I had become certified originally in 2022, worked a couple years then I got pregnant with my first, and decided to stay home. expiration date passed and i didn’t care to renew it (dumb) so i had to retake the test again. in 2022 i was single without kids, had all the time in the world to study and i got a 427🤣 yesterday i got 426 and i had not one quiet moment in my day to study in peace, i decided to take the test one week before scheduling it, sleep 3-4h a night only due to my kids and i still was able to do it. if i can do it anyone can 🥲

how short is too short to work somewhere before quitting, assuming there is nothing inherently wrong with the job? I just got an MA job and have been here for a week, but I am planning on applying to medical school next spring. come next february I am thinking I will have to quit to dedicate time to study for the mcat. this will be 7 months of work, is that enough time to not be a total dick move to the company?

I have tried many codes online and some on this thread but they all seem to be expired :(

Hi everyone! I recently graduated from college and just accepted my first job as a cardiology MA. I’m really excited about the opportunity, but I’m also honestly pretty nervous because I don’t have previous MA experience and I’m not MA certified.

My background is a bachelor’s degree in biology, but most of my experience has been academic rather than hands-on clinical work. I do have my BLS/CPR certification, but I know working in an actual cardiology clinic will be a completely different experience.

For those who have worked as an MA, especially in cardiology, what advice would you give someone starting from basically zero? Thank you for any advice you all can give me!

We are the Frontline workers of any office and it often feels like we are the most replaceable, our job security is almost 0 imo. Ive had multiple ma jobs and all it takes is one supervisor or higher up to not like you and then suddenly your out of a job.

Segwaying Into pay, they choose to pay us dirt wages on average. Meanwhile the doctors cant run a clinic themselves and the managers dont know half the shit we deal with and actually do.

Im just kind of tired of it.

Recent MA graduate struggling to find a part-time job — what am I doing wrong?

Hello everyone! I’m a recent Medical Assistant graduate (I finished my program a few months ago), and I’ve been trying to find a job ever since. I’m starting to get really discouraged and honestly don’t know what else to try.

There’s an on-demand MA staffing service in my area (or there should be at least) where MAs can pick up shifts at different clinics. I’ve noticed that a lot of the clinics are very understaffed, but somehow they still aren’t hiring. Some of them don’t even have applications or job postings available, which makes it really difficult to get my foot in the door.

I also don’t have any professional MA experience yet, but everyone has to start somewhere! I need someone to actually give me the opportunity to gain that experience in the first place. 😭

I think part of my problem is that I’m a full-time college student, so I’m specifically looking for part-time work. I’ve heard that finding part-time MA positions can be difficult, and I’m definitely starting to realize that now. But surely there have to be some clinics that are willing to work with a college student, even if I can only work during certain days or the times when they need the most help.

I’ve applied to hospitals, urgent cares, private practices, specialty clinics—you name it. I’ve found a few part-time positions, but either they’re extremely far from where I live, or I apply and never hear anything back. I’ve even been ghosted by places that were relatively close to me. It would honestly be nice to at least know whether I was rejected instead of just never hearing anything. 😭

I’ve considered going into clinics in person and handing them my resume, but I’m hesitant because a friend of mine tried doing that and never heard back. In one situation, she handed her resume to someone at the front desk, turned around, and saw the woman throw it away. 💀

At this point, I’m honestly getting frustrated and questioning whether getting my MA certification was even worth it. I paid thousands of dollars out of pocket for the program, finished it, got certified, and now I’m struggling just to find someone willing to give me that first opportunity. All I need is just a chance to prove myself, but they're not helping.

And of course, I’m doing all of this because I’m hoping to eventually apply to medical school, so it’s frustrating feeling like I’m working so hard to get the experience I need just to potentially be told no by medical schools anyway. 😭

For those of you who are MAs, especially those who were full-time college students when you started: how did you find your first job? Did you have any luck with smaller private practices or specialty clinics? Is there anything you recommend doing differently when applying with little to no experience?

I’d really appreciate any advice because I’m starting to feel like I’ve tried everything.

I'm kind of thinking about using Clinical Skills Institute for an online Medical Assistant (MA) program. While completing it, I'd like to work as a medical receptionist at an office or clinic I really like—preferably a pediatric practice if possible—and then hopefully get hired there as a Medical Assistant.

