CCMA or CNA

[MonkeyShuttle]

Hey guys, 

Took a WorkKeys test to get into a CNA program based off recent advise from this forum over personal care aide.  I was talking to the director of the program and she told me CCMA was a better option because it puts you next to PAs and MDs and you do EKG, Phlebotomy and general more than CNA.  Can anyone else validate?  CNA program is two months and starts on two weeks.  The CCMA starts next week and is three months long.  So different cost and time commitment.  

[mooredc]

I was a CCMA and it was a great decision. 

[DiggySRNA]

I vote CCMA. I was an urgent care MA (not certified). I was doing everything the providers delegated to me, within reason. Phlebotomy, EKGs, medication administration (IM, PO, ID, and SC), patient teaching, screening, wound care, point of care testing, etc. I was the first person patients see and the last one upon their discharge. I did this for 2 years and then I enrolled in nursing school out of state.

I was a nursing assistant for 5 months before I left for the MA position. As an NA I was only doing EKGs, intake and output, and assisting with ADLs. I was very limited in what I was doing and got bored pretty quickly. The only reason I lasted so long at my MA job was because my scope was broader and it was just me and the providers doing patient care so the opportunities to learn something new was endless.

To this day, whenever I'm back in town, my boss calls me in for a shift or two and I am happy to help out because I enjoyed what I did.

[907142955pyccke1]

CCMA