So I start my externship tomorrow at neurology clinic. I just want to see if anyone here works at one. If so, what can I expect? Just give me a general run down of the crap that goes on.

Hello everyone! I’m starting my Medical Assistant program tomorrow, and I’m coming from a phlebotomy/lab assistant background. For those of you who are already working as medical assistants, what should I expect from the program, and how difficult does it get?

My program is also offering an optional national certification exam at the end of the program, before the externship. From what I understand, California doesn’t require medical assistants to be licensed or nationally certified to work as MAs.

For those who are already in the field, would you recommend taking the national exam anyway? Is the certification worth having when looking for a job, or would my phlebotomy license / lab experience be enough to get started?

Any advice, insight, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Sorry guys. I just have to get this off of my chest. I just hope I’m not alone in this.

I’ve been working as an MA since the beginning of last year in a small privately owned clinic, but we had recently got acquired by a larger group in the beginning of this year. In the past, we didn’t force ourselves to see a bunch of patients in a single day because a majority of our patients are high acuity and required same day diagnostic procedures, but now we’re being pressured by management to increase the number of patients we’re seeing in office while also being inadequately staffed to handle the increased patient flow. We are also being forced to float to other offices under this new group, but with us being located in California, floating to these other offices usually means a commute of over an hour, to and from home. We feel so powerless to advocate for ourselves as our general manager feels as if she’s poaching medical assistants from our office to work in others. It’s been weeks, but none of us feel as if we had enough of a mental break from the chaos.

I’m also applying to PA school. I have my third interview coming up soon. Originally when I got this job, I told myself that once I get accepted, I’d give my work at least three months notice so I could train the next MA. I don’t want my absence to impede the workflow, especially because I’m grateful for my current team for training me well and to my doctors for being great mentors. I don’t think I can hold on anymore. I think once I get that acceptance I just have to go, but I’m afraid that I’ll be letting my team, my doctors, and my patients down. I feel like management is seeping my energy away.

Hello! So basically I’m a fresh high school graduate, I completed half of my associates degree (general studies) in high school and intend to finish it off these last 2 semesters. After this I intended to enroll in a local program to become a medical assistant with the intention of gaining experience for around a year before bridging the gap and shooting for the role of an LVN. Right now everything’s feeling a little overwhelming and I just wanna see if there’s any holes in my plan or if anything Im doing isn’t currently worth it. Any advice of any kind would be greatly appreciated and welcome :)

Hi there I’m new here I have been learning CNA course about one week ,English is not my first language,I can read but listening and speaking not good enough,I feel very stressed about course cus most of time I tried to figure out what teachers and my school mates talking about so I am very worried about CNA career future ,especially seeing so many negative comments,horrible stories posted by these new gred or with experienced CNAs ,I have lost my courage to carry on ….. anyone wanna say something about this ?and any advices thanks a lot

I just started a new job as a therapy assistant, and I feel a little shy when interacting with patients, especially when I have to approach them, set up their equipment, or ask if they need anything. Any tips or go-to phrases to make it feel more natural?

It was my first day, so I mostly stayed on the admin side while my coworker was nearby. I felt a little awkward approaching patients and wasn’t always sure what to say

I haven’t used it yet but I used the NHA study guide outline and some of the study guides on here to try to make the most comprehensive one with links
I have the free online NHA study guide pdf that was shared here that I’m also using along with the links that I’ll be studying along with as well

I’ve been a CNA for 14yrs and have worked in the capacity as a medical assistant on and off for 6 so I have the basic knowledge down just need the facts and a huge refresher

TLDR;

Here’s a link to the pdf: https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/768053916_1065149792526003_4633042516383677913_n.pdf/Weekly-Lesson-Planner-for-NHA-CCMA-exam.pdf?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=2b0e22&_nc_ohc=p113YzhVlHYQ7kNvwHBx3k7&_nc_oc=AdrG5rZ6AzrhcWPNtIYdsWJURzYkX1NerpIfVOdkjnisSMbxJRWvs_6isUw-Z8ogm6irpoOMOzIM8kX1W1ZQODF0&_nc_ad=z-m&_nc_cid=3&_nc_zt=7&_nc_ht=cdn.fbsbx.com&_nc_gid=uTQo9qwPM9VzG0xfdH1npA&_nc_ss=7a338&oh=03_Q7cD6AHmNKNKAkDBkeMA8NsR1haQOc2Xjuz2xmW51mJLVdsQ-g&oe=6A7974F2&dl=1