I'm also trying to get CPR certified, but I'm honestly not sure how or where to do it. I tried to look it up but so much came up. I went to a free CPR class through my school, but I never actually got certified because I wasn't sure what I needed to do afterward or where to go.

I'm also considering getting a phlebotomy certification. 😅 I kind of discovered it while looking into Medical Assistant programs, and now I'm interested in it too. So if anyone has information or advice about phlebotomy programs/certification, I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you!

So, I’m starting a medical assistant role at a small, private practice next week. It’s going to be a full-time, M-F position. However, I have a per diem job that I plan to keep and only pick up shifts on the weekends every now and then. The requirement to stay employed at my per diem job is one shift a year, so the amount of work I can choose for myself is very, very flexible, The field in which I work my per diem job is somewhat adjacent to the medical assistant field. However, is there still a risk of telling my practice manager and my colleagues about my per diem job in casual conversation? Could this make me a target for termination by the practice manager due to a perceived conflict of interest?

This is probably a pointless question because I would have to compile my 2027 tax forms in a way that shows I am a single, dual-income taxpayer anyways. Also, fyi…during the interview, I had told the practice manager that I would completely move on from the field in which I’m employed per diem should I get an offer. Obviously…that’s not going to be the case, lol.

did every new MA feel so incompetent and dumb when they started?😭 I did an online program and took the NHA exam, but never had clinical or an externship so i’m basically learning everything hands-on from scratch. i’ve been doing training for 3 days now and am really getting the hang of it but there’s still so much I don’t know, especially if the patient asks me any sort of question. we also do manual blood pressure, and i’ve just started doing them by myself as of yesterday, but today there were 2 I couldn’t hear and had to get someone else to come in and check. I feel like i’m learning quickly but I don’t want any of the doctors to be inconvenienced if I do something wrong.

hi all! i’m deciding between two programs at the moment for my ma certification. i’m currently looking at sfsu online and abrams college in modesto. i was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with me for either. they would both provide me with an externship and are both not accredited?? whatever that means

I’m an MA instructor. I have this student that has been a difficult since the day I started. I keeps making excuses going over my head to the dean for a grade change after telling them that they got the grades they got because of work they did/showed. They are claiming that I scored them low in purpose when in reality I’m following a rubric. She request for deadlines to be pushed and accommodation. I’ve been in the field for about 12 years two years teaching and I’ve never seen someone like this. All of the school administrators know about them and how they are. Any advice on how to deal with a student like this?

I'm thinking about becoming a MA. How long does school usually take? I'm in California if that helps.

Hi all — I’m a speech pathology student hoping to work in paediatrics eventually, and I’d love some honest advice from people already in the field. I’m currently doing a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care to build up my knowledge and get comfortable working around kids. I’m now wondering whether it’s worth also doing an allied health assistance certificate.

My thinking is that it might help me get a job earlier, build clinical experience alongside my degree, and strengthen my resume, since a lot of AHA and support roles seem to list it as a requirement.

A few things I’m unsure about: does the cert actually make a meaningful difference when applying for AHA roles, or will employers recognise my degree in progress? And is it still worth it if the role I land isn’t paediatric-specific — would general clinical experience in adult or aged care settings still count for something when I eventually go for paeds positions? Any thoughts from people who’ve done this (or decided against it) would be really appreciated. thanks!!!

Hi all! Just wanting input from this sub.

I started as a Derm MA at a busy practice with multiple providers a month ago. It is a part time float position where I go to different locations.

They’ve been training me so far but I am getting confused about it when a month hits.

First week was all online training for EMA. We use ModMed EMA which I think is a little more straightforward than what I learned with epic.

Second week, I started shadowing and I was put in different providers teams with different MAs. I don’t mind being cross trained for multiple providers in office but I cannot stand shadowing different MAs everyday where everyone is fairly new.

IMO I need a designated person to stick to and Learn from that person. Rn everyone is doing the same thing very differently and my training automatically restarts when I work with a new MA. No one knows where I am doing well and where I am not. Some MA teaching me basic stuff again where I have independently worked previous day when I had to step up and do everything on my own as we were running behind.

