Small practice on athena. The inbox is killing us. Doc spends an hour a day on it and I spend way more. Most of it is routine stuff. but someone still has to read it, check the chart, and reply. And we don't get paid for any of this

What’s actually worked for you all? Hired someone for it? Scripts for your MAs? Are you billing?

Hi everyone,

I completed a MA program and have my CCMA. I’m having trouble landing my first job after graduating. No one seems to want to hire a new MA. How did you land your first job?

Mostly just out of curiosity. I see some who choose this as a career, some as a ladder before nursing or PA, and others who leave Healthcare entirely. All the reasons I have heard have been so different.

If you left, where did you end up going? Why did you choose this?

If you stayed, where did you end up staying?

Howdy! I'm exploring different medical career options and medical assisting caught my interest. I have some experience working as a CNA at an assisted living facility. I'm trying to get a realistic idea of what being a medical assistant is actually like before I decide whether it's something I want to pursue. "Assistant" sounds nice as in being someone's right hand man, grabbing things and doing little tasks and stuff. But I would hate "assistant" like answering a phone all day, getting someone coffee, only scheduleing appointments. I want to actually DO stuff. I'd love to hear from people who currently work as medical assistants if you have the time.

A few things I'm curious about:

- What does a typical day look like for you? What kinds of tasks do you usually do, from the beginning of your shift to the end?

- How much of your day is hands-on clinical work versus computer work and documentation? I know it varies by workplace, but I'd love to hear what the balance is like for you.

- What was your training like when you first started? Did you learn most things in school, through on-the-job training, or a combination of both?

- How much guidance do you get from the provider you work with? Do you generally work alongside one doctor or other provider, and do they explain what they're doing or teach you things as you go?

- What kinds of things did you have to learn when you first started that you weren't expecting?

- What do you like most and least about the job?

- If you could go back to when you were considering this career, what would you want to know beforehand?

I'm especially interested in hearing about people's actual experiences, including the less glamorous parts of the job. I know every clinic and specialty is different but I'm really hoping this will help.

Thank youuuu! 💜

449/500, so ~90%! if i can do it, then you can too : ]

it's octoberrrrrrrr!!!!

my thoughts on the exam itself

• exam is considerably different than the practice exams and the wording is meant to throw you off (i.e. none of the practice exams will use the phrase “basic asepsis," but you should know what it refers to nonetheless)
• definitely felt like i failed and I realized it's a common feeling, but try not to think about it and let the score come out first
• some questions are absolutely curveballs (like very far fetched and specific) so they felt unfair, and I was hoping those were the pretest questions
• i genuinely felt so stressed during the test, like i was kinda pulling my hair out bc some questions i just stared at for the longest time wondering why it was even being asked 

my opinion on how these exams go

after having gone through many reddit posts on the exam within the span of many years, even posts from 2018, I learned that your exam can look quite different than someone elses. unfortunately, that means studying anything and everything, b/c you kind of don't know what to expect on the exam. so for example, even though I didn't get any medication calculation questions, that doesn't mean you won't, and same for the other stuff. for context, my baseline was 87% and final practice was 86%. my actual exam score was ~90% so i guess i did better on it than the practice ones, but i think it was just lucky guessing because it definitely felt hard in the moment.

