Rma

as a cma i feel it was a huge waste of my time. yes, i had the skills to take blood and give injections, but instead my job was precerting for mri's. cma's are not utilized here in my state very well.

CMA is basically a receptionist, you welcome the patients at the Dr. office, write down their names, get their insurance, make copies, take calls, make calls etc.. Actually no real pt care!!! Not here in S. TX... Took a training through the Internet, was 6 months for about $600 but never went into being a CMA. Then went for CNA took me only a month and is so much more fun. I am waiting for my acceptance letter for RN school.

Maybe in Texas this is the case, but in Florida a CMA/RMA is NOT just a receptionist. Although a Medical assistant can work in that capacity schools here teach a much broader scope which includes phlebotomy, medication administration and assisting the physician with procedures. I loved being a Medical assistant and Loved the variety of skills I was able to practice in various settings. In response to other posters who state an MA is not a nurse, This is very true. Nursing and medical assisting are completely different fields. As a nursing student I have learned alot when it comes to bedside nursing and that area of the field. MA teaching focuses on outpatient care, but you learn a lot about Law, insurance, billing, and office administration which nursing school does not go into. Nurse can cross over into the outpatient setting very easily, but that is not true of medical assistants crossing into the hospital setting. Sometimes I get a sense people on this site resent MA, probably mostly because some misrepresent themselves at Nurses. I personally never did that, though fellow coworkers who were in fact nurses referred to me that way. Medical Assisting is a very valid and rewarding career. For me, I wanted to go beyond that and further my education and experience, Hence Nursing school. But I dont regret starting out as an RMA.