RN going back to be a medical assistant

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New grad 7 months out and still no luck. :crying2: I know a lot of new grads are feeling my frustration. i'm contemplating if I should be a medical assistant for awhile as a "foot in the door"... I tried everything from dr's office to even abortion clinics to hemodialysis to rehab. I always have good tailored cover letters, joined 2 professional organizations, ACLS, and a decent gpa. several years of volunteer work. I even applied out of state and hundreds of miles away..Nothing. I feel like i've hit the brick wall, 50+ apps later and 1 phone interview. and zero job. :scrying:. Its 2010 and I feel like I need to change my job hunt strategies. I'm looking for some advice from experienced nurses if this would potentially "look bad" on my resume, or if its just plain waste of time. So far I have a friend who is doing the exact same thing and she seem to be getting internal connections to get RN interviews. This hospital is very prestigious and they are not hiring externally at all. I'm not picky at all what I do, but i'm pretty depressed from this whole situation. I feel like I'm in a complete slump... and I just need to do whatever I can at this point to be back in the hospital/ be productive. My question is Should a RN ever go back to be a medical assistant with a RN license, and will that be a concern for future employers that I didn't use my license and did something easier? I'm just very afraid it might look like I gave up on the RN job hunt and settle for a MA position :no:

i pray that 2010 will change this horrible job situation around.

Specializes in Telemetry.

I agree, it is not a great idea to be a medical assistant with an RN. You will be tempted to practice outside your scope just because of your education. I know you want to stay in California, but I think you should start looking for out of state positions. It will probably be easier for you to get a job and you can work for 1 or 2 years then move back to California and be an experienced nurse which will increase your chances of getting a job.

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I'm sorry about your situation. Based on the threads on this site, it seems like California isn't the place to go for newer nurses.

Have you tried LTC? There are a few RNs at my LTCF, since the hospitals were not hiring newer nurses.

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i'm encountering similar difficulty in new york city..technically, i have a contract to work with the city for four years through a scholarship program that i did while in school. however, the facility i was supposed to work at hasn't had any openings since the summer, so i'm applying to other places. I think i will try a previous forum member's idea of volunteering and just going to departments in person. any other ideas for nursing in nyc?

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You should move to Texas, where the economy is less affected. Try Houston, Austin or San Antonio. Lower cost housing too.

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Just tonight I was musing with my wife those aspects of my prior 15+ years in the service industry that I miss. Two years into my nursing career, I recalled those things common in my hotel/restaurant jobs, that are apparently unknown in my presumptively new "prestigious" professional position:

-*Paid* 1-hour lunch breaks for any shift greater than 6 hours, with free food provided. Not getting the full hour was virtually unheard-of, and when it did occur, usually led to management getting us some food to wolf down on while we worked.

-Holiday pay regardless of whether the holiday was worked or not.

-Yearly holiday gift(s) (some places Thanksgiving and Xmas, others just Xmas) of some value (food and wine, $50-$100 gift certificates, etc).

-And, of course, a level of "stress" that becomes laughable in retrospect, compared to that of an RN position.

And while this last part isn't something that can be instantly changed, it highlights to me the bizarre status held by the staff RN in being treated as a form of service employee in terms of pay, scheduling, respect, etc, while holding the educational and professional burdens of a professional making critically important decisions every day.

As an RN, aside from a greater sense of intellectual stimulation from the job, and professional/humanitarian pride, the only real world improvement my nursing career has given me is a significant improvement in income while actually working fewer hours. This is no small thing, but my worsening GERD is starting to put it in perspective.

The other very significant bonus to this path I have chosen is the possibility of professional advancement. I will hopefully begin FNP schooling in Fall of this year, and the professional potential of that career track seems very, very promising. Don't forget this in your current situation; maybe you can use your hard-won RN education as a step up, instead of considering a step back to MA.

Honestly, with this level of difficulty you (and so many others) are having in securing RN employment, were I in your shoes, I'd be more inclined to seek out decent paying jobs in other fields in the short term, and just wait out the current nursing slump. Personally, I would much rather do that than any of the things I have seen mentioned on this site that seem to only degrade the profession, such as unpaid internships, actually paying for training post-licensure, expressing willingness to be paid minimum wage, working well beneath the RN skill set (e.g. as an MA) to get "connections", "foot in the door", etc.

