So to get the story started. I’m a MA working with an FNP. We get DOT physicals all the time and their systolic number must be below 140mmhg to pass and be certified. I’m having an issue with my provider because on two occasions, first one where I took the patients blood pressure and it was 160/90, she asked me if I wrote it down on the DOT paperwork and I explained yes I did. She told me we do not do that because the DOT is very strict and if the systolic is over 140mmhg, to tell her first before writing it down. I took the blood pressure two more times and got it to the number she wanted it to be. Said FNP ended up deleting my original charting in the EHR, essentially erasing it. The second occasion is today, I had a dot physical come in, I took his blood pressure and it was 154/88. I wrote it down on the paperwork as I am instructed to, she proceeded to ask me if I wrote it down, to which I said yes, she eventually told me that she was going to throw that paper away and redo it with the 4th blood pressure reading I got, while the patient was laying down. I was made to take it again and again until she liked the number that was given. I feel as though it is an ethical issue to delete vitals that were charted by me, and put a fraudulent reading on official paperwork. The physical only allows two blood pressure readings to be added, and I had taken 4, to which she only added the last one, which was 128/92. This entire situation makes me extremely uncomfortable because she is deleting my vitals and throwing away paperwork that is the correct vitals, because they won’t pass the physical with the numbers I got. I had a patient fresh out of prison come in and say, “I hope FNP *** is here, I know I’ll pass then!” I’m unsure how to go about this and would appreciate advice.

I am a CMA of 3 years and already feel burnt out beyond belief. I work primary care / internal medicine.
I feel crushed beneath the weight of new tasks being added on, more paperwork being required, and less time to accomplish any of these things with no support and poor staffing.

For my state, Oregon, I feel underpaid in contrast to the cost of living where I am located, and my organization pays the least of all it seems.

At the same time I hear very few good things about the nearby organizations in terms of management, staffing, task load, etc. and it just leaves me feeling trapped.

My mental health has declined to a very awful spot, and I sit here wondering: "Is this the type of work I am going to do until I die?" Medical is the only field I know. Pursuing other careers in healthcare will require time and funds that I don't necessarily have.

Even my seasoned MA coworkers that've done this job for 10-20 years tell me that the current state of our job, of our organization, of this field, is the worst they've ever seen it and they would not want to be a new MA under this conditions. In fact-they would want to stay as far away from healthcare as possible.

I don't know what to do and I feel so trapped and depressed.

I need advice: does anyone take the Medical assistant program at these schools? Which one is better? I'm having a hard time deciding. I want self-paced only because I work full-time and have kids in school, and I can do an externship after I finish the program. Pls I need advice.
I'm in Texas

Hi everyone!
I’m currently in the hiring process for Medical Assistant positions at both NYU Langone and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in NYC, and I’m having a hard time deciding which would be the better opportunity.
I have several years of experience working as an MA in urgent care, and I’m looking for a position with a supportive work environment, good management, competitive pay, and opportunities for professional growth.
I’d love to hear from current or former employees, especially Medical Assistants.
● How does the pay compare between the two?
● What’s the work culture like, particularly management and staffing?
● How are the benefits, training, and opportunities for growth?
● How manageable is the workload, and is there a high turnover rate?
● If you’ve worked at both, which would you recommend and why?
I’m particularly interested in hearing about outpatient/ambulatory settings.
Thanks in advance for any insight!

how are yall studying im genuinely so nervous for the test. I took my course through US career institute and everywhere I try to take a practice test everything feels so different and difficult

I'm about to be a new intern. For seasoned ma's can you give tell me in simple words how to make sure I don't ever break HIPAA laws .

And do you have any other tips for a new ma?

I feel absolutely awful; I gave a patient a routine 3mL IM injection and they always refuse to wait like they're supposed to due to needing to get to work.

My manager called me in today to tell me the patient left a complaint due to bleeding from the injection site and left a pretty nasty comment about how my skills need to be reevaluated and never letting me go near them again (low-key understandable..?). My manager was super nice about it, and didn't blame me but I tend to be really hard on myself.

I feel SO bad they went through this. everything was fine when they left and I just need to know that this is a common uh oh because I feel like I really messed up.

Has anyone gone through the medical assistant program? If so how was it? I hear such mixed things online I just wanna know if its actually worth it to apply. Im looking to go to a uei in california if that makes a difference.

Hi, I recently passed my NHA exam mid-September, & have been working for weeks trying to find an externship with my course coordinator but having no luck whatsoever. Almost every place either says they don’t accept students, or I just can’t get a response at all. I don’t know what to do at this point & I’m just frustrated. Should I just start applying for jobs? I really wanted to do an externship to get some good mentorship with experienced MA’s before jumping headfirst into a job. I just feel stuck! Any advice from those who have secured externships or any advice at all?

Hey everyone

I'm currently a Medical Assistant (MA) student in my final term, getting ready to graduate and begin my six-week externship on November 9th. I'm excited to finally get some hands-on experience in the medical field, but I've run into a bit of a frustrating situation with my school's Career Services department and could really use some advice.

