I wrote this in another thread but I hope more will see it by posting it here in a new thread.I have been , in the past, accused of not being proactive for MAs within this forum. That is so not the case. I am a very proud CCMA! I want nothing but well-paying positions for all of us that have worked hard to obtain our certifications and the respect we all deserve as part of the healthcare system.

Yes, this long! But please take the time to read and digest. I wish all the CMAs out there searching for the perfect position to find the perfect fit in 2009!

So many hospitals across the US are closing units, hiring freezes on new hires, and even hospitals are closing down. Many people think the health care field is recession proof-not true!!!

One of the first things to go when times are tough are elective procedures etc. Even my friends who work in private practices say patients just are not coming in for checkups etc. They cannot pay co-pays or if they have lost their job, they have lost their health insurance! I know of one office that let go of the CMAs and hired LPNs because they are LICENSED; not just certified. And, right now a LPN who needs a job will be willing to work for MA pay! This is why I so push for MAs to become licensed professionals!!

Times are very tough economically right now and it is not going to change anytime soon. But we can change how the health care world views us, if we, as CMAs, become proactive in our own profession. Change only happens when effort is put forth in numbers of people who are willing to work for it.

My advice (for what it's worth! ) is get as many additional certs as possible to make yourself more marketable than other MAs looking at the same positions. Get involved in your states chapter of CMAs. Write letters to your state senator and congressman about the benefits of MAs being licensed and the benefits to the healthcare field.

Think of it this way-if you were remodeling your home and you had 2 great contractors to choose from-same price for the same work, both with great references-but only one is licensed. As a homeowner you would be crazy to choose the unlicensed professional. You would risk everything. Because licensure means the state that licensed that person deemed them worthy thru a series of exams, background checks, they must carry workmans comp insur. etc. The state that regulates them will allow any complaints against them to be filed and investigated and documented and hopefully resolved.
Licensure in healthcare works the same way.How do you know the MA you work side by side every day has not been terminated from job after job because of harmful mistakes? We don't know. Because no one governs our profession. If we did have a governing state board of medical assistants then a shoddy employee would take their background with them when changing jobs. All complaints/investigations etc would be kept within their record through the state they are licensed from. If seeking to obtain licensure in another state your record, good and/or bad, would follow you. I have had the pleasure of working with some excellent CMAs. I also have had the displeasure of working with CMAs who could not give a flip about mistakes made. One made a very serious injection mistake. He was fired. He was fired from his next job, too. He now works in an office known for paying min. wage to the CMAs because the MD is slack and wants to keep his costs down. Who suffers? The patients. But CMAs as a whole also suffer from practices like this. If this CMA was licensed his mistakes would have been reported, and truthfully he probably would not still be working as a CMA. This is a trickle down effect. Shoddy healthcare professionals equal bad reputations and this affects all of us. I hear on a daily basis from fellow nurses how MAs do procedures they are not licensed to do. Let's change this!

Wouldn't we, as MAs, rather work as and with other MAs who meet criteria set forth by a board that regulates our profession? Just becoming certified as a MA does not ensure someone should be entitled to work with patients in a healthcare setting. Background checks are great but if a MA is fired for negligant care there is no board to answer to! Patients are at risk and so are you if you work with this person by association.

Bottom line: If CMAs were to become licensed and governed by a board of state medical assitants the number of MAs flooding the market would decline-because the bar would be set higher. In doing this jobs for MAs would increase and so would wages. But as long as every Tom, Dick and Mary can go to a diploma mill and obtain a certificate with ease we are a profession that will stay oppressed. Because no one governs us!

When my fellow MAs say they do not wish to be licensed, my brain says hmmmmm. I wouldn't go to an MD that did not have a license to practice and I wouldn't be treated by a nurse whose license had been suspended because their state Board of Nursing would not let them work until the issue was resolved. Yet we wonder why a MD office would hire a licensed LPN over a certified MA. For almost the same pay the MD has the assurance that a state board watches over this person.(Let me clarify there is a difference between what a LPN and CMA can legally do-legally being the key word)

Get involved in your state chapter of medical assistants. Begin a letter writing campaign to make the changes that so need to happen in our industry. The end result is better educated healthcare professionals who possess credentials that are a desired part of a critical healthcare team. This equals jobs for all who are QUALIFIED and pay that meets this standered.

Lexi, BSN, RN, CCMA This is how I legally sign my name. It was explained to me in school that I always put the Bach of Nursing degree first, then I write RN for registered nurse. Becaused I earned the BSN thru college and graduated this can never be taken away from me. It always goes first after my name. But my RN can be taken away by my state board of nursing because the RN stands for my license. This is the credential I must strive to always uphold. A license is not a given-it is earned by taking a national licensure exam and my license is subject to reveiw at any time the state board has justification to do so. This is my hope that sometime in the near future MAs will be able to be licensed. JMHO!
Your Professional Title/Credentials: Registered Nurse CCMA Certified Phlebotomist Certified X-Ray tech

Are You Still In School? Completed my BSN December 2008

Are You Working? yes. I work agency. (Hospital Clinic for 6 years)

Your Professional Title/Credentials: Registered Nurse CCMA Certified Phlebotomist Certified X-Ray tech

Are You Still In School? Completed my BSN December 2008

Are You Working? yes. I work agency. (Hospital Clinic for 6 years)

this is BY FAR the best post ive seen on this subject

now someone help me find work we have had 3 elections for president since i finished school and still NO JOB

Thanks, Nate! Believe me I am searching for you. I am originally from Oh so I know how depressed the market is there and everywhere now. Have you applied for any PCT positions at hospitals? PCT is very close to an MA. If any hospitals in your area offer CNA classes; try to get into one. Often they will fund you thru different programs. LTC facilities do the same!

Your Professional Title/Credentials: Registered Nurse CCMA Certified Phlebotomist Certified X-Ray tech

Are You Still In School? Completed my BSN December 2008

Are You Working? yes. I work agency. (Hospital Clinic for 6 years)

i have applyed for the PCT positions but they say i have to little experience

Michigan,Ohio or ANY OTHER STATE would be fine

Great Post Lexi, well said!

I wish you the best of luck Nate. I am only in my 2nd quarter of school for my degree. I hope the economy has come out of this slump by the time I am finished.

Missy

Nate, Do you mind saying where you went to school? Also, what area in MI do you live in now?

Your Professional Title/Credentials: Registered Nurse CCMA Certified Phlebotomist Certified X-Ray tech

Are You Still In School? Completed my BSN December 2008

Are You Working? yes. I work agency. (Hospital Clinic for 6 years)

I went to Ross medical center in Warren MI

I live in Warren,MI

Nate,
As much as I enjoy my MA career, I would go back to school for RN if I could. Don't let another 8 yrs go by.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: RMA

Are You Still In School? n

Are You Working? y

Yes, I support Licensing of MAs; however if we are to upgrade the profession, we need to make sure that we present only accurate information. I feel that comparing a CMA to an unlicensed contractor does a disservice to the medical assisting profession and what we are trying to accomplish.

As I have stated in several other posts the ONLY difference between Certification and Licensing is that Certification is granted by a "non-governmental" body and Licensing is granted by a "governmental body". "Licensing" is not better than "Certification"; it is only better to those who think it is so. Just because we have not gotten to the point yet that a License is required for medical assisting, that does not mean that the states don't "deem them worthy". You can read my other comments about how the individual states view the medical assisting profession in the thread about Regulation. Certification and recertification of Medical Assistants also require passing exams and continuing education. Both the AAMA and the AMT have Standards of Practice for MAs and Disciplinary measures for violations of practice. Complaints can be filed with them at any time against a CMA or RMA; and will be investigated and dealt with appropriately. The AMT also publishes the information of those RMAs who have been disciplined. Any medical office hiring a CMA or RMA should contact the Certification agency regarding the validity and status of an applicants credential. The situation of the CMA who made a serious injection mistake should have been reported to the AAMA and he would have lost his Certification. In regard to MAs doing procedures that they are not "licensed" to do; at this point, as you know there is no such thing. The Scope of Practice for MAs varies by state, therefore they may be able to perform the procedure in one state, but not another. Again, you can refer to my posts in "Regulation of MAs" for more information about the various Scopes of Practice. I want to emphasize that I am FOR Licensing of MAs; because it will make it illegal for MAs who are not Licensed to practice medical assisting. We could also have a Federal law prohibiting anyone who is not a CMA from practicing medical assisting, but that is not likely to happen. So yes, let's do everything we can to push for Licensing.

Are You Still In School? Yes

Are You Working? Yes

Lexi, I am glad to see a new RN that continues to peruse positive change for the medical assistant. I hope to do the same when I graduate in May. I am currently writing exam questions for my states certifying board and will be writing some CEUs as well. Its nice to see a fellow nurse (well I am a soon to be nurse) that does not leave their former ties behind because they simply moved up the career ladder. Kudos!

Your Professional Title/Credentials: CCMA-C, CLD

Are You Still In School? Nursing school (BSN)

Are You Working? Self employed certified birth doula

I really appreciate that, Hearts! More than you know.

Your Professional Title/Credentials: CCMA Certified Phlebotomist Certified X-Ray tech

Are You Still In School? no

Are You Working? yes. I work agency. (Hospital ER Clinic for 6 years)