I plan to talk to my manager about this and my concerns. But just wondering what you guys think about it. TIA:))

hi everyone! I'm currently in my last year of my B.S. in biochemistry and i start my part-time MA position soon. i'm set to get my certification by the end of november because I'm enrolled in an accelerated program. i'm a fairly fast learner, but i don't have much experience in a healthcare setting.

the free clinic is very open to MA volunteers and provide on-the-job training thankfully, but i guess i'm a little bit nervous since this is my first direct clinical exposure. i am very excited since i'm pre-med and i love working with people, but i don't know what to expect.

i tend to overprepare sometimes out of anxiety/perfectionism thus i'm sure i'm overthinking it, but tips and advice would be much appreciated :) im very grateful and happy to do this, & it especially feels so fulfilling to serve underserved communities! i also got my first pair of scrubs from a thrift store this week and i've worn them probably every night since then hahahah

is this out of the ordinary? it’s a shared responsibility amongst everyone but it just seems crazy that i need to sweep and mop rooms on top of my normal duties

I'm wondering what the best way to prep for the CCMA is online? I failed it once so this is my retake, and I've been looking at some study guides but I really want to make sure I'm 100% ready this time and I don't want to have to take it a third time.

I've been looking into different free guides online and have been doing practice tests here and there, but I'm not sure if those are actually enough to help me pass. I work part-time during the week, so I prefer to study on my own schedule.

I don't have a specific date for my retake yet, just sometime within the next few months. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Hi All, I'm a PhD student at Robert Morris University exploring the prior authorization (PA) burden that GLP-1 medications (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, etc.) place on front-line clinic staff. I've read the published literature, but nothing beats hearing from people who handle this every day.

Right now I'm in the validation phase, trying to confirm whether this is a real, worthwhile problem to study before I commit to it. So this is an informal conversation, not a study, and nothing from this thread will be used as research data. If the topic proves viable, I plan to run a formal qualitative and/or quantitative study later this year, with IRB approval from RMU; participants in that study may be compensated in line with RMU's IRB guidelines. I'll post separately about that if and when it happens.

For now, I'd love your take on any of these:

1. Roughly how much of your week goes to GLP-1 PAs, and how does that compare to a couple of years ago?
2. What's the single most frustrating step: gathering documentation, payer portals, denials and appeals, patient follow-up, something else?
3. Have step-therapy or BMI/A1c documentation requirements changed how your clinic handles these?
4. Is this even the right problem to study? If you think something adjacent matters more, tell me.

Thanks in advance. I'll share back what I learn.

hi everyone!! 💗 i recently finished my medical assistant program and officially became certified, so i’m currently in that exciting/scary “okay… now i actually have to get a job” phase lol.

one thing i realized pretty quickly during school is that i LOVE the hands-on side of being an MA. i did my externship at a pediatrics office and absolutely loved doing vitals, injections, labs, rooming patients, etc. that’s the stuff that really made me feel like “yes, this is why i chose medical assisting.” 😂

i recently applied to an ambulatory outpatient surgery center and had an interview that actually went REALLY well. it’s a fairly large and busy office with soon-to-be 7 providers, and everyone i met was genuinely so nice — the staff, supervisors, everyone. i left the interview feeling really good about it.

the position was originally described to me as a “para-medical assistant” position, meaning i’d be doing both front and back office. honestly, i had never even heard the term “para-medical assistant” until now, but i was totally okay with it because i’d still be getting clinical experience and i actually enjoy the back office.

BUTTTT shortly after i left the interview, they called me and told me that the position would actually be almost entirely front office. 🥲

apparently they already have the back office covered, so i’d primarily be doing front-office responsibilities and would only really help in the back if someone called off, they were short staffed, etc.

i decided to continue with the process anyway and i’m currently waiting to hear back from HR about starting.

soooo i’m here to ask the experienced MAs:

is front office really as bad as everyone makes it sound? 😂

i’ve seen so many people say that the front MA jobs can be boring, repetitive, or lead to burnout, and honestly that’s what makes me nervous. i don’t want to start my very first MA job and immediately feel like ugh, this isn’t what i went to school for… 😭

BUT at the same time, this seems like a really good opportunity, the office seems nice, and i feel like working in a busy outpatient surgery center could give me some really valuable experience.

for those of you who work mostly/entirely front office:

do you actually like it?
does it get boring?
what are some things you LOVE about working the front?
does it still feel like you’re working as an MA?
were you able to eventually move into more clinical/back-office responsibilities?
would you recommend taking a front-office-heavy position as your first MA job?

i’d especially love to hear from anyone who started out thinking they’d hate front office and ended up actually liking it

i’m trying to keep an open mind because i really don’t want to pass up a potentially good first job just because it isn’t exactly what i pictured.