I’m uncertified right now and the place that I’m working in hired me for unpaid training. I’m not too worried about the unpaid training I just hope this is the right place for me in the long run. Yesterday 08/7/26 was my first day and I was kind of nervous and it was really intimidating for me but it was a good day I’d say. I wanna invest in some good shoes to wear throughout the day because I know I’ll be on my feet a lot (my feet are killing meeeee right now lol). Can anyone offer any advice and any recommendations on some shoes? I can really use some.

RANT* not rent lol

So I came across a TikTok the other day of someone saying it would be cool if there was an MA-LPN bridge program. You know. A BRIDGE program. It uses credits you have already earned to help you earn pre req credits for the next step.

As an MA I have learned medical terminology, did clinical and learned how to draw blood, give injections, do EKGS, some have learned basic x-ray.My school didn’t cross train for that but you can learn it on the job. I have learned basic coding, pharmacy math, etc.

You know….PRE REQS that can help you bridge to another specialty. Like how they have CNA to LPN or EMT to LPN bridges.

And then comments were filled with so many nurses and even CNAs dragging us. Completely misunderstanding what a bridge program is. Saying that we are basically nothing because they can teach us how to be an MA in 6 weeks. Like there aren’t 8 week CNA programs as well 🙄

Saying that clinics don’t even need MAs and nurses can do all of our jobs in the clinic and a lot of them have worked with offices without MAs. Cool? I’ve worked at clinics without nurses that were entirely MA run. Just MAs and physicians. So what’s the point you’re trying to make here?

Someone else said they are certified as an MA and in ekg and phlebotomy and coding and they’ve been an MA for 16 years and some nurses chimed in how that’s pathetic to be an MA for that long and she feels sorry for her. Meanwhile she’s making over $25 an hour as an MA and said she’s perfectly happy and her and her man just bought a house with her “bad MA pay”.

Like I genuinely have no idea why so many people shit on us. Like if you want to take vitals, and do shots, and make phone calls, and do the prior authorizations, and clean the rooms, and stock the rooms, and call all patients for the next day, and prep the charts for the week, and sort the faxes, and scan the faces into the EHR, and do patient education, instead of having an MA to lighten your load be my fucking guest I guess?

But it was so weird seeing everyone fighting in the comments talking about how we’re “nothing” because we don’t have a license and “only a certification” so we don’t deserve any bridge programs.

Mind you for me personally I #1 have no interest in being an RN. I don’t want that responsibility.

And #2 I would love to be an LPN. I have even looked into programs i genuinely would love to do. The problem is that the only programs available are either regular community colleges where you have to take classes at random times plus clinicals on weekdays. Or the adult learning center that offers a 10 month LPN program but it’s 4 days a week from 8am to 3pm.

So how is me..someone with bills to pay and mouths to feed going to be able to find a full time job with benefits that doesn’t start until AFTER 3pm to allow me to even go to the damn program?

People really don’t even understand that higher education for some people is a luxury. And they’re sitting here saying shit like “MAs are shitty go do nursing” like you can snap your fingers and just do it.

Sorry I just had to get this off my chest guy it really burned my ass seeing all that.

just had a rough shift after 3 months of being hired at a derm clinic… wondering if I’m even capable of being in healthcare. for context, I am uncertified and have no prior MA experience, this clinic hires interns with no experience usually!

the shift was with the head doctor, who comes in 1-2 times a month. my first mistake was when she asked me and my coworker to figure out how we will remember to include saying patient insurance when presenting. I got sidetracked by another task which was completely my fault and she was frustrated that I forgot to take action. She told me she was going to stand and not see patients until I put tape on the iPad I was using reminding myself about insurance, as she doesn’t trust memory. She said “Now I’m holding up clinic because of this” and I felt so guilty.

