What is better HCE? CNA or Medical Assistant

[Eric9]

What is better HCE? CNA or Medical Assistant?

 

CNA - Costs less and takes less time to get certified, also seems to have more jobs available depending on where you live. But the work from what I've read doesn't sound fun at all, cleaning up bodily fluids all day everyday (correct me if I'm misinformed) and work like a slave.

 

Medical Assistant - Takes longer and is more expensive to get certified, most courses offer training in phlebotomy which is a plus, seems to have some jobs available depending on where you live. Some places could be more office assistant than dealing directly and taking care of patients though.

 

Any advice on deciding between the two? Which one looks better on an application for PA school? Which one will get you better prepared for PA school? Or do they both look good and either will do?

[YoungMulaBaby]

CNA is better imo. Medical Assistant mainly does office work. You need to have patient contact. You can sign up for a Phlebotomy course if I were you and then work as a Phlebotomist. or EMT is good as well. EKG tech is also another option.

 

Jobs even in these "lower" healthcare fields will be hard to find, and many positions require experience, so rack up volunteer hours if you're not able to find a job at first.

[fyrelight74]

I hate to disagree, but MAs do not do mostly office work... there are 2 types of MAs.... administrative and clinical. Clinical MAs are also called "back office MAs". Do they do some chart maintenance such as prescriptions, lab reports? Yes, but that is good experience. They also take vital signs, assist in minor office surgeries, educate patients, run EKGs and lab tests (many times WITHOUT a phleb license) and many other things. I was a back office MA and scribe myself. Invaluable experience. I learned a ton with one on one contact with the doctor and the patients.

[YoungMulaBaby]

I hate to disagree, but MAs do not do mostly office work... there are 2 types of MAs.... administrative and clinical. Clinical MAs are also called "back office MAs". Do they do some chart maintenance such as prescriptions, lab reports? Yes, but that is good experience. They also take vital signs, assist in minor office surgeries, educate patients, run EKGs and lab tests (many times WITHOUT a phleb license) and many other things. I was a back office MA and scribe myself. Invaluable experience. I learned a ton with one on one contact with the doctor and the patients.

 

That is actually true, thanks

[Corpsman2PA]

We have a new MA at my work (Where i'm also currently an MA), and out of the gate she is doing all the things mentioned (Imms, EKGs, Neb tx, vitals, etc.) We all get direct advice from the PA or MD/DO on that day or night, which is always great insight. Just my view of the MA side. And like fyrelight74 said, we do both back-office (mainly) but also help with charts, and checking in pts as needed. Some offices even train you as an MA w/o you having gone to school. Hard gig to find, but is out there.

[Joelseff]

Back Office MA FTW! I was a corpsman and became a MA when I got out. Found an old Army doc who let me do more than the average and it was invaluable exp ON TOP of my HM work. I have 2 MAs in my practice who want to become PAs. I call I them into rooms to pimp them and give them reading assignments as well as discussions about why I prescribed this and why I diagnosed that etc...Not to mention that as a MA you get to do a lot of procedures, prob more than a CNA. I think if you are a BO MA at a GOOD clinic/office where they are willing to teach you stuff beyond what you learned in school, you will be all the better come PA school... Oh and beware of phlebotomy, some programs, like mine did when I was there, dont count it as HCE.

 

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[laifalove]

Some offices even train you as an MA w/o you having gone to school. Hard gig to find, but is out there.

 

True fact. I was supposed to be taught phlebotomy but the whole EMR nightmare happened, my poor boss got overworked and didn't have time to teach me. Now I've moved and had to quit my job. So much for that one. Trying to find a new place that'll train me on more back-office, I have front-office down pretty well already.

 

I'm also a CNA. Personally, I prefer MA work, but it's also because it's a heck of a lot easier to find a job as a MA versus a CNA.

[LESH]

IMHO Back Office Medical Assistant.

[fyrelight74]

On the uncertified MA note, I have to tell you a little story. I was working as an MA and one of the 2 MAs in the office was leaving on maternity leave. My boss asked if I knew any MAs, but I didn't. We had a few resumes, but none were outstanding. At the time, I was taking pre-reqs for PA school, and was in Micro at the time. There was a guy in the class who I knew was looking for a job, and he was bright, friendly, and was taking pre-reqs with me, but for nursing school first before he applies to PA school. I suggested we train him as an MA. They interviewed him, loved him, and told me it was my job to train him. He had no experience in the medical field, but having had A&P, Micro, etc, gave him quite a bit of understanding. I taught him how to do injections, EKGs, refilling prescriptions, etc. He's doing GREAT in nursing school right now, after all that experience. He said he was way ahead with knowing medications, injections, etc. Good deal all around... we got a good MA for a short time, and he got medical experience and a good job at the time.

[Deejfenn]

Hey everyone I am sharing my whole experience getting accepted to PA school on my blog. Go and check it out. I even share what I have done for HCE and how I got the job. http://djthepa.blogspot.com

[EMEDPA]

IMHO Back Office Medical Assistant.

agree. I work with several who are exceptional. they do everything an rn does except start IV's+ they take xrays (they have ltd licenses to do so).

[HopefulPA]

It all depends on the actual job description. Some CNAs in a hospital basically just help with pt hygeine, feeding or sitter. Others do all that and responsible for vitals, IVs and lab draws etc.... Same for MAs some docs give lots of direct pt care, others just want you to be the receptionist, room pts and do vitals. So it really depends on the actual job description.