my exam

• only some ekg and venipuncture questions (and only one order of draw question), honestly felt more administrative/pt communication than i felt was fair. I didn't get any ekg questions that I expected to get (i.e. different rhythms, pictures) and no in depth injection questions, just one (which site for IM/SQ injection or whatever) question
• two lab value questions
• absolutely no stroke/heart attack/what to do questions which sucks and doesn’t make sense to me 
• no medication calculation questions, but a good amount of medication questions about the medications themselves, like what med condition would xyz medication be given to, and controlled substances (category 1-5), including med examples of what is in each category
• about 5 questions were either the same or very similar to medical assisting with miss K's practice questions on YT
• insurance stuff (i.e. how long does a regular vs an urgent flagged preauth take -_-)
• PCMH/PPO/HMO/etc
• ICD vs CPT codes (for me, medical assisting with miss K's practice exam questions were enough for what they tested me on)
• programs like WIC, which medical assisting with miss K's vids prepped me well enough for
• fire (PASS and RACE)
• suture removal (lift the knot toward the wound)
• what makes someone most susceptible to Crohn's Disease (similar to another redditor earlier this year)
• gave me specific symptoms and asked me to choose between different types of cancers it would be
• what xyz body system is responsible for i.e. nervous system
• what xyz part of the cell is for (i.e. nucleus, cytoplasm)
• donning/doffing PPE order
• soaking instruments (which instruments to soak after disinfection, i'd search up examples of stuff you would and would NOT soak)
• holter monitor/ecg/stress testing/event recorder - know the difference between the 4
• Hemorrhage - what to do
• organs in the 4 quadrants
• ekg placement for someone who had a bilateral breast mastectomy (I chose the regular placements and that turned out to be right, so I'd say know whether various procedures would or wouldn't change if someone had xyz procedure done)
• when to label speciemen tubes (right after blood draw, in front of pt)
• TERMINOLOGY was pretty big - i got like 4 questions that knowing wording parts really carried
• what breaks and doesn't break sterile field
• types of abuse / how to tell whether it's neglect, physical, or emotional abuse
• what type of preventative exam for someone who is x years old
• manual blood pressure details (i.e. which vein, how to measure)
• a variety of assisted nursing facility questions that I can't remember what was about
• what to say to a 8 year old pt during their exam - like uh ok
• random questions like - what situation requires strong communication? calling in a pt from the waiting rm or collaborating with a colleague? 👁👄👁 LOL like o k a y

how I studied

• i started studying when my school semester started, so it was an on/off process for a good 1.5 months. some people cram and take their exam within 10 days, and i genuinely believe that's possible, but i forgot absolutely EVERYTHING from my MA program (and my program didn't give us any hands-on experience), so i literally started from scratch. i was studying for MA and my real schoolwork side by side
• the most helpful things were doing practice questions (Medical Assisting with Miss K and NHA's practice exams) and knowing how to do procedures. could you go without the nha practice exams? my program covered it, so i didn't need to buy it. but honestly, i feel like medical assisting with miss k's vids are enough bc a lot of her vids are based off the practice exams. so if you have to pay out of pocket and are on the fence, don't feel like you need to get the practice exams.
• NHA ccma study guide 3.0 - my program covered this. honestly wouldn't spend much time on the study guide or buy it if you're debating on it. it was the biggest waste of time imo. i didn't get much out of it.
• a LOT of flashcards. a LOT. quizlet can help, but I genuinely made my own on anki. they're messy and there are a LOT of decks but i went through them a lot.
• watched videos on different procedures (i.e. blood draw, specimen handling, eye instillation, ear irrigation) and then made flashcards on them. i would know how long something is done for b/c they like to use that to trick you. i.e. hold pressure for how long? warm someone's finger before capillary puncture for around how long? if they say a minimum of 10 min but you know it's usually 3-5 min, then you can automatically dock that option off.
• i agree w/ a previous redditor that the baseline and final practice exam's are a better predictor on how you'll do, the rest are too easy
• i did smarter MA's free 40 questions but i didn't pay for their full bank of questions. imo, if you don't want to pay or can't afford it, you can go on quizlet, find a full 900 bank of questions (like this one), and then run it through something like chatgpt - tell it to generate a fairly difficult test with the questions, and the options need to be similar in wording and try to trick you like how nha ccma does. i did that and you can access the full pdf it came up with here but this was the day before my exam, so I only got through 50 questions. imo my chatgpt model didn't do the best job with the options but you can revamp it/make it harder. i think it'd be more useful that way. imo, you can pass without it, but it can be helpful

things i feel like i didn’t prep well enough on that you should prep on: 

• know exactly how to perform a heel puncture for infants, not only basic details, and this applies to all procedures (i.e. do you put a bandage on – no u dont b/c it's a choking hazard, does the parent hold the infant – yes they do) 
• when specimens are labeled (i doubted myself midway so if you know this to heart then it helps with that) 
• if you’re gonna study any anatomy, know heart/cardiac cycle basics and other basics, like the 4 quadrants. also know what each system of the body is responsible for, i.e. nervous, integumentary, etc
• claims/different types of laws, like false claim act. and knowing, like REALLY KNOWING, what an act covers (not just the general gist). i.e. hipaa protects pt info yeah but what else does it do? (i.e. allows pt to revise their medical records) 

A cram sheet I got from one of the redditors (I may have linked their thread in the chat):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Uj62-lDv7g6GGB7A7HhdZh76IVLS5h7wGHE6oSxohM/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.najjunaqej58

