Medical Assistant Charged with Felonies and Unlawful Practice of Medicine

An Unsuspecting Medical Assistant Was Charged with 10 Felonies and Unlawful Practice of Medicine in Nevada for Administering Botox Injection Under the Supervision of a Physician.

Nevada law prohibits medical assistants from administering any kind of medications, this includes injections. While the restriction had largely gone unenforced it wasn't until a medical assistant's arrest on 10 felony counts on allegations of "unlawful practice of medicine" received media attention.

The medical assistant was arrested in 2009 in Las Vegas for administering Botox treatments in her role as a medical assistant while under the direction of a doctor. She was under the impression that she was simply doing what all medical assistants do, and it never crossed her mind that she may be practicing outside her scope of practice as legislated by the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners. Her whole world came to a crashing halt when she was charged with 10 felony counts on allegations of "unlawful practice of medicine".

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It is a massive risk that some medical assistants take, especially when they are trained on the job without access to current information from a professional membership organization, such as the American Association of Medical Assistants, American Medical Technologists, or National Healthcareer Association; and not having received formal training from an accredited vocational training institution where expertly trained faculty instruct future medical assistants on what they can and cannot do. This leaves them open to the assumption that as long as they work under the umbrella of the doctor who taught them what to do they are allowed to do what is asked. However, this is a  misconception.

The rule is that ALL medical assistants, regardless of the amount of education, training and experience must realize that they are subject to certain laws and limitations and can practice only within their specific scope of practice. For example, certain US states require medical assistants to have a special license from their state to expose patients to X-rays. Other states mandate special training before a medical assistant can administer certain types of needle injections, vaccinations, and screening tests such as for allergy testing, or PPD/Mantoux skin tests.

The Nevada Sate Board of Medical Examiners, in an emergency meeting on Sept. 18, 2009 adopted a regulation to stop medical assistants from performing certain services, such as administering the cosmetic drug Botox. But the regulation allowed medical assistants to give flu shots and vaccinations.

Utilization of Medical Assistants: Delegation of Tasks by Nurses

There is an increasing number of group medical offices and practices where doctors partner with licensed nurses and other  healthcare providers in diverse roles to meet the needs of their patients.

In contrast to nurses, medical assistants do not hold a license to practice and are therefore are not regulated by the state or any other entity. This leads to confusion about what a medical assistant can and cannot do. Questions arise when it comes to nurses delegating certain tasks to medical assistants; for example, administering medications, patient vital status monitoring, suture removal, starting IV lines, or removing bandages and casts.

The topic of which specific tasks nurses can delegate to medical assistants remains widely discussed.
To learn more about the medical assisting career please visit Medical Assistant NET on the Web.

Reason for Earning a Medical Assistant Diploma

Vocational Education to earn a Medical Assistant Diploma

"I have noticed that there are a lot of medical assistants that are unemployed due to lack of certification and outdated skills!"

In an effort to document the learning gains for students in secondary and adult full-time vocational programs, states are developing skill standards for given occupations upon which their vocational curricula are based. These standards form the basis for assessing students' entry-level occupational skills, plus their employability skills that are generic to all occupations. The documentation of these skills, eg. through standardized competency testing, final written examinations, and an intern- or externship then provides vocational training program graduates with a diploma to present to potential employers, thus enhancing their ability to gain employment. Medical assistants who have earned a medical assistant diploma will be able to move successfully from one job to another as demanded by the changing competitive market.

Free Money for Medical Assistant School?

------------------------------- UNHEARD OF! Or?

The goal of going to medical assisting school is to learn how to assist doctors treating patients and making the medical office run smooth and efficiently. However, another concern that is emerging to the forefront of many medical assisting school applicants' minds is the "cost and funding resources" list to pay for their training. Medical assisting students can expect to incur approximately $7,000-$9,000 for tuition and books at a community college and up to $16,000 at a for private for-profit vocational training institution.

We have been told that there are programs that give away free money for medical assistant school. There are vocational training programs, including free medical assisting training, for teens and adults that are completely free.

Stand Behind the Medical Assistant Name!

A brand new website, Medical Assistant Name wants to put a name to the medical assistant profession. Thousands of individuals are working in the medical assistant field, yet, they have no means to make their voices heard, and their concerns known to the public, except when they join a medical assistant forum to network with their peers. So many medical assistants out there have success stories, concerns and tips they want to share, yet they have no voice.

This new website at http://www.medicalassistant.name/ is to change this once and for all: here is a new place on the Internet to do so and voice off. Medical assistants are invited to leave their comments on topics that concern them as professionals and students, such as sitting for certification exams, what their scope of practice entails, resume writing, and searching for jobs without having to join a forum or message board... The site is still young but a fabulous idea dedicated to all medical assistants from coast to coast: Ready, set, go...