I did not mention that the Medical Assistant program lasts a minimum of 9 to 12 months where I come from...

terrah says ...

I don't mean to sound rude..if so I apologise ahead of time, but where I went to school in my home state, Medical assisants have to go to school 5 days a week, for 8 hours a day and  have extensive training in  every aspect of the field. We can also challenge the LVN board because we are taught the same things the LVN Classes in my home state teach their students. All in all, Nursing is broken up into different levels which are achieved thru further educating oneself. But in the years that I have been working in the places I have worked, CNA's SHOULD be given credit...for they are the ones who are giving one on one patient care...the good, the bad and the ugly. While most of the other Nursing staff does the paper work and shun the CNA's. They may be Aides/ Assistants, but they are the backbone to the Nurses field. And I know lots of RN's who agree with me, because thats where they got their start....as a CNA or Medical Assistant!!!

I don't think anyone wasn't giving credit to the cna's. We all know how tough their job is, I too was one before I went to school. The point is it is not ok for them to call themselves nurse, medical assistants either. Neither of them have a license to be a nurse. And specific specialtiy or not, they are still not Nurses.

Great post smoxi....

I do agree with another poster that there are good and bad among all workers...at the facility I wokred at we did peer reports...and ALL the nursing staff and clinical support staff were evaluated by each other...

ONe particular nurse was always taking advantage of her title....with the peer evaluations we were able to get her monitored and some things changed...

LOL....one of the things was that she was always on the computer...they started tracking by log on and it was so funny....several sites were blocked and she couldnt go to her fave sites any longer..no more dating sites on thehospitals time clock...

Well said, Kelly and Zap.

Most CNAs "get it", and don't try to pass themselves off as nurses. That was Pittnurse's point at starting this post - that CNAs introduce themselves as nurses to patients. As an LPN, I often defer questions to the R.N.  Patients and families sometimes seem to think that because I am older, and a male, that I must be the boss. I have no problem with correcting them on the spot. The R.N. is in charge, period. Now, sometimes the doctor doesn't understand that, but that is an issue for another post, lol.

To me, it is about being happy with your lot in life. Maybe if I had not been such a jackass in high school, I would have taken the scholarship to Villanova and gone on to be a doctor. But such is the pain of regret. I love being a nurse, for all the hassles and heartaches. If I can get my R.N., great.  But if I am "just an L.P.N." the rest of my life, that is o.k. too. It saddens me to see people who are unhappy with the hand life has dealt them. They could make a difference, but they sulk and pout. For example, CNAs that let call lights go unanswered because the R.N. is sitting at a computer putting in an admission assessment.

Most CNAs realize how important they are, and what a difference they make. At the end of the day, I hope you go home knowing you've been a good CNA. If you go home feeling like life has cheated you, you wasted a whole day that you can't get back. Have some pride in what you do. Have some fun with it, too. Like when someone asks if I am the doctor, I say no, I work for a living!

take care and God bless

peace

I'm an RN student (graduating in May 2009) and I also worked at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), did my clinicals at Penn Presbyterian (Presby), Thomas Jefferson (twice), and the Philadelphia Protestant Homes (PPH).  What I noticed about the hosptials is that they implemented a manditory "uniform" policy regarding the hospital staff.  We all knew who the RNs were because at Penn Health System and Jefferson Hospital, all of the RNs wear navy blue scubs, the CNAs wear burgundy scrubs, the unit secretaries wear khaki color scrubs, and environmental services wear green scrubs.  RN students, like myself, wear light blue or white scrubs with our school emblem on the shoulder of the sleeve.  It helps because there's no question as to who's who on the unit.  So if I can't clearly see the ID on the person, I would always know who the RN was based on the color of his or her scrubs.  That helps the patient identify the person who's administering care at the time.

I had a bad experience with this issue when a patient reported a cna for being verbally abusive to her. During the investigation I became a part of a state inquiry because the aide introduced herself as her nurse. I have the utmost respect for all CNA'S and could not do my job without them having said this I feel that they should wear thier title with pride and not misrepresent who they are. This particular pt was very complimentary of me and identified the aide with a description but hopefully you can see that this needlessly caused confusion. Thanks for listening!

pendenny says ...

I am sincerely surprised that such obviously educated people are engaging in such a discussion. I am a Registered Medical Assistant who started out training to be an LPN. My husband's work caused us to have to move and I had to finish my education in the only program I could since I knew we would be moving again soon. I am proud to be an RMA and I work side by side with an LPN. We both do exactly the same job. I thought about going back to school to finish my LPN and I was told by my instructor,a well respected RN, that I would be crazy to do that because I have 2yrs of extensive training and have more training, at this point, than most LPN's. I work under the doctor's license within the scope of my training. I perform nursing duties everyday. I triage, take vitals, give injections, draw blood, collect specimens for the lab, and much much more. The only difference is our title, and frankly, clinics are choosing to hire MA's over LPN's and RN's now because they can pay us less for the exact same work. This is because Medical Assisting is a fairly new profession and we can work both in a clinical and administrative setting. The Nursing profession is growing and changing to include many healthcare professionals. The word "nurse" is just that, a word. We should not be fixated on a word. Come on folks....we are all educated healthcare professional who perform nursing duties. The difference is the level of education and the title you've worked so hard to acheive. No one is trying to take that away from anyone. What we should be paying attention to is how well we perform the duties we've been trained to perform. Let's focus on what is really important...the patients.

I dont know what state you live in, but in Texas i have never heard of an MA giving meds/injections! Frankly I think your employer should be reprimanded for allowing you to triage which takes assessment skills that nurses possess. Im curious as to what injections you give! Did you take a pharmacology class? In my BSN program we had a whole year of classes related to medications whether it be pharmacology, assessment, etc. This is scary to me. I also highly doubt you do the 'exact' same job as an LPN. You seem to overestimate you job duties. Im not trying to be rude but I was very shocked by this post. Also, what is the 'much much more' that you do. You do not perform nursing duties because you are NOT a nurse. Also this 'highly respected' RN instructor is crazy for telling you not to go to school because you are not a nurse and you need more education if you wish to become one. How dare you say that  nurse is just a word - shame on you. Nurse is a title that is hard earned! I am surprised you have not offended more with this post. I worked very hard for 4 yrs to get my BS and then to get my RN and I feel I speak for a lot of RN/LPN when I say that nurse is not just a word - its an accomplishment that we are respected for. You need a reality check. I am NOT saying I dont respect nurse aides/techs/assistants - I worked as one before I became an RN. I know how hard the aides work. Okay I had to get that off my chest.

S.Sucre, RN, BS

smoxignal says ...

jazzy0154 says ...

oh i need to address this there are different levels of CNA's and I have been in a level of equal to above and i'm sorry but CNAs are just as much a nurse as RN's they as a matter of fact do much more than an RN and without them RN's would be in deep trouble. Now don't get me wrong because i give and get respect but alot of CN A's work just as hard to get an education i myself think that there are three levels of nursing and all three are nurses and when a patient calls me a nurse i don't think there is any reason to correct them because like i said there are three levels  CNAs LPNS AND RNs and ALL three are there for one goal and one goal only to make sure our patients are given the care we have all been trained to do. nowadays CNAs / PCT's  are trained to do everything but meds. the only thing different is they are cheap labor so they shouldn't be addressed as a nurse because they didn't spend 3years in school and don't do meds? RNs are care givers too just advanced in different ways.

Man do I hate to have to say this, but you could not be more wrong!  Yes you are valuable, but I have malpractice insurance and when it comes down to it as an RN,  I'm responsible if you screw up.  I would never ask any one to do anything that I would not do myself, including "wiping butt" and putting away laundry.  Explain to me how insulin works, the Kreb's cycle and the Sodium Potassium pump, what different lung sounds mean and the difference between systolic and diastolic numbers ona B/P, and I don't just mean the top number and the bottom number and understand lab values then you can put yourself on par with an RN. 

I'm surprised at how I've lost my temper at this statement, but saying that CNAs are just as much a nurse as and RN, that you do way more than an RN and that an RN would be in deep trouble with out a CNA is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  When it takes you 11 years to pay off your CNA course, and you've passed a National Certification, we can talk.

Boy do I apologize for loosing my temper over this because I'm a pretty level headed person and can usually see both sides of everything, and loosing my temper is just not like me, but that is one of the most assinine statements I have ever heard!

I agree with you smoxignals!

I am a CNA in the RN program. It is a great honor to be a CNA as I will have something profound to offer once I graduate from the RN program. There is no shame in being a CNA. There is, however, shame in misrepresentation and those who misrepresent should be held accountable. My profile clearly states that I do not call myself a nurse as I am a CNA going through the RN program. If I wasn't proud of this, I wouldn't need to bother as a CNA and should choose to do something else with my time. CNA is not just a title, it's a life. Once the status of CNA has been earned, you should be proud to don that title. Simple as that.

to often I think patients hear nurse, not nursing assistant so they assume the CNA is a nurse.  We all have periods of selective hearing or miss hear things.  We're human it happens.  However, the more ill our patients are, the more apt they are to hear NURSE, not nursing assistant.

For another point, the bottom line in all of this is it's the RN's license on the line, whether you're a CNA or an LPN/LVN.  The RN is in charge, unless it's a LTC where very often the nurse in charge is LVN.  Every single CNA or MA who works in a hospital situation works under MY license.

P.S.

She also told me that there are 4 CMAs and one nurse in the office.  Does anyone know if this is a requirement?  I wish I'd thought to ask if it was an LPN or an RN, but I was sat-ing in the high 80's.  Any feedback from Massachusetts?  I'm interested to know if there are any regs. requiring nurse oversight for CMAs like there are for CNAs.

Ambitiousnurse says ...

I have been a CNA for 6 years and I have never considered myself a nurse.  I am a CNA point blank.  When I worked in the nursing home I thought that the nurses were lazy (some were) I thought that all they did was pass meds, sit down and chart and read news weekly (some did).  It was not until I went to school to become a LPN that I realized how important nurses were and that they do more than just pass meds and that it requires alot of concentration during their med pass and charting.  I started to view nurses in a different way while in school so while still working as a cna i did whatever I could to make their jobs run smoother because its hard when your doing your med pass and someone needs a accu check call light are going off, a patient is possibly coding and someone is telling you that someone needs something for pain.  Well the point of this post is to say that CNA's are extremely important and as someone stated earlier they are the nurses eye's and ears because they often times spend more time with the pt. than time allows the nurse to.  I believe that behind every good nurse is a good CNA and that nurses shouldn't burn their CNA's they can be the ones that can save your A sometimes.  This being said a CNA is not a nurse and should not pass their self off as one.  Your job is important enough.  The title of nurse is very well earned and it should only be used by just that a nurse weather RN or LPN.

Amen to thatgirl!!!

Jolynn1978 says ...

What am I suppose to say when asked if I am a nurse? I recently graduated as a Medical Assistant. I took my certification test in January and am still waiting for the results but I am currently working as an office nurse referred to as a Clinical Assistant in a Doctor's office. I am doing the same work as the LPN's and RN's except for giving injections. As soon as I receive my certification I will be able to give injections. I am also certified to administer EKG's and am a certified phlebotomist. Am I not a nurse?

Nope sorry, you're a medical assistant who hopefully will be certified.  When you go to school for either LPN/LVN or RN and can pass either of the NCLEX exams, become licensed, only then can you be legally called a nurse.  You work under the RN license in the office, clinic, nursing home or hospital.  Certification does not mean licensed.

Jolynn1978 says ...

What am I suppose to say when asked if I am a nurse? I recently graduated as a Medical Assistant. I took my certification test in January and am still waiting for the results but I am currently working as an office nurse referred to as a Clinical Assistant in a Doctor's office. I am doing the same work as the LPN's and RN's except for giving injections. As soon as I receive my certification I will be able to give injections. I am also certified to administer EKG's and am a certified phlebotomist. Am I not a nurse?

If you are doing the workof an LPN or an RN, you are practicing without a license.