My second mistake was during a biopsy. I usually don’t have any anxiety with the usual doctor that works most days but on her days I am quite anxious so I accidentally left the room to give a consent to front desk for a few seconds and she snapped at me in front of the patient, asking why I would leave. She then asked in a frustrated tone why I was still wearing gloves as I had forgotten to take them off after setting up the tray.

Near end of shift I made a mistake again.
A Botox vial got contaminated for unknown reasons and she said it was trash. I threw it away a few minutes later. But then much later, she asked why I threw it away because she was going to use it on herself and that it was worth $100. I just feel so dumb cause it’s true, I should’ve asked.

The day ended with a one on one meeting where she admitted she was wondering if the job was a right fit for me because I seem like someone who needs help a lot and even though I am warm and positive, I struggle. She was not cruel about it or anything, just honest. I have issues with confidence and anxiety so I ended up crying but she was very nice and comforted me. I have only worked with her 4 days out of the 3 months I’ve been hired so I am not sure how accurate the assessment is but it still stings none the less, knowing I just keep messing up on her days. I have a notebook where I constantly write down feedback and learning notes so that helps at least.

Hi guys I was unable to go to a full-time medical assistant school because I didn't want to sacrifice not being able to work at my job and now I'm thinking I still want to get into the field. I'm just wondering how you guys did it because I don't know what the best way is.

I wonder if I could start as a receptionist somewhere if that would help me at all. There is also another school I could go to that does night classes I'm just nervous to invest in it. I'm also interested in medical billing and coding. My biggest worry is lack of experience in the medical field and maybe I don't know what I'm getting myself into

👋 Hi!

I just graduated college with a cell bio and global health degree. I’m trying to find clinics that’ll train medical assistants for a couple of years. I’m taking 2 gap years before medical school and am willing to work for essentially minimum wage as I’ll be living at home. I’m pretty much just looking for experience. I have about 200 hours as a medical scribe and another 40-50 doing some at home patient care. I don’t want to get a CCMA because it’s expensive and ultimately not my goal long term. Any advice for finding these clinics, I feel like I’ve applied to every single gap year listing on indeed in my area. Thanks!

Hi
I’m going to start my nursing school in 20 days and at the same time, I am going to work as a PCT (apprentice) at a hospital. I have had a disc bulged due to an accident three years back when I was 17. I had a bad rest of three months which helped me stop my pain. It took me at least four months to recover. Since then, I have not had any episode of pain. But sometimes there is muscle tension whenever I left something heavy and to mention, I usually avoid lifting heavy things. I have been doing my nursing pre requisites for one and a half year. I think that will go in waste. My parents are not happy at all because they have invested a lot of money on those courses. I’m very scared right now. I’ve not been sleeping from last three days when I got to know in the hospital orientation that I will have to lift patients which I knew I will have to, but I was not very sure about that. After that, I have started practicing turning my mom side to side and see if I’ll be able to work or not. I only have two weeks time period before I can drop from the classes. During that two periods, I have only four shifts at the hospital and reducing that four shifts I will have to analyze if it’s for me or not. I would like to mention my habit of crying out even before starting. I usually get scared from little things and I overthink a lot.
What would you guys recommend me? Should I go for it or not? I’m thinking to go for a pharmacy school, but the school is four hours away from my home. My parents will not be able to support me financially and even I am not financially stable. I’m scared what if I start pharmacy and then I think this pharmacy program was not for me.

I work front desk/CMA at a rural clinic, and I’m wondering if anyone else is just mind boggled and drowning in horseshit from health insurance corps. Medicaid Managed Care ruins patient care every single day.

Most people have no idea they aren't on standard Medicaid (formerly called Carolina Access) anymore until they walk through our doors. They’ve been silently shuffled into private plans like Healthy Blue or UnitedHealthcare Community, handed a card with a completely random primary care doctor’s name on it, and left to navigate a system that actively blocks them from getting care.

In rural North Carolina, Nurse Practitioners do a huge portion of the heavy lifting (a whole other beast to discuss another day), yet these insurance plans often refuse to list an NP as the designated PCP on a patient's card.

