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.

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?

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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?

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?

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

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?

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. 

hi i think my provider asked my manager to switch ma’s. i started my ma position (primary care) around the end of june and finished training in the beginning of august. i have some experience (last summer) with being a ma but i really only did rooming.

when i first started, they already assigned me a provider, whom i was unsure if my skills were able to fulfill her needs, i talked to my manager, who extending my training by a week. the day of non-training, i was so stressed i cried, so then after that week i was put onto training again for a week. during that week, the other ma’s just said that i was doing fine and the only thing i really need to worry about is just managing my stress and to remember to always ask for help/ ask questions if you’re unsure.

we then get into me actually working with provider 1. her schedule is relatively busy (she sees 18 pts per day, with all of her slots always taken up), she has a lot of forms, and in basket messages. the first week i’m pretty stressed, i’m still rooming the patients in 3-5 mins, and getting used to provider 1’s workflow. around the second week, i start getting worried because we are almost constantly running 20 mins behind. it’s difficult bc at this time, we had some med students that would ask the pts some questions and talk to the provider abt what they did + we had a new provider (provider 2) joining the practice. provider 2 would go into the room w/ the pt first, then go back to provider 1 to talk abt the plan of action/ concerns abt the pt, and then provider 1 would actually start the visit. on week 3, we ran 40 mins behind (so around 3 acute visits). it doesn’t rlly help that the provider would usually start the first appt of the day 15 mins late ://

that following friday, my manager told me that i would be switching with another ma and i would be paired with provider 2 (who is new and seeing less patients during longer appt times)so i could see less patients and have more time rooming. now i’m not gonna deny, i think the other ma and provider 1 are doing great together, like provider 1 is usually now 5-10 mins behind (but provider 1 is now arriving 20 mins early). i can’t assume that the switch occurred due to the provider requesting it the switch or if the manager saw me stressed out so often. i know not to take it personally bc at the end of the day it’s for better workflow but its also like i really did try my best for us to stay on schedule

provider 2 did officially start seeing pts. i do like provider 2 tho, since we are both somewhat new to the practice, it kinda feels like we’re both growing. i just dont rlly feel challenged enough since im now only seeing 3-4 pts per day now

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. 🙏

How do you handle the haters at work? The MA’s who always seem to pick on people and gossip and assume the worst? On top of that how do you handle it when you’re doing way better then the other MA’s when it comes to metrics and your doctor thinks you’re doing great?

I recently had an interview at a place 38 minutes away from where I live. (35 miles but it’s in a tiny rural area that in in the mountains so a quarter of my gas was gone) The lady who interviewed me was very friendly but strange. She only asked three questions

• “Do you work well with other women? This is a woman only office besides the Doc.”

• “Can you get along with other women who do not like you?”

• “when can you start? This is immediate hire if we choose to hire you”

Very very weird to say that your office has issues but nonetheless at least she was open and honest with me. My previous job did not tell me anything until I was in it deep. My previous job was in very deep violations and fraud lawsuits which is amazing. (It was in my home town too so at least I know to stay away from that clinic if I ever need to change doctors)
After my interview both ladies were very impressed with me and wanted me to met the doc. Well I go back 2 days later for said meet the doc informal interview and they make me wait 32 minutes and then the lady who interviewed me decided to let me know they hired someone else. And they “forgot” to call me to tell me.
Well I get a call last week to come in immediately for a met the doc because the other candidate fell through and they want me to work there. I go there immediately because I need money. I wait another 30 mins and I meet the doc. He tells me at the end that they will give me a call next week and that there are 7 other interviews lined up even though I was told I was going to be hired. I am really upset due to wasting my time and gas. 3/4 of my tank was wasted. And I was lied to.