Finally, I acknowledge that I am writing this from a position of stable employment, and I graduated just before the current new grad crisis began. I do hope things turn around soon for new nurses.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
YMMV of course, but for me it's difficult to believe that anyone hired into an MA position will be allowed to work for long without MA certification. As far as I know, certification is required in every state and it can't be gotten until one has completed an accredited MA course and externship first. CNA and nursing schools do not teach the medical emphasis of medical assisting. It is a different approach.

In the same vein, RNs, LVN/LPNs and MAs cannot work as CNAs until they train and certify as CNAs. RNs can not work as LPN/LVNs unless they have LVN/LPN licenses. That's the way it works.

That's not true. Not in California. I didn't check the other 49 states so their rules might be different.

http://www.medbd.ca.gov/allied/medical_assistants_questions.html

Very informative site there. Some interesting highlights- a Medical Assistant in California "is not licensed, certified or registered in the State of California". They can be trained by a licensed person such as an MD, RN or LVN. A medical assistant can give an injection after 10 hours of training but they must be witnessed by a licensed person before administration. It really breaks down the can/cannot do questions very specifically.

As for an RN not being trained in "medical emphasis"-- I've worked in lots of doctor's offices. I can't think of anything an MA could have done that would not been covered in depth in nursing school. Or learned by on-the-job training. I did my first venipunctures, EKGs, skin caliper tests, and spun labs in a doctor's office.

To the OP, is the reason you have to be hired "as an MA" because they will pay you less? You're an RN. Doctors hire RNs. I honestly can't think of anything you'd be under-trained or out of "scope of practice" when compared to an MA. However, you would need to know what is excluded from an MAs scope and not do those things-- ie tests requiring assessment, unwitnessed injections, and telephone triage advice.

Anyway, whatever you decide to do, best wishes to you-- it's awfully tough out there. :up:

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Specializes in Global Health Informatics, MNCH.

There are many community health organizations in NYC and the Bay Area hiring RNs. When I graduated in 2006 I just sent cover letter with my resume to local community health facilities whether they had job postings or not. I got a job in 2 weeks. I know things are not as good now but I was able to recently get a new job the same way. Personally I prefer community health to the hospital setting, it may not be what you want but at least it will get you some experience. Also, right now I'm working in the women's health department at a community health center, which means I spend a lot of time on the phone with L&D at the hospital, I know if I ever wanted to work there it would be much easier to interview since I know most of the staff now (at least by phone). Also, working in some high needs areas will qualify you for the nursing loan reimbursement program.

Some other resources are idealist.org, ihs.gov, nachc.org....though I think generally the types of places I'm talking about don't post job openings online.

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thanks for the advice...actually i have a strong interest in community health and i actually prefer that over the hospital setting. if this the opportunity to go for it, then i will. thanks again!

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but what do u say when they ask u if you'll leave as soon as you find a rn job?

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If you are willing to accept the pay of an MA, then go ahead, if someone will hire you, but certainly do not waste time or money going to an MA training program. With an RN license, being overqualified for the position, the doctor(s) and other MAs will give you all the on the job training you need for the position.

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Specializes in Home Health Care.

Sorry about your struggles:( I know a whole lot of possibilities, but it's only if your willing to re-locate. Let me know if your interested. Good Luck.

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New grad 7 months out and still no luck. :crying2: I know a lot of new grads are feeling my frustration. i'm contemplating if I should be a medical assistant for awhile as a "foot in the door"... I tried everything from dr's office to even abortion clinics to hemodialysis to rehab. I always have good tailored cover letters, joined 2 professional organizations, ACLS, and a decent gpa. several years of volunteer work. I even applied out of state and hundreds of miles away..Nothing. I feel like i've hit the brick wall, 50+ apps later and 1 phone interview. and zero job. :scrying:. Its 2010 and I feel like I need to change my job hunt strategies. I'm looking for some advice from experienced nurses if this would potentially "look bad" on my resume, or if its just plain waste of time. So far I have a friend who is doing the exact same thing and she seem to be getting internal connections to get RN interviews. This hospital is very prestigious and they are not hiring externally at all. I'm not picky at all what I do, but i'm pretty depressed from this whole situation. I feel like I'm in a complete slump... and I just need to do whatever I can at this point to be back in the hospital/ be productive. My question is Should a RN ever go back to be a medical assistant with a RN license, and will that be a concern for future employers that I didn't use my license and did something easier? I'm just very afraid it might look like I gave up on the RN job hunt and settle for a MA position :no:

i pray that 2010 will change this horrible job situation around.

Good luck to you. I went to school and graduated as a MA in 1990 and never, ever found employment. Every day I scrolled through want ads, phone books, cold calling, maiing and emailing hundreds of resumes and no luck.

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