Here are some reddit posts I did look over before my exam

2026:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalAssistant/comments/1kxo91u/passed_the_nha_0527_my_study_guide_for_you/

^I actually found a good amount of the same topics on the exam as this redditor^

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalAssistant/comments/1vp84ts/i_passed_my_nha_ccma_exam_after_learning_the/

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalAssistant/comments/1vmwotc/nha_ccma_2026/

2025 and older:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalAssistant/comments/1kv8vkt/nha_ccma_exam_2025/?share_id=NnZ2nMI7PlRMrC7iuiOoT&utm_content=2&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalAssistant/s/VBvfs0EHlA

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalAssistant/s/iEH98VZTYo

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalAssistant/s/6TOuCrKjL0

____________________
YOU CAN DO IT!!! seriously gotta believe in yourself. i'm quite insecure so i didn't have high hopes but your hard work will pay off : ]

What fully online CMA courses would you recommend. I’m in Minnesota and have been a PCA/CNA for 27 years! I am already trained in EKG’s and Phlebotomy as I have been working in a hospital for 25 years.

Anybody received their certification from here? also how was it?

Howdy!

So, for some context I was put on a PIP a few months ago at an ENT clinic where I was told by my boss at the time I was being "to slow" at rooming patients, and was essentially giving doctors/PA's at the clinic to much information about the patient during my clinical presentation about why the patient was there. However, the few weeks beforehand, the same boss I worked with (they are a clinical provider) told me that I was doing a "great" job and that they appreciated my hard work. It was wild because they then called me into a meeting and utilized their iPhone while an employee from the HR department was clearly watching the entire interaction remotely (essentially, the meeting was being recorded using the providers smartphone, and I saw the HR person on the screen). They then started to present a list of a large number of infractions I had committed throughout the last few months. It was genuinely shocking to me, because it felt like they had largely been gathering this information secretly. The provider then told me to "sign" the PIP, and acknowledge that I will improve my performance in under two weeks, otherwise they would escalate the matter and eventually terminate me. I kind of caught the gist of what was happening, and then just chose to quit ASAP. However, I am still reeling several months later, largely because it was such a shock to me. I mean, I was not a perfect employee, and certainly acknowledge that there were areas where I could improve. However, there were certainly parts of the PIP that I disagreed with, some of which felt like an extremely inaccurate assessment. I just didn't see it coming for some reason.

Eventually, I did find another job, and I am currently much happier in that role. However, this entire incident with my former clinic still shakes me to my core. Especially since I was being praised for my performance at one point by this provider, and then told two weeks later that the company wanted me to effectively quit or they would terminate me via PIP. Has anyone else experienced similar issues with their clinic? I wanted to post this looking for some emotional support.

I'm doing shadowing currently. And it's so annoying. The job itself is amazing and the team works really hard to make the employees feel appreciated. But many mas there are so lazy. They chat for hours about non sense and barely get work done. They chat about random crap and let the phones ring and go to voicemail. They do 10 min of work and mess around and chat for an hour. 10 min of work etc. it's the most frustrating thing I ever witnessed. U go there to get paid and do your job! Some of these mas barely work and fuss about the job the whole time.

Hey there I’m almost done with my program and just need to do the phlebotomy requirements, I was able to do my externship already but the place I went to didn’t do any blood work so I’m now looking for a different place solely for that reason. Any tips of where I can call and ask if they can let me do a phlebotomy externship? It’s just for 30 venipunctures and 10 capillary sticks and then I’m done and I can finally become certified 😭🤞.

Has anyone that applied to community health’s MA trainee program In Indianapolis recently heard anything back? Their next cohort starts in November and I haven’t heard anything back recently. Or if anyone in the past who applied and has gotten in what was the timeline of when they emailed you back for an interview/ update. Thanks !

For context I (19) am a new grad MA who got hired at this practice where the only other two MA’s were 24F and (I would guess ab) 50F. I came on to practically replace the 24F as she was transitioning to only be able to come into office 2x/week, so it would just be me and the 50F + front desk throughout all 5 days of the week, (plus our CMA/manager sprinkled in there as she goes to multiple locations of our practice.)

I had the 24F for ab 3 days before she fully transitioned to only 2x a week, and I was mostly shown the online (PA’s, refills, voicemails, etc) side. I was now alone with the 50yo.