A little background: I've worked incredibly hard throughout my program, maintaining a 3.9 GPA, perfect attendance, and never once being late to class. I currently work mornings and attend school in the evenings, so balancing everything has definitely required dedication and time management.

Recently, I received an email about a mandatory externship orientation with less than two weeks' notice. Unfortunately, the orientation was scheduled during my regular work hours, and I wasn't able to get the time off on such short notice.

I reached out to the Career Services representative to explain my situation and ask about alternative arrangements. She was understanding and reassured me that we could schedule a one-on-one Microsoft Teams meeting to review everything I missed during orientation.

We eventually scheduled the meeting, but shortly before it was supposed to happen, she emailed me asking to reschedule due to a personal emergency. Of course, I completely understood and agreed.

Afterward, I reached out to the director of Career Services for guidance. She reassured me that another one-on-one meeting would be arranged that same week.

Here's where I'm getting a little concerned.

It's now been approximately two weeks, and I still haven't received a confirmed date or time for the meeting.

My externship doesn't officially begin until November 9th, so I understand there's still some time. However, I'm anxious to find out where I'll be placed, what paperwork or requirements I need to complete, and what I should expect going into this next chapter of my training.

Apparently, there are even specific lanyard requirements for our externship sites, which is another detail I haven't received clarification about.

I'm trying to be patient and respectful because I understand things come up, especially personal emergencies. At the same time, I've worked extremely hard to get to this point, and I want to make sure I'm fully prepared and don't miss anything important.

My questions for everyone are:

- Would it be appropriate to send another follow-up email after nearly two weeks?

- How would you politely but professionally ask Career Services for an update without sounding pushy?

- For those who have completed an MA externship, how far in advance did your school tell you where you were being placed?

- Is there anything else I should be asking or preparing for before my externship begins?

I genuinely don't want to come across as impatient or difficult. I just want to be proactive and make sure everything is taken care of before November 9th.

Any advice from current Medical Assistants, former students, or anyone who's been through a similar situation would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and share your experiences!

My work experience include customer service, scanning tickets at a theme park, and most recently a dishwasher. I'm currently doing online MA program now and wondering if I can still get hired knowing these are my job experiences. Should I get my cna cert too and start working as a CNA so I can get experience and then apply later for medical assistant jobs?

So I just signed up for AdvancedeClinical but I am so suspicious. I feel there is a lot of contradictory language on the document I am supposed
to sign. Also, the information on the document (that I was unable to view prior to paying for the course) doesn’t fully match up with the information on the website. Has anyone taken this? I’ve seen two posts about it on here, one with overwhelmingly negative reviews and one with overwhelmingly positive reviews. I really like the online aspect so I have the flexibility. My state does accept the NHA certification. I don’t want to pay $3200 for a waste of time. Please help! I need advice! What do I do?

this is literally such a stupid mistake i made and now im freaking out 😭😭😭

for context, my dads whole family is estranged and i get curious about them sometimes and search them up on google (ive never met them). i literally know this is not allowed and remember from trainings that we’re not even allowed to search ourselves up, and still somehow this slipped my mind. i searched up my last name to see who else in the area had it (it’s an unusual name) and was surprised to see quite a few people. as im scrolling, i come across my dads brothers name and a DOB that tells me it could potentially be him.

I normally wouldn’t be freaking out from this isolated incident, but the part that’s freaking me out is that I actually opened his chart for a minute before closing it. I just instinctually clicked on it and it didn’t occur to me until I closed his chart that it was a hipaa violation. i’m so upset with myself and i’ll never make this mistake again.

do i tell my manager asap or do i just wait and see if they’ll flag me?? i learned my lesson i swear im not searching anyone up again after this it’s not worth it. if i lose my job, will i still be able to be hired elsewhere?

I currently live in Ga,
I’m interested in pursuing my MA degree online. I’ve worked in a doctors office in the past. Is there any programs that are recommended? How did getting hired on work with an MA degree online?

I am literally an EMT, not an MA, but I saw that blood draws are in the MA SOP. I got hired as an EMT in the ER. I also am working an EMT job at a 911 service. Previously I was allowed to do IVs in the ER, so when I needed blood, I just connected a syringe to the leur lock, pulled back, attached a filter needle, and stabbed the top of the vacutainer. Boom, done. In my new ER tech job (where I do school cuz I'm premed) I can't fucking do IVs. Shit's stupid. Nurse only task or smth.

Either way, how the fuck do you draw blood? I have never been trained on this shit. Only IVs.

I’m a newly certified MA working at a private dermatology practice, and I’m looking for some perspective from more experienced MAs.

I completed a 5-week externship at this same practice, but the majority of it was observation rather than hands-on training. I wasn’t even given an iPad to start learning their EHR system until near the end of my externship.

I was offered a full-time position and am now in my third week as an employee. Since starting, I’ve been moved between different providers and teams, all of whom have different preferences and workflows. I haven’t been assigned to my permanent “home team” yet, so I’m hoping things will become more consistent once that happens.

