chhlsys Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Hello, I just graduated college with a Bachelors in Biology and am now getting ready to prep for my clinical hours. I have been debating been CNA, MA, and Surgical Tech for a while and was wondering if there were any PA students that would be able to give me some advice on what I should do. Currently I do want to become a surgical PA which is why I'm leaning more towards surgical tech but was worried that I wouldn't get as much direct patient care experience and if many schools wouldn't accept surgical tech hours. I do know the benefits of CNA but I became aware of MA and surgical tech and just became a bit more interested in them as well. It would be great to hear some advice to help to me decide on what to do for my patient care hours. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robins53 Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Hello, I am not a student just yet (start in May) but I have been a CNA for 1.5 years on the infectious disease IP unit . I get to see and learn A MILLION things as well as rack up my direct PCE by taking vitals, drawing blood, performing EKG’s (not all CNAs do this, where I work they did in house training for phlebotomy) and of course clean pts up but at same time being looked down on by nurses because of the position and having to deal with a lot of lazy nurses. I am not going to say it is easy but it is definitely worth it and it’s the quickest most efficient way to get hours . I know a friend who was going for surgical tech the programs are longer (2 years for AS) You can take a CNA course in a week and take the test... MA training is a bit lengthy as well. It just all depends on your plan and when you want to apply to PA school. I think that is how you should determine which training to complete. I know I wanted to apply within a year so CNA training was good for me. If you decide to go the surgical tech route make sure to check with the programs you plan to apply to to see if they accept that position. good luck. Feel free to reach out if you have questions. -Jazmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chhlsys Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 @robins53 Hi Jazmine, Thank you so much! This helped alot on helping me make my decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robins53 Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 47 minutes ago, chhlsys said: @robins53 Hi Jazmine, Thank you so much! This helped alot on helping me make my decision. No problem . Good luck with your decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooredc Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 A lot of places will hire you without a certification to be an MA and train you in house. I did the US career institute online MA program and it took me about 2 weeks. Completing it allowed me to sit for the CCMA exam. I went from nothing to a certified MA in less than a month. I found that the CCMA opened more doors for me than CNA. But I think that is more hospital dependent about what they wanted. The benefit the CCMA gave me was that I could do more than the CNA. We could start IV's, perform venipuncture, give shots, perform wound care, apply splents, etc. I got tons of hands on experience. The CNA's were more restricted to non invasive things such as ekg's and drawing blood from lines already started. Again, this is just where I worked. It sounds like Robins53 had a great experience! Also, as a CCMA I never cleaned a patient. That was a CNA job, and while I respect them for that, I'm glad I didn't have to do it. Finally, unlike Medical assistants who function under a doctor's supervision, CNA's in most states are governed by the nursing board of that state. These regulations vary state by state. I know in some states (NC and FL specifically) you can take a weekend course and challenge the CNA exam. However in South Carolina you are requiered to attend a rather lengthy (couple of months) program with a mandatory number of externship hours. So that is also a factor to examine. As robins said, surg tech would take way to long to complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chhlsys Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 @mooredc Thank you so much. Just for clarification, after completing the online MA program, you were able to take the certification test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooredc Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 20 hours ago, chhlsys said: @mooredc Thank you so much. Just for clarification, after completing the online MA program, you were able to take the certification test? There are 3 major certifying bodies for medical assistants, offering the credentials certified medical assistant (CMA), registered medical assistant (RMA) and certified clinical medical assistant (CCMA). The CCMA is the only exam you are allowed to take after completing the online program. It is offered through the NHA and is a national certification. https://www.nhanow.com/certifications/clinical-medical-assistant I did find that not every facility accepted the certification. For example the large hospital in my city would not hire me as a medical assistant with the credential, but would hire me as an ER tech with the credential, which is basically same job different title. However, I was able to get multiple job offers with the credential and actually had my choice of jobs at multiple urgent cares and family practices. I ended up working at an advanced urgent care with my credentials and had a blast and learned a ton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekkieByDay Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 MooreDC, I could hug you!! Thank you! The idea of being able to become a MA IN A MONTH is amazing. <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediMurphy Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Hey there, I was a surgical tech. It's either a certificate or an associate degree. I had all of my HCE hours count as a scrub tech...I don't know any PA programs that wouldn't count it, you're definitely hands-on and hands-in! I agree with the other posters though, CNA or MA is probably a faster track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlgeyer24 Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 @mooredc How hard was it to complete the MA program in 2 weeks. I see on the website that it could take up to 4 months? How did you complete it so fast? I currently have my Bachelor's degree in Biology and work as a phlebotomy tech but want to continue learning while waiting to hear about PA school and to improve my application for next years cycle as well. -Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekkieByDay Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 On 1/23/2018 at 5:58 PM, mlgeyer24 said: @mooredc How hard was it to complete the MA program in 2 weeks. I see on the website that it could take up to 4 months? How did you complete it so fast? I currently have my Bachelor's degree in Biology and work as a phlebotomy tech but want to continue learning while waiting to hear about PA school and to improve my application for next years cycle as well. -Miranda Miranda, I just finished my first quiz on this course today. It's EASY and the site now lets you certify for a RMA as well. I've got 4 kids and my goal is to finish one quiz a day---which means I'll be done by the end of Feb, when I start my phlebotomy. And they've got a payment plan which is $79 a freaking month, so I don't have to go into debt for it. The information operator was like, "Would you like me to send you more information?" I said, "No, I'd like you to sign me the hell up!" :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekkieByDay Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Oh, and I'm going to do MA, Phlebotomy, and EMT training, and have ALL of that done by October or November. Seriously. This way I'll have PCE in both Emergency and Primary care--- which will hopefully show admissions officials that I want to be a well-rounded, curious, and multifaceted provider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlgeyer24 Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/24/2018 at 7:52 PM, TrekkieByDay said: Miranda, I just finished my first quiz on this course today. It's EASY and the site now lets you certify for a RMA as well. I've got 4 kids and my goal is to finish one quiz a day---which means I'll be done by the end of Feb, when I start my phlebotomy. And they've got a payment plan which is $79 a freaking month, so I don't have to go into debt for it. The information operator was like, "Would you like me to send you more information?" I said, "No, I'd like you to sign me the hell up!" :D :D :D Thank you so much for this information!! I will definitely look more into this even if it's just for extra knowledge in the medical field!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbt14 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Hi everyone- Has anyone else used any of the US career institute online programs. Is there any reason to become certified as an MA as opposed to a PCT? Thanks so much! Michele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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