Medical Scribe/MA certification and license

[ppofad]

My D was looking for Scribe or Ma training and want to utilize those skills during the gap year to find a job. From our research, we found that MA gives more clinical experience than scribe and are well paid if you directly apply to the hospitals.

She found the following website. she thinks that MA license from one state is not valid in other state. She actually comes home for Summer. If she does her certification through the following website, is it valid all over the nation?

Become a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) - AHDPG

Graduates from the AHDPG Clinical Medical Assistant program are eligible and encouraged to sit for NHA's CCMA credentialing exam.

ahdpg.com

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[TragicalDrFaust]

Look at medical assistant jobs in all relevant locations on job search websites. See what kind of certification they require or prefer. Consider how long it would take to get that certification. At the school in my home town it takes two semesters.

I worked as both a scribe and a medical assistant and got superior clinical experience as a scribe. Scribes learn how to write a SOAP note and they get to watch the doctor perform exams and interact with patients. The doc I worked for would even have me make diagnoses sometimes (of course he had to agree before it went on the chart lol). It was also easier to develop a relationship with the physician which led to a letter of recommendation later on.

MA paid more and I got to do technical things like taking vitals, putting on EKG leads and they offered to train me in phlebotomy. But those technical skills are not important for physicians. We don’t even learn how to do them in medical school because it’s part of the MA role and a physician’s time and skills are better used interviewing the patient, making diagnoses, educating the patient etc. a scribe gets to watch and learn how to do all of that. The MA won’t be in the room for most of it.

I would therefore say that the jobs are roughly equal as clinical experience but personally I had a lot more to talk about in my essays from working as a scribe. Pharmacy tech was probably best though because there was direct patient interaction.

And although MA pays a lot more than scribing, consider that if it takes 2 semesters to get the cert, you’re delaying med school by a year and losing a year of physician’s salary. It will also cost money to take the classes or sit for the exams to get the cert. Though I understand that could still be the best option financially depending on your situation.

 

[amm16]

My D was looking for Scribe or Ma training and want to utilize those skills during the gap year to find a job. From our research, we found that MA gives more clinical experience than scribe and are well paid if you directly apply to the hospitals.

She found the following website. she thinks that MA license from one state is not valid in other state. She actually comes home for Summer. If she does her certification through the following website, is it valid all over the nation?

Become a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) - AHDPG

Graduates from the AHDPG Clinical Medical Assistant program are eligible and encouraged to sit for NHA's CCMA credentialing exam.

ahdpg.com

Also, not all MA positions require a certification, and some will pay you to get certified through the job.