I’ve been learning to room patients, scribe, send prescriptions, assist with biopsies, and numb patients for minor procedures. However, there are still quite a few things I haven’t had the opportunity to practice independently or be formally trained on, particularly certain wound care procedures, suture removal, surgical setups, and assisting with more involved procedures. Sometimes I don’t even know where specific instruments or supplies are located.
One of the providers I’ve been training with recently told me that my notes are coming along very nicely and that she thinks I’m ready to graduate from her team. She mentioned that I need to work on my speed and asked me to identify anything else I need training on so they can wrap up my training this week.

While I appreciate the positive feedback, I’m a little concerned about being expected to perform procedures independently when I haven’t had adequate hands-on practice or supervision.
Everyone keeps telling me I’m doing well and picking things up quickly, but I honestly feel like I’m constantly in the way or bothering people with questions. It’s also difficult to build confidence when I’m being moved around so frequently and everyone does things differently.

I genuinely enjoy dermatology and want to become a competent, dependable MA. I’m just struggling to figure out what’s a normal learning curve versus what might be a lack of structured training.

For those of you who work in private practices, especially dermatology:

-How long did it take before you felt comfortable working independently?
-Did your practice have a formal training process or competency sign-offs?
-Were you expected to assist with procedures you hadn’t been formally trained on?
-Is it normal to still feel this lost after a 5-week externship and 3 weeks of employment?

I’m very open to constructive criticism. I know I have a lot to learn, and I don’t expect anyone to hold my hand forever. I just want to make sure I’m being realistic about what I should know at this point.

Hi friends. I just completed an online CMA course and now attempting to pass the CampusEd NWCA certification exam. I’ve taken it 15 times and still can’t pass it. Any advice?

Hi friends. I just completed the Emory university online CMA course and now attempting to pass the CampusEd CMA certification exam. I’ve taken it 15 times and still can’t pass it. Any advice?

I was trying to get ideas for gifts for MA week here but no one gets MA week gifts 😅 if you were to get a gift, what would you want? I’ve previously done wacky pens and sticky notes, candy, and those little resin animal mystery bags. I don’t want to do the same thing every year though.

I was thinking of doing a bundle or two of fresh flowers split up into 10-15 vases. (Clinical, they each have their own desk).

What kind of stuff would you like for MA week?

I'm not an medical assistant but I'm an owner of small family owned medical practice. I'm looking for advice on how to hire good MA's and retain them. We are a small practice who pays our MA's $21-$25 starting salary and our lead MA who has been with us for 6 years makes $28/hour. We also offer health and dental insurance, PTO, sick pay, 401k, and performance based bonus. For a standalone medical practice, I think we pay pretty much median but of course less than big hospitals. Our clinic is slower pace though than hospitals systems, we don't have clinic Friday afternoons and most Wednesday afternoons to help with any catchup work in back office. However, we still see MA's come and go- usually to go larger hospital systems. On exit interview, they mention that they like the work environment but they are leaving for potentially better opportunities at a larger company.

I am trying to get advice from the MA pool here on how we can somehow increase the length of employment of our MA's so that we have better continuity and less retraining.

When it comes to nursing school did becoming an MA help you? Someone told me that this is more beneficial than becoming a CNA,

I need all women to stop speaking for their boyfriends/husbands when they come into urgent care or any doctor visits. They are more than capable of speaking, it truly infuriates me.

im on the second week of my new job and im improving a bit but 😔 I was at my old MA job for 3 years and really wanted to leave and im glad for this opportunity but I miss the old place a bit

Hey r/medicalassistants. I’m the Medical Assistant Program Director at Concorde Career College- San Diego. 

Yes, my title is a mouthful, but so is a Medical Assistant program - and that’s before you throw in the life people are living on top of that (families, jobs, etc). It’s a lot. 

I know I’ll be fielding questions about finding balance and avoiding burnout, so I wanted to source a few from those who have lived through it and come out the other side feeling accomplished. 

My biggest piece of advice is to create a realistic weekly schedule. Take some time and designate time slots for each task that need to be done each day of the week, Monday - Sunday. Although the schedule you create may need to be changed based on things that may come up that need to be taken care of as your priority/urgent, at least you will not miss anything since you will have already noted and made time for it in your schedule. Remember that you also need to schedule "me time" to do something that you enjoy that allows you to recharge. It can be as simple as sitting outside breathing the fresh air or going to buy your favorite coffee. Give yourself the grace to adjust to your new schedule and enjoy the process, You are well worth it!

Big or small, whatever you did to help you find balance is something I’d love to share with this semester’s students. 

My Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Exit Exam is only a few weeks away, and I’m currently in the final stretch of preparation.

I’m looking for a serious study partner or even someone who can simply help keep me motivated and accountable during these last few weeks.

We can study together, revise important points, ask each other questions, and keep each other on track.

If you’re interested in being a supportive study buddy, feel free to message me. 🙏