Questions About Nursing

Hi All,
I'm 'Dia and although I'm not a nurse and have no plans to become one (I will be in the medical field though), my boyfriend does. I had some questions about nursing and I wanted answers from people who have had experience with nursing. First off, what's the difference between a certified medical assistant and a certified nursing assistant? If training to become either, is it common for hospitals to pay for your tuition if you decide to become an RN? Does is matter where you go to school for your certification as a nursing or medical assistant, or RN to whether or not you can work anywhere you choose (hospital, nursing home, etc.)? If so, do you recommend a community college or 4-year university?

His goal is to eventually become a nurse anesthetist (sp?) and I'm just wondering what is the best way he can do that without wasting his time or money on various things. Right now he just has some general education requirements from a community college. Anyway, thanks for your help!

-'Dia

When I was in LPN school a few of my fellow students were fellow "CMA's"
They ended up in LPN school because of lack of job opportunity and lack of decent pay/benifits in Dr's offices (especially considering the length of time
for CMA school) CNA's seem to have more opportunity w/ less training time
(some hospitals train STNA's to become CNA's

Here's my take on things. I'm sure others will add to or correct it. :-)

A certified medical assistant is trained to do some bandaging, injections, draw blood, do ECGs and some other patient skills in addition to learning front office things. CMAs really are more geared toward working in a doctor's office or small clinic. CNAs, or in some places patient care techs (PCTs) start with baths, turning, ambulating assistance, feeding if needed, and taking vitals. Honestly, they do a lot of scud work to start. But in some hospitals, patient care techs also have a skills ladder they can move up. They then are learning and doing many of the skills a CMA has. It all varies from institutions and states.

As far as licensing and certifications, in order to get them you need to have attended an accredited institution. You'd have to look into the specific programs to determine their actual accreditation. Once you have the license or certification, you can work where ever they are hiring.

Some hospitals will contribute towards employees getting a nursing degree like small scholarships or tuition reimbursements, however it is probably rare that one would pay for it entirely.

If he wants to eventually be a CRNA (nurse anesthetist), then he'll need to obtain a bachelors degree in nursing (BSN) in one of two ways. He can either obtain an associates degree in nursing (ADN) and get his RN license then work toward the BSN, or just go to a 4 year college or university and get the BSN and then sit for the RN license. The difference is in timing and money. If he goes ADN first, he could work as an RN and earn money as he obtains his BSN. The hospital or facility he works at might even contribute towards him getting his BSN.

CRNA programs, which are masters degrees, would require him to have at least 1 year of acute care experience at the time of applying. Since programs have differences in what they consider to be acute care experience, the surest bet is to work in an ICU. He should research different programs to see more specifically what kind of acute care skills they are looking for.

Good luck to you both!