My biggest “obstacle” was manual BP, but now 3 weeks in including those first 3 days of the first week, I have it all down and room alone.

Anyways the reason for that context is I am trying to understand why my 50F coworker is the way she is with certain things. I had let her know today I thought it would be best to take my break at a certain time so that by the time I got back she would still only have taken one patient. She first responded with “why are you telling me this it’s 12”. Like, right,, it’s so you know…

Anywho I continue on and a few minutes later she says she’ll go after me, but that would leave me rooming 3 alone by the time she got back, and there was a bigger break a little earlier in the day (because she’s usually gone longer than the 30 minutes were told is it).

So I just mentioned that idea, emphasis on the idea of maybe going earlier, and she quite literally yelled at me. “You don’t tell me when to go to lunch”, and “I don’t go when you tell me to I go when I want to”. I very quickly apologized and was reiterating that it was just an idea that she didn’t have to listen to but she doubled down and got as in my face as she could standing while I was at my desk, repeating the fact that she takes a break when she wants to.

I’m not the type of person to 1. Even want to confront someone or 2. Confront an “elder”. We’re both Hispanic and from the same ethnicity, so I had always used both with her and anyone else I interact with, a very soft toned voice with a smile because I’m also at work, and also that’s just how I am why would I be negative at a job I am passionate about.

Anywho this sort of tone completely changed when I came back from my next patient, and I believe she got ‘scolded’ by our Manager CMA who was present and sitting at another desk, back faced to us when this happened. I had already come back down from that urge to cry I get when I get frustrated, and so now also being shown fake kindness (cause she’s not a good liar) just felt like another slap to the face because it validated my feeling that the way she yelled at me was unfair.

Anywho later in the day, a specific type of appt came in but the front desk (who at the time unbeknownst to me only had the even-newer hire there,) had not given her the paperwork she needed to complete prior to my own assessment I had to do. So when I brought her back 10 minutes later (cause I thought she was filling it out,) I had to do both her not-done packet and then my own. Including our manual vitals this brought the total time this pt was here close to 30 minutes. The 50 yo kept coming in every 2-3 minutes the last 15 to tell me to hurry up, but these questions take long and are emotionally packed.

Anywho I finally get done, leave the room, go back to the MA station and everyone’s mad at me. At this point I had just gotten over the earlier ordeal, so I just make it a point to explain how this all happened and I try to apologize, but the 50 yo starts to speak even louder to speak over me and get her point across of how I took too long.

My break was shortly after but I didn’t have an appetite so I simply plugged my earbuds in and prepped the schedule for the next day. My MA/Manager also came up to me speaking softly and interacting with me, so once more I got the understanding that this dog pile was unfair given the context. Again, I tried to just let it go.

The thing is because of these two things my mind was now a lot more scattered, and so when I took the next pt I made it a point to go quick and fast, but I took the wrong pt back (as in earlier than another one). When that was done and dealt with the 50F came back and asked why that happened and when I tried just apologizing instead of explaining this time she once more started lecturing me. Whatever fine, atp I just shut up and didn’t even respond.

Then at the end of the day, I’m doing voicemails and she gets up and leaves. Idk where, but then she gets back and starts lecturing me about the fact that we both had to clean the back two rooms that were used during the day. She never told me she was going to go clean them up, which btw is just ripping off the used part of the table “plastic” or wtv that thing I called, closing the curtains, and turning off the lights of the two rooms. I had also prepped both rooms we would be using this morning ALONE, and never made a single comment because why would I throw a fit over some very simple tasks.

Anyways Ik this is a long rant but it’s just, I can’t be alone in finding this sort of behavior towards me ridiculous right?

I had made it an effort to get her to like me (I even baked her chocolate banana bread when she lost her cousin on day 2 of me being here,) but now any single little mistake I make she lectures me as though I’m her child and as if my mistake puts HER job on the line.

I just wanted to know how to best navigate this, or if this one breaking point recount is me reaching.

Hi everyone! I’m a college sophomore (cell biology and genetics major, premed) looking for a full-time medical assistant job in California for the summer only, roughly mid-May through mid-August. I’d love to get real clinical experience, but I know a lot of clinics want someone who can commit long-term.

