AllHealthcare

I know just what u mean. I am recently laid off as a medical assistant of a year....So i've been looking for phlebotomy work as well, and it is just what u said. And I am a nationally certified phlebotomist. Did u post on Career Builder, Yahoo Hot Jobs, and Monster? They have lots of offers on them too! Well, good luck.

Hello! Did you try to do volunteer work with medical groups in your local area? For example, the American Red Cross might be needing phlebotomist for blood drives. Keep track of your hours and market this in your resume and your cover letter. I am looking for an ma job and plan to join a volunteer group that works in times of disaster. Stay positive;despit your school.

betty000 said:

I have been been searching for a position as a medical assistant for almost 5 months now! I graduated from SEACOAST CAREER SCHOOL, MANCHESTER NEW HAMPSHIRE ! I feel like an idiot for believing every thing they told me, They made lots of false promises,and statements. They did do one thing honest though......they cashed all of checks I wrote to them for my tuition! lol......I search every day too. I hope these schools,making billions of dollars a year are exposed to the public, via the media. I feel strongly that we all have been made fools of. I want my money back ! Maybe 20-20, or N.B.C. nightline could do a segment on these shools and the lies they tell us to get us to register. My school promised me as many interviews as it took me to secure a position in my field. They told me this would be a benefit for life ! ! ! They said if i did not care for the job I was in,simply come right back in to them and they would find me ,any field,and any where as many interviews as it took ! Yes this was a great benefit I thought ! Wow ! They lied........If it sounds to good to be true ,then think again ! Good luck to us all.

Hi All,

I am a Senior Recruiter for On Assignment Healthcare Staffing. We are a staffing agency specializing in temporary, temp to perm, and direct hire opportunities. I understand your frustration and hear this dilema everyday as I make my recruiting calls.

Our clients are area hospitals, labs, private practices, ect ect. I generally look for at least 6 months to 1 year of current working experience as well. When our clients call us, they need someone to go in and be able to work right away with little to no additional training. When you are dealing with a busy laboratory or doc office, there is no room for error. Misreading an EKG or accidentally giving someone a hematoma doing a blood draw can lead to patient comlaints, lawsuits, or worse. Many practices have experienced problems like this with new grads and have since started to raise their standards when hiring.

My office is located in Philadelphia, although we are nationwide, and I have worked with some of the area schools regarding their curriculum and this problem. Most of the schools offer a limited externship where their MA's rarely or never get to use their clinical skills on the site (for the same reason above). I have suggested to many directors that they need to extend the length of these externships and to be sure the sites they send their students will be having them perform EKG's and Phlebotomy daily. A 6 month externship looks much better on a resume than 600 hours.

I notice many students get certified in Phlebotomy instead of Medical Assistant. Now although the majority of my clients require 1 year experience, I do have a select few that will utilize my candidates as long as they are certified as an MA and have updated CPR certs. I highly recommend getting certified as MA throught NCCT or AMT and mainly because it encompasses everything, not just Phlebotomy. I have staffed many new grads with these certs and they have gone on to gain permanent employment with our clients.

My best advice would be to request additional externships with your school (they may say no but it is worth a shot), become certifed as MA, and try different staffing firms. As I mentioned, On Assignment does require at least 6 months to 1 year of current experience but we are able to make exceptions on occassion depending on our clients needs.

Sorry for the novel folks but I thought that some of this information may be useful. Please feel free to browse our website at www.onassignment.com

Thanks,
Zach

For Betty000, did you graduate from the program? There are zillions of medical assistant jobs out there. So I think you should have no problem finding a job. Have you used the job search on this site? (It's from Monster.)

And yes, some of those schools aren't so great on fulfilling the promise of a job but you have chosen a field where there ARE lots of jobs, so it seems like maybe it's just a matter of time before you find a medical assistant position.

Check out this article (Find Your First Medical Assistant Job) on the site to see if it helps you...and check back with us to let us know how it's going for you....i.e. have you been applying? You could also post some excerpts from your resume if you want some feedback.

I attended National College of Business and Technology in Louisville Kentucky. I graduated with High Honors in 2004. I also found it hard to find my first job although I came highly recommended. Family Health Centers who hire through louisville civil service gave me my first chance. I worked for them for two years and decided that that wasnt the job for me. Too many injections. My dream job is to work for a cosmetic surgeon. I know it would be a rewarding job, I just cant seem to find one yet. Can anyone out there help me? Maybe I can help someone out there. Family Health Center was a nice place to work it just wasnt what I wanted.

Yes that's good advice. Martina - ave you joined the job hunters group here? Look in Communities. You can also think about getting more education to get into the cosmetic medicine field. For instance, being a nurse esthetician. They work with patients, doing botox injections and other procedures.

I thