Dannie,

You are absolutely right!! A Medical Assistant should NEVER portray herself/himself as a nurse. In the eyes of most patients though, when they are given medical care they tend to think they are seeing a nurse. Especially if a patient doesn't pay close attention to the name tags. I use to be a Medical Records Clerk at a hospital, and one day I was mistaken for an RN by a patient, and I wasn't even wearing my Id badge. I politely had to let the patient know that I am a medical records clerk and not an nurse. My point is that to the patient, it really does not matter whether you are a MA,LPN, or RN, the patient just wants to be taken care of. Most patients do not understand the difference of the three professions at all. It is not about the title. I do understand the duties of a medical assistant, which is why I am considering this field. And yes,I still do feel that medical assistants should be given equal pay as a LPN, and be licensed.

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And with that we are back on the same page and seeing eye to eye. I understand what you are saying and from that perspective, it is true.

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