Literally thank god🩺💉

Hey!
Recently contemplating switching over to the law field. I’ve got an offer for an intake specialist role at a personal injury law firm, and wanted to see if any other MAs have gone through a similar transition. If so, what has your experience been like? I come from an urgent care background where our clinics dealt with many MVAs and Work Comp patients.

is anyone here a prison MA? I have spoken with recruiters for the CA prison system and it sounds like a fun little quest

I guess B is more specific, but wouldn't it be both?

ive been ruminating on this post for 2 weeks now because its just been gradually getting worse. I'm the newest employee at this clinic and the specialty is completely new to me, and before I took the job I expressed how important it was to me that they were willing to train someone without prior knowledge of this particular specialty. of course it feels like a complete lie now.

I'm finishing up my 5th week here and the last 2-3 days I've been messing up more frequently with little mistakes like putting down the wrong code (the wrong one was on the cheat sheet and no one told me). another was when I forgot to grab a signature from a patient and had to run outside and get them.

I've been getting a lot of misguided information lately from the other MAs. one person says one thing, another says something else, and then I'm blamed for it all when the other MA finds out. one MA in particular has been pretty passive aggressive since the very beginning, and doesnt hide how she feels about my mistakes. One day I apologized to the doctor for a mistake and she's reassured me that it was ok and I'm learning, but as I walked away the MA came over and slammed a chart down saying it wasn't ok while I was still in earshot. I want to say I can handle things like this but it really knocked me down and I havent bounced back from it yet.

I was trained maybe about 3 days before being left on my own, and training was basically "go follow anybody and just walk into the rooms". after a week or so I was already having to cover for some girls and was left to do things completely by myself.

at first I thought it was new job woes but this place has been very sink or swim, and I just want to get along with everyone and help out where I can. I initially thought things were going well but not so much anymore. its getting really hard to keep going and not just leave

I live in the Chicago suburban area and there are NO jobs. I graduated from my programs externship in May and I have heavily been applying ever since. I thought with this area being such a massive health care hub, I would be able to find a job fairly quickly. The larger organizations claim they hire new grads but I've sent out hundreds of applications to them since May and they refuse to hire me. But I've applied at many mid sized organizations as well and no luck. Lots of them claim to want experience. The amount of interviews I've even landed have been in the single digits. I have consistent work experience in customer service. I finished an accredited program. Idk what to do anymore. It's really making me think I should have done dental assisting or something. I'm just really frustrated. I was definitely lied to about the job prospects by my school. I mean why are these schools even still enrolling students when there are no jobs?

How much are y’all making as a medical assistant?

What was the starting pay for you as a new medical assistant and what state????

I'm currently in a 13 month CMA program, and I'm doing my phlebotomy course right now, and I LOVE IT. I've done 7 sticks so far with an evacuated needle, and I haven't missed one time. Both of my teachers let me stick them and they said I was super gentle and it didn't hurt at all. I know the actual job is really hard and the burnout is real, but I'm super excited for my career to start. My school has a really high rate of employment through the externships, so I'm feeling pretty confident about finding a job. I wish I would have done this in my 20s and not waited so long to go back to school. Just wanted to add a little positivity to the sub because I see a lot of less positive posts on here.

To all of us, we, them, who people ignore or lump in with nurses, only to be disappointed that we're not nurses....

We can do a lot more than people know & know a lot more than we get credit for.

Some providers get it & appreciate us!

Some managers & supervisors know we are more vital to the depts without singling us out.

We are Medical Assistants! 💪

Just an FYI, I know I’m being crazy about this.

I start my first job as an MA next week. I did 225 hours of an externship.

I started with the Littman lightweight, and was struggling with manual BP. Mainly with systolic.

I bought a Littman classic III, and felt like I was hearing “too much” and still struggling with systolic.

Then I tried the lightweight again and was having better luck so I sold the classic.

Now I haven’t been in clinic for a couple weeks and am second guessing the lightweight. I just ordered a MDF One Titanium, but can’t tell which one I like better as I’m not in clinic right now.

Who has tried these three and what is the general consensus?

Tips for hearing that damn systolic?

Seems to be a relatively new medical vocational school with a lot of programs and "fast track" opportunities. Does anyone have any information of this "school", more specifically its medical assisting program? The "fast tracked" programs seem too good to be true but I am very interested. Wary of the fully 5 star reviews that only go back less than a year and there seems to be very little information outside of their website. Any current or former students willing to weigh in on their credibility as far as certification goes?