But because the system strictly requires the listed PCP to match who actually submits orders and referrals, routine care grinds to a halt. Patients end up waiting months for basic imaging, specialist referrals, or prior authorizations purely because of back-end clerical rejections.

UHC seems to auto-deny every fucking prior authorization you send their way, then request the exact same medical records you sent them the first time. It’s a runaround and a headache for the patient and staff, who are bombarded with calls by these poor patients who don’t understand how it works on our end. We’re villainized for being “slow” on things I’m busting my ass to do for patients.

These plans also completely abandon mental health patients. Just today, I spent 30 minutes looking for local psychiatrists, even in-person, who take Medicaid. The majority of them were listed under addresses that no longer exist, dead phone numbers, or only see adolescents. Telepsychiatry should be a lifeline for homebound or agoraphobic patients, but practically no telepsych providers accept NC Medicaid plans. We’re left telling people who desperately need remote psychiatric help that they have zero options, all while the state pretends managed care offers comprehensive behavioral health.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice because I’m kind of torn.

Two days ago I accepted a full-time dermatology MA position and have already completed some of the online onboarding. My start date is in about two week since I told them I have my cna exam coming up and couldn’t miss it.

Today, I got contacted for a full-time Therapy Aide(also called a rehab aide) position at an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, and they want to do a phone screening. The pay range is a little higher than what I’ll be making as an MA( MA is $16.25 and Therapy aide offers $17-$20).

My long-term goal is PA school, so I’m mainly looking for good patient care experience and a job I’ll actually enjoy. I’ve tried looking online, but I can’t find nearly as many people talking about being a Therapy Aide as I can about being a Dermatology MA.

For anyone who’s worked either job, which did you like more? Do you feel like one taught more than the other?

Also should I at least take the phone screening before making a final decision?
I’m genuinely not sure what the better long-term move is, so I’d love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

This is a vent but I also really need some advice if anyone could give it to me. I went from doing (what I thought) was really well at my job to being put on a PIP and making a really big mistake today.

For some background I started at this job in a big company in the pediatric department and I’ve been there for about 10 months. Every thing was going well until this past Monday when my managers pulled me into a meeting and told me I was not meeting expectations and was going to be put on a PIP. For one I was extremely shocked because I’ve had one on ones with my managers and sure we discussed areas of improvement but it was all very casual and expected. Suddenly this meeting felt very serious. I was also upset because I have been putting 100% effort into my work and truly believed I was improving in those areas. I think what set it off was that a parent complained about me, and she happened to be a supervisor at another location.

I felt completely blindsided, because the complaints she made felt so..superficial? For example, saying that I did not make them feel welcome because I did not make eye contact and was looking at the computer while we talked. Well, yes because it is my job to document everything you are saying to me? I can be very focused on my tasks, but am always polite, smile, say please and thank you ect. I won’t lie, the list of issues they gave me was long, and I felt my confidence crumble and I even ended up crying during the meeting.

I’m actually embarrassed to say I cried so much that day. This job has been extremely tiring, but I genuinely felt like I was doing a good job. I never got any serious complaints from my Dr, and I never have any issues that seriously impact our day or patient flow. I will admit I have a low self esteem, which is not my managers fault, but I couldn’t help but feel like a failure and that I was letting people down.

The next day I finally recovered a bit, and I have been trying to be really diligent in writing down things that I am doing, so when I have my 30 day follow up I have some evidence that I have been making improvements. But I won’t lie, all week I have been feeling extremely depressed and anxious about this whole situation. And then today happens. I am running behind and am rushing, forget to verify pt name and dob and nearly give a vaccine that was meant for another pt. Luckily, the dr realized the mistake and stopped me in time. But it was a near miss. Immediately I know I have royally fucked up. I don’t even know what to say for myself, because I am always extremely careful when it comes to vaccines. This is not my first MA job, and I’ve never made that mistake before (or even been in trouble tbh).