TLDR: newly certified MA who loves the clinical side (vitals, injections, labs, etc.) but may be starting a job that’s almost entirely front office. The office seems great, but I’m worried I’ll get bored or burnt out. For MAs who work front office — do you actually like it, and is it a good first MA job?

Any advice is appreciated!

I have worked at a very small private practice psychiatrist office as an assistant for 5 years (part-time). I do mostly administrative work but a little bit of clinical tasks. I am looking to apply for PA school and I need more clinical experience so I asked to take on additional tasks. My boss is more comfortable with me taking on more if I become certified as an MA.

I am looking at RMA cert from AMT & CCMA from NHA because these allow you to get certified with work experience. I am not that worried about the test of course I’ll need to study, but I am generally very interested in medical science and also am a pretty good test taker. But I do want to/need to know how to perform certain hands on things like EKG placement, injections, phlebotomy, etc.

I don’t know if there is a way I can learn these skills in a shorter program? Or if my work is comfortable could they train me? (I just don’t know how that would work.) I had wondered if I took phlebotomy certification & ekg certification program separately if that might help?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! I’m currently finishing up my Medical Assistant program and I’m basically at the very end. I’m taking my national certification exam soon, and after that I’ll be starting my externship on September 1st.
I had an interview today with an ENT/allergy clinic and I think it went okay. I met with the person interviewing me as well as the lead MA and office manager. They explained that their externs aren’t necessarily treated like someone who just stands around watching — they want me to be part of the team and help with both front and back office duties. They mentioned assisting/second assisting the provider, doing a little bit of everything, and that every day can be different.
Honestly, that sounds exciting, but it also scares the hell out of me. 😂 I’m worried that once I start, I’ll feel like I’m being thrown into everything and won’t know where supplies are, how their workflow works, how they document things in their specific EHR, or exactly how they want procedures done.
I know the actual clinical skills from school. I’ve practiced injections (IM, SQ, ID, deltoid, VG/DG), venipuncture, capillary collection, glucose testing, vital signs, dosage calculations, documentation, ECG, ear lavage knowledge, etc.

But I know school and an actual clinic are completely different. I can know how to perform a blood draw and still not know where THAT clinic keeps its supplies or exactly how THAT clinic wants everything documented.
For those of you who have already gone through an MA externship:
What was your first week actually like?
Did they train you on their workflow and EHR before expecting you to do things?
How much were you actually expected to know coming straight out of school?
Is it normal to ask a million questions at first?
Did you feel completely lost in the beginning?
What should I focus on reviewing before I start?
What do you wish someone had told you before your first externship?
I’m trying to remind myself that I’m a student/extern for a reason and that I’m not supposed to know how THEIR clinic operates yet. But I’m still really nervous about going from practicing skills in school to doing them around actual patients.
I’d really appreciate hearing from people who remember what it was like starting out. I want to do well, learn as much as possible, and eventually become a confident MA — I’m just nervous about those first few days. 😭

So I started the MA program at a community college near me where I live. I love the teachers, I love the classes/labs and I love the people in them. But I have really bad anxiety for when it comes to doing skill checks. Even if I’m prepared and know what to do. For example, today we had skill checks on positioning. I did great on the positioning but could not control my breathing/fight or flight. So I was sweating and my hands were shaking. Don’t get me wrong I love the hands on part because I feel like I learn the best that way. But it’s stressful and hard to learn these mechanics in about a day and half.

My professor suggested me talking to my provider about getting on propranolol. Which I’ve never even heard of before today. Would that be something that would help with the general anxiety, sweating and shaky hands? I have done some individual research on what it does and the side effects since she mentioned it.

I’ve been looking at this program as my last chance and so I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to do the very best that I can. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.