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Clinical Medical Assistant to Registered Nurse
does anyone have any experience going from CMA to RN? that is the path I am interested in taking but I want to know that it is possible (oppose to doing the CNA to RN route) Any tips or advice on this process? anything helps
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Jane’s Answer
Hey Elisa,
From what I understand, depending on the school you pick, you likely don't need any experience for applying to nursing school. For example, San Jose State University has a decent nursing program, and their requirements only include class prerequisites and an exam (though you are competing with other applications to get in). My friends, one who's graduated from the SJSU nursing program, and another who just entered, all didn't have CMA/CNA experience beforehand. My first friend went in straight from highschool to university for their undergrad under "pre-nursing" to get all their coursework in, and then got into the nursing program on her second try. My second friend is actually doing their second B.S. (his first was in film) so he actually doesn't have much medical experience, but he was able to get in because of his good grades in his prerequisites. Looking at a few other RN colleges, their requirements definitely focus on academics.
If you haven't gone to CMA or CNA school yet, and want to work while getting your prereqs done, I would actually consider becoming CNA just because the pay can be a bit higher recently, and since nursing school does cost money, that might help you out. Otherwise, I'd make sure you have all your class prereqs first because nursing school curriculum is pretty difficult, so schools may concerned about their students being able to pass, but I don't doubt that having practical experience working with patients and knowing how to work with injections, blood draws, and EKGs is a plus.
There's this site as well: https://www.rn.ca.gov/education/rnprograms. (shtml) where it shows all the acreditted RN programs, sorted by whether it's an associates, bachelor's, or masters, so you could probably take a quick glance to see what requirements the schools you might be interested in have.
Hopefully this helps, and good luck on becoming an RN! Let me know if you have any questions that I can help out with!
From what I understand, depending on the school you pick, you likely don't need any experience for applying to nursing school. For example, San Jose State University has a decent nursing program, and their requirements only include class prerequisites and an exam (though you are competing with other applications to get in). My friends, one who's graduated from the SJSU nursing program, and another who just entered, all didn't have CMA/CNA experience beforehand. My first friend went in straight from highschool to university for their undergrad under "pre-nursing" to get all their coursework in, and then got into the nursing program on her second try. My second friend is actually doing their second B.S. (his first was in film) so he actually doesn't have much medical experience, but he was able to get in because of his good grades in his prerequisites. Looking at a few other RN colleges, their requirements definitely focus on academics.
If you haven't gone to CMA or CNA school yet, and want to work while getting your prereqs done, I would actually consider becoming CNA just because the pay can be a bit higher recently, and since nursing school does cost money, that might help you out. Otherwise, I'd make sure you have all your class prereqs first because nursing school curriculum is pretty difficult, so schools may concerned about their students being able to pass, but I don't doubt that having practical experience working with patients and knowing how to work with injections, blood draws, and EKGs is a plus.
There's this site as well: https://www.rn.ca.gov/education/rnprograms. (shtml) where it shows all the acreditted RN programs, sorted by whether it's an associates, bachelor's, or masters, so you could probably take a quick glance to see what requirements the schools you might be interested in have.
Hopefully this helps, and good luck on becoming an RN! Let me know if you have any questions that I can help out with!
Updated
Liz’s Answer
Hello, and I admire your professional drive to move into the next advancement into your education and career.
I was also a CMA, I utilized every opportunity I could as a CMA to learn everything, shadow all the doctors, and research anything and everything that was new to me.
Good luck and stay safe :)
LA
Liz Anderson
I was also a CMA, I utilized every opportunity I could as a CMA to learn everything, shadow all the doctors, and research anything and everything that was new to me.
Good luck and stay safe :)
LA
Liz Anderson
Updated
Megan’s Answer
No pre job qualifications needed but would definitely go the CNA route if anything. MA school is much longer and more expensive and doesn’t help get your degree faster.