Why did you choose to be a nurse rather than a medical assistant or vice versa?

I'm not a nurse or doctor myself but have several friends who are, and used to be pre-med, and am an EMT! These are some of the factors:

• flexibility and amount of working hours
• ability to administer certain procedures and medications (each state will have different rules for this)
• pay
• amount of training required (years and difficulty of getting into or waiting lists for)
• who you will work with everyday
• your flexibility in where you work (location)
• how fast you can move into other roles (and what those roles are)

I appreciate that the medical assistant was promoting their profession. No matter your chosen career, passion and positivity will serve you well. The primary reason I would suggest nursing vs. medical assisting is the return on investment. The opportunities within the nursing profession are nearly unlimited and the long-term earning potential is much higher, as is the scope of practice. It is important to ask yourself what you really want your role to be.

Working in a medical practice or clinic is such a small portion of what nurses can do. Let me share my path. I started in critical care in a medical/surgical ICU. My next step took me to the CTICU where I cared for post-operative patients undergoing heart/thoracic surgeries. Critical care nurses care for dynamic and challenging patients and have a high-level of responsibility. From there I became a flight nurse for a helicopter air medical program. The best job ever! In this role, I cared for critical ill and injured patients, while transporting them to the hospital from a scene (Interstate 84, corn fields, mountains, beaches, baseball fields, etc.), and from smaller hospitals to a larger medical centers. Flight nurses have an extended scope of practice and perform many advanced skills. For example, advanced airway management, surgical airways, central line insertion, chest tube insertion, invasive pressure monitoring, pericardiocentesis, escharotomy, and many others. I have recently stepped out of the clinical setting and work as a quality improvement manager, where I lead change efforts to improve the quality and safety of patient care, and ensure regulatory/accreditation compliance.

There are so many options: emergency nursing, public health nursing, OR nursing, quality improvement, executive leadership, critical care, research, education, critical care transport, expedition nursing, management, program management (trauma, stroke, etc.), case management, home health, school nursing, labor and delivery, compliance, neonatal ICU, pediatrics, and hospice nursing. Many of these can be done with an associates degree, which takes approximately two years. A great place to start if time/money invested is a consideration.

If someday you want to return to school, you can get an advanced degree and become a nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, clinical specialist, or midwife. The sky is the limit and there is a place in nursing for all types of personalities. It just depends on what you enjoy doing.

Nursing is so much more than a job, but compensation is an important consideration. According to salary.com, the average compensation for MAs in your area is $35,874 (1), while the average salary for RNs is $69,060 (2).

You have already taken the first step in your exploration. As far as next steps, meeting and speaking with people in these various roles will give you a better idea about the realities of each position and area of practice. Volunteering at a local hospital is a great way to do this. Plus it is rewarding and looks great on the resume. If you know any nurses or MAs, ask to shadow them for a day. I hope that helps. Good luck and keep us posted!

Brian

1. https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/medical-assistant-salary/mn
2. https://www.paysa.com/salaries/registered-nurse--la-crescent,-mn--tl