[mrssmith1017]

No offense, but a MA is not the same as an RN. I am a nurse and it is very frustrating to hear people compare the two fields. Nursing school was a long, tough 2 years, and a licensing exam. They may have similar responsibilties in a doctors office, but no where near comparable in an acute care setting. I am not knocking MA's or their profession, but it is not the same as a RN.

As for HCE as CNA vs MA, you need to learn the description of roles per hospitals in your area. When I was in nursing school I was a tech in the hospital in an ICU. It was great experience, I took vitals, drew all the labs, performed EKG's, assisted physicians and nurses with procedures as well as general pt care. However, the hospital I currently work in the CNA's do not do as much.

Maybe it depends on what you think you will want to practice once you're done with school, acute care setting or in an office type setting, like primary care or derm. If you want to be a hospital then hands down you should get experience in a hospital, but if not then MA sounds like a better route.

[Corpsman2PA]

No offense, but a MA is not the same as an RN. I am a nurse and it is very frustrating to hear people compare the two fields. Nursing school was a long, tough 2 years, and a licensing exam.

 

I don't think Emedpa was comparing the fields necessarily, just the responsibilities in his particular setting. Which I believe is an acute one. I don't consider myself a nurse, but as a Corpsman with the Marines I did everything under the sun including IVs, sutures, minor surg, and lots of other stuff in an acute atmosphere. It doesn't mean I'm a nurse, its just the level of responsibility that is given in a particular setting. No field comparison, just job duty comparison.

[fyrelight74]

No offense, but a MA is not the same as an RN. I am a nurse and it is very frustrating to hear people compare the two fields. Nursing school was a long, tough 2 years, and a licensing exam. They may have similar responsibilties in a doctors office, but no where near comparable in an acute care setting. I am not knocking MA's or their profession, but it is not the same as a RN.

As for HCE as CNA vs MA, you need to learn the description of roles per hospitals in your area. When I was in nursing school I was a tech in the hospital in an ICU. It was great experience, I took vitals, drew all the labs, performed EKG's, assisted physicians and nurses with procedures as well as general pt care. However, the hospital I currently work in the CNA's do not do as much.

Maybe it depends on what you think you will want to practice once you're done with school, acute care setting or in an office type setting, like primary care or derm. If you want to be a hospital then hands down you should get experience in a hospital, but if not then MA sounds like a better route.

 

The difference is perhaps that MAs are classically trained specifically FOR outpatient care, not acute care. As an MA, I had a 1 year program (2 years for an associates, but I already had a bachelor's at the time, so I skipped it), and passed a test for optional certification with the AAMA. Continuing that certification involves 60 CEUs in 5 years or re-testing. Yes, the certification is optional... some MAs have fought to have it required, or changed to licensing, but the nursing groups have been in opposition to that for some reason.

 

Why did I choose to do MA over nursing? I like primary care, with repeat patients who I can see progress over the years... so an outpatient/office setting was/is perfect for me. I intend to continue primary care as a PA. Hospital work does not appeal to me at this point.

[jmj11]

Okay, since there are MAs coming here I have a related question. I am having this discussion with my MA about fairness.

 

She works very hard, doing the work of two at times. I have no doubt about that.

 

I pay her $20/hour. (she doesn't need insurance)

 

I give her 13 PTO days this her first year, add one day per year of service after that. There has also been six additional paid days when I was out of town and I let her stay home, calling in to check phone messages now and then.

 

She has had five sick days in her first 9 months, that leaves 8 days of PTO.

 

We have to be closed for two weeks because my SP will be on a bike in Vietnam. She is going on vacation to Hawaii for one of those weeks. The other week, I gave her the option of taking her PTO (plus not get paid for two days since that will put her over the 13 days of PTO) OR come into the office (I will be in the office every day) and do non-patient seeing activities. She says that she is not coming in when there are no patients and I should pay her because it is not her fault we will not be seeing patients. I told her that it is her choice to not come in, thus I'm not paying her. She says I'm being very unfair. I suggested that she start looking for a "fairer" job . . . as I want only team players.

 

Okay, from the eyes of a MA, how would you see this?

[fyrelight74]

Sounds reasonable in my opinion. I made less than that as an MA (also no insurance), but it was in a primary care office, and there were 2 MAs plus a receptionist. Our PTO was given as a percent of our over all work time; you work more, you get more PTO. That being said, if we didn't have enough PTO and the office was going to be closed, we had the same options as you offer... come in and answer phone messages, refill prescriptions, restock, reorganize, etc or take the time off ourselves without pay. We had to share the time allowed on those days, as they couldn't have 3 people doing the job 1 or 2 people could do with no money coming in, but thankfully we were all happy to take a few days off (or had saved up PTO), so most of the time we were fine and happy. Once again, your plan sounds reasonable in my opinion.

[laifalove]

You can give me her job, I'd take it. :D I've been looking for a MA job and all the job listings I've looked at so far have nothing as good as what you're paying her. Lots of places around here are paying MAs $15-17/hr with only 7-10 days PTO, a lot of them without insurance too. She should see the days where she's coming in when there's no patients as an easy day in the office!

[Just Steve]

Perhaps allowing her to return to the work force and gaining some experience with other "unfair" employers, she can gain an understanding of how good she had it. She may think twice in the future before calling her boss "very unfair" when in fact, they were quite reasonable.