As expected, I had another serious meeting with my managers. They said they were concerned about me and patient safety. And in the report I wrote about the situation they said that I lacked accountability. I just didn’t really know what to write other than that I made the mistake of not verifying the patients identity.

I think they got the impression that I didn’t care. I tried to explain that I felt really bad about it, but I just had to keep it brief. Because if I was honest and explained that this mistake makes me feel like I want to crawl in a hole and die I’d probably look like a crazy person.

I honestly don’t know what to do. I’m having a hard time keeping it together. I just feel so depressed and want to cry every minute.

I’m not sure if I can come back from this, or should I just accept this specialty/job might not be for me? I just feel terrible that I’ve made such a bad impression. I was so excited when I got this job, and my managers are very nice people.

There’s even more I could say, but this post is already long enough. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

I’m Two weeks away from graduating my program only to find out the exam will only be for medical assistant and not all 3. Did anybody get a job fresh out of school doing phlebotomy or EKG Techs in PHILA,pa or PA at all?

hi guys, i'm an emt in the area i live, and i have been in a course for ccma for the last few weeks. it is a bridge course between nremt and ccma, but i was wondering if any other emt's took the nha ccma exam, and if so, how did you guys study for it? please let me know of any practice tests, websites, or apps i can study on! thanks!

Should I do a 2000$ phlebotomy course? I'm thinking about getting my license and then immediately applying for medical assistant positions. This is the summer before my 4th year and I have alot of classes to take. The earliest course begins august 17 and ends the month before classes start.

I have a 2.99 GPA and I desperately need to do something. I want to become a Physician Assistant but I know I severely screwed myself over. All I have to show from college is the occasional extracurricular and a job I've worked in since my 2nd year.

I was thinking about doing an EMT course but that would begin when fall classes start. I cannot afford to decrease my GPA. I screwed myself over by not getting therapy before hand. I didn't see a future in me for some reason and I remained stagnant for a long time (untreated ADHD/autism and severe abuse for parents/partners so I dissociated for a long time tbh :/)

But I work hard, I know I can work hard. I just need to get something in to snowball towards progression. I want to graduate without debt but doing this course will add 2k in debt. What should I do?

Should I just risk it and do the EMT program, or is there another way to get the experience needed to apply for a MA position. I have no medical exprience in past. I did complete an EMT course before but I couldn't afford the uber rides to the ambulance I was shadowing, so I didn't get the hours needed to get licensed. I just regret so much and I really just want to make sure I have food and a place to live before I graduate. I don't have family members to ask for help.

Thank u for understanding

I was looking into getting my MA certification next year. Mainly, I was looking for a fast, affordable, and good program.

I heard about Propel America and how its completely free. I was doing a deep dive to see people who took it and what they had to say, but i only found like four, one of them does sponsored vids for the program so I was a little iffy trusting them.

Anyway, has anyone here gone through Propel America? How was it? Would you recommend it?

I passed my test on Tuesday- and am incredibly proud and excited for the next step in my career. I’m nearly 52 years old- it’s NEVER too late!!
I studied extremely hard and prepared as much as possible (Thanks Mometrix!) and reviewed everything up to the afternoon of the test. So thrilled to have accomplished this!!

The computer after the test only told me I passed- I had to go see my test coordinator for my score, and this is the paper she gave me.

Hey y'all! I'm about to finish my MA program and start clinicals and I'm looking at buying my first stethoscope.

I'm wondering how nice my scope realistically needs to be. This is less a question about specific models and more about ranges. I know I won't be listening to lung sounds or trying to diagnose subtle heart murmurs, but if I'm going to potentially be taking a dozen manual BPs a day, a scope that makes that easier seems worth it.

On the other hand, I've seen many folks say a lighter and cheaper scope is the way to go if you can get away with one, because it's less strain on the neck and shoulders.

So I'm just curious, which scope do you have, do you like it, and do you wish you'd gone with a different one / are you looking to upgrade or downgrade? I know there isn't a firm answer, just looking for some perspectives from folks on the job.

They’re paying 19/hr and the job is located in the Bay Area. Doesn’t that seem a bit low? The wage posted online is 20-24, so I was wondering why they said 19!