone or do any clerical duties. Some places have their own lab that collect all specimens and run tests, or you as an MA might do that in addition or instead of rooming patients. Lots of variety and it's different everywhere. Good interview questions or even just things to consider. People will say MA's are nothing close to nurses, which is true because they are different professions, but I'm so so grateful and fortunate for my MA background!! It's also a good "in" with healthcare organizations and places of employment if you desire to stay within the chain when you become a nurse :) I'm not sure if any of this helps but good luck!!

Why do you feel the need to put down other professions? I worked in a clinic that did not employ nurses on site so yeah, I was the one administering first aid. without another clinic at the very least OR hospital or urgent care less than 9 miles radius. I have been very important in the role of caring for patients assuming because it's a clinic it is equipped for any medical problems. People walking in with PE's, lacerations, shock symptoms, burns, chest pain, bacterial meningitis, the list goes on. "MA's work in clinics where the likelihood is slim that they would ever have to do CPR or anything to save a patient." Your All Nurses posse will continue to accuse me of being the negative person, but your posts continue to bash other important people! Medical assistants are the ones that first see the patient and get a general sense of their condition when they come in, and a good medical assistant will be aware of concerning signs and symptoms and take further steps. Many times I've positioned patients to help with breathing, obtain EKGs before the doc even has to ask, start running labs that are pertinent, and set up procedure rooms stat for lac repairs or casting or whatever! Medical assistants and LPNs play the same role in every clinic I've ever come in contact with. Idk why you are so against something so similar to your own role. In my state, LPNs DO NOT work in hospitals AT ALL so I could say the same "not saving lives" mumbo jumbo that you said right back at you. But I won't :)

You quoted me and asked when in nursing school it was taught that all siderails up is considered a restraint so I answered you. To be more specific, it was included in basic skills learned in the first part of class. Nobody is being rude to you.

Maybe school for RN and LVN are different. Otherwise, I can't explain why you didn't learn this the first week of class like my fellow nurses and myself.

Nursing School 101

...No.

I took that from my contract, so no I don't have a link. If it's not easily available to outsiders, I don't feel comfortable sharing more than I already have. Perhaps you can contact MNA directly.

33.45 hourly for BSN with 1 yr experience for inpatient, 28.77 for ambulatory is what I came up with

I did think that was a little odd too; my instructors were also the ones with access to the Pyxis and Omnicells.

I apologize, we all know that it's hard to decipher tone over written word. I completely agree with everything in your post and this is how all of my clinicals went, in various hospitals even. Because of the consistency throughout organizations here and their policies for nursing students, I pretty much assumed it would be like that everywhere. It is hard to tell what exactly is going on at OP's clinical sites, but it doesn't sound like what you and I describe. It's also impossible for us to know where that breakdown of communication/understanding is happening. We do have an obligation to be assertive and take initiative, so perhaps staff is giving the students a chance to "bite" and jump in after determining how they can help or what they can perform independently. Who knows?!

OP, I actually have an answer for you. If it looks like a cheap, trashy, bleach blonde job (I'm picturing Christina Aguilera's hair 10 years ago that coordinated so well with her sketchy spandex onesies), dye it all brown. NOT SAYING THIS IS TRUE, but hopefully you know what I mean. Which you probably do, or you wouldn't have asked about it. If it's not uneven or blotchy or yellow, then don't worry about it. Regardless, your hair is a way to express yourself and you should be comfortable with staying who you project yourself to be even if you are going to pursue nursing. But keep in mind that REGARDLESS of hair color, others do judge on appearance without even trying, so do your best to look trustworthy and professional and intelligent. I'm not going to comment on the "dumb blonde" thing because enough people already have.