:angryfire i had to take my 11 month old to the immediate care. he has chicken pox. the ma is talking and my 4 year old asks if her brother is going to get a shot. the ma says, "no, he won't get a shot." my 4 year old (who can read) says, "how do you know?" the ma says because "i'm the nurse and i know." my daughter looks at her name tag and says "m.a., that doesn't spell nurse. my mom is a nurse and her name tag says l.p.n. your name tag has to say l.p.n or r.n. to be a nurse." ( i about died laughing(inside) but i was also embarrassed by my precocious 4 year old.) then the ma says to my daughter, "if you're mom is such a great nurse, she wouldn't have to be here with me taking care of your brother."
ok. w** t the h**l did you just say? fire starts rolling out of my ears. i stated to her, "that is your opinion. i am here to receive treatment from a dr., for my son, not treatment from you. i am sorry if my daughter offended you, but she is correct. you cannot represent yourself as a nurse, you do not have a nursing license. a medical assistant is not the same as a nurse. your attitude is very rude and i feel that you need a better bedside manner. please do not ever speak to me or to any other patient in that manner."
she slams down her equipment and states, "i cannot work with all these know-it-all mothers that are nurses." she then storms out of the room. the dr. who had been in the hallway about to come in the door, states to me,"i apologize for her behaviour. that was uncalled for" ummm, yeah, do you think so?
However, I am going to defend the MA's in general here. They go to school for MORE than 6 months and have just as much training as an LPN, it is just more clinic based than hospital. They are trained for x-rays, lab, as well as obtaining vitals, giving injections, drawing blood, administering medications, and a multitude of other things. I would know, I spent 11 years working as a MA before I went back for my RN. One of the surgeons I worked for referred to me as his "nurse" for 6 years. I wasn't about to correct him each time in front of patients. I referred to myself as his assistant and would happily explain my title to anyone who asked.
No -they do not have just as much education or training as an LPN.
With prerequisites, my LPN program was two full years long, full time- including summers. (I'm an RN now).
You were wrong to allow yourself to be called by a title you did not earn. Being afraid of a surgeon is no excuse.
Just because someone is a surgeon doesn't make them perfect, or incapable of doing the wrong thing. You certainly don't have to correct them in front of patients, but I've confronted them in private. That's what being a nurse is, advocating for patients and yourself and not allowing yourself to be cowed by someone's title. A real nurse knows this.
I swear, that's why doctors like to have MAs in the office, they're cheap and apparently, they throw in ego stroking as well. Cold hard fact is, an MA is nowhere near the same thing as an LPN or RN and when they are referred to as "nurse" by themselves or anyone else, it's wrong and it's fraudulent.:angryfire
I don't care what kind of education an MA gets but it doesn't even come close to the education an LPN or RN receive. MAs don't have to take A/P, patho and chemistry like most LPN programs require their students to take.
No offense here but, MAs don't have the same amount of training as LPNs. Most LPN schools you have to do insane amounts of clinical time and hands on training. Also most new-grad LPN students are way more prepared to be on the floor nurses than new-grad RN students.
I agree this MA was out of line extremely. And you should totally give your daughter a treat! That's very smart that she knows the difference.
I did a 6 week (40 hours per week) externship in an Internal Medicine clinic prior to finishing my MA training. That's probably more clinical experience than some RN programs.
Specializes in M/S,LTAC, ER-not exactly specialized.
What a little smart-y you have there. She was right to correct the MA.
I was at a party last year and this chick telling people she was in "medical school". I was impressed, because she looked to be about 21..maybe. When I asked her what University she was attending she starts telling me she is going to school to become a medical assistant , "which is basically an LVN and RN wrapped up into one degree"
I ended up talking with her for most of the night. The schools have alot to do with this kind of attitude.
I did a 6 week (40 hours per week) externship in an Internal Medicine clinic prior to finishing my MA training. That's probably more clinical experience than some RN programs.
Regardless of how much clinical time you had, your education was quite different from that of an LPN or RN. The practice of an LPN and an RN are quite different than an MAs practice. LPN and MA are not interchangeable and do not go hand-in-hand.
I did a 6 week (40 hours per week) externship in an Internal Medicine clinic prior to finishing my MA training. That's probably more clinical experience than some RN programs.
I will have 1200 hours clinical time by the time I graduate with my BSN next month (900 required and 300 extra curricular precepted hours)......you do the math.
Specializes in School Nursing, Pedi., Critical Care.
All I have to sa is I am speechless at what the MA said in the OP. WOW! Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. Most states prosecute for impersonating a nurse!
HAHA that is really funny..Its amazing how these MA's go to school for 6 mos. and suddenly become nurses. I studied to be an MA before i went into nursing and never persued it because I felt they didnt get paid enough for what they did..but basically education and scope of practice is uncomparable of an MA to an actual RN or even LPN
The majority of them don't even go to school--they are trained on the job with little or no formal education.
.thumb.gif.5406a59d44f5c666e8ff3ebac639497a.gif){kind=avatar}
Valerie Salva, BSN, RN
1,793 Posts
No -they do not have just as much education or training as an LPN.
With prerequisites, my LPN program was two full years long, full time- including summers. (I'm an RN now).
You were wrong to allow yourself to be called by a title you did not earn. Being afraid of a surgeon is no excuse.
Agree 100%.