I am going to play devil's advocate here and ask if an MA program REALLY needs to last a year or so. Does it really need to take a year to learn ALL the duties that you MAY be doing? I have been trying to remember what all I learned that took so long and I would have to say the majority of it was the anatomy and physiology,we covered a system every few weeks. But that should only last a semester since I had already learned it at a community college,in 16 weeks,and it was the SAME STUFF,with the exceptions of very long lectures,games and projects (in the MA program). Did the games and projects help me to retain the knowledge more than what I leaned at the community college? No,it did not.
As for all the clinical duties-we were taught every one of them in a day and then practiced them for a week. The set up in my program was screwy,we did the clinical stuff,in the lab, in the first semester,none in the second semester and then went back to them in the final. I saw a lot of time wasted in that middle quarter on things that could have been skipped,like the so-call psychology part (reading a very few dull chapters in the book) and law and ethics,which though important,was dwelled on too long with very difficult tests. The administrative stuff was covered in the final semester and I feel there was a lot of overkill then also. Unless you want to go on to become a medical secretary then you may be learning stuff many MAs never do.
I have been reading a lot about nurses aide programs and the differences are astounding. That is a 3-4 week program for $500,and in some places it's actually free. They learn a lot about patient care,are taught a lot of skills, and of course many of them go on to perform EKG testing and even changing a urinary catheter. Those things must be learned on the job(or do they have to pay a fee to be trained for them?). But the thing is,it is a very SHORT course for some VERY important duties.

My point of all of the above is this-you can get a lot of patient care skills taught in a few weeks for a very small amount of money(or even nothing). The chances of finding a job are probably high,since there are a vast amount of ads for STNAs,and a big need. The pay is low of course but I am willing to bet is very similar to what a lot of MAs earn. Or you can spend months and months in a MA program for a LOT of money that you will be paying off for the next 10 years and then have the high odds of not finding a job. I am trying to make sense out of all this. My program lasted 9 months and I am jobless 2 years later. Signing for those loans has become one of the biggest regrets of my life. I am sure others feel this way.

As I said,I am playing devil's advocate. Until recently I firmly believed any good medical program should last a year. But after hearing of all those that pay high amounts for months of training that go nowhere,I am beginning to wonder. I am questioning if they stretch out these programs to get more money for them...........

Nil,
changing the catheter doesnt include actually inserting one. No Nurses Aide or M.A can do that at all. To change a catheter doesnt take much training...its quite simple, and in a Nurses Aide all it is is changing the bags.

May I add that, furthermore, the reason why they teach you all that stuff for M.A, is because they want to know if you can actually learn and remember. Plain and simple.
I believe once you get the chance to get on the job as an M.A, you will find that what you were taught over and over will actually come to good use.

Is it unfair to add, that maybe you are just bitter and upset that you have had no luck finding a job as an M.A, and because you think that it's a waste of time and money, it must be for EVERYONE who goes to M.A school?

Your Professional Title/Credentials: CMA,CNA,RN

Are You Still In School? no

Are You Working? yes

Lorraine, I disagree with you. With the ongoing education that LNA's/CNA's receive, we are learning to do new things everyday. Things change (it seems) from month-to-month..6 years ago I was taught how to change a catheter on a bedridden patient, doing all sorts of dry dressing changes, things that MA's are not taught. If I were taught to draw blood, I would have most, if not all of the knowledge that I need to function as an MA...

Your Professional Title/Credentials: LNA/ MA

Are You Still In School? yes

Are You Working? yes

Nil,
I believe that to become a Medical Professional, it SHOULD last a long time. My program is 9 months long, and can be shortened depending on your externship. What I really think is that you should go into it with a new attitude. Take the LNA course, its cheap, some states will reimburse the money if you start to work in a LTC facility. Get a little extra experience under your belt. The offers will be banging your door down and you may even get paid more for the extra knowledge! See how this works and let me know...

*If I didnt answer your question, let me know, I will try to explain it more indepth for you..

Your Professional Title/Credentials: LNA/MA

Are You Still In School? yes

Are You Working? yes

It's not so much how to do things, you will learn alot of that on the job. You need to know why you are doing things, what does it mean, and if somthing is abnormal, why? What could be happening?

Anyone can buy a blood pressure cuff at a drug store, but if you don't understand what a blood pressure is, why it fluctuates, and what that means to a patient than what good is it?

Your Professional Title/Credentials: RN

Are You Still In School? no

Are You Working? yes

My program was two college semesters long. It was sufficient for me. I learned a lot on the job, but it was easy because of the base knowledge I got while in school. Not everything needs to be learned in school, but it is important to get the core things down so you are able to learn extra stuff after you graduate.

I got hired before I was even done with my program. Actually, I had to turn jobs away. I am going to play devils advocate too and ask, why is it that after two years you still do not have a job if your program was "too long"? With a "full" education you should be having the problem of choosing between jobs.

Are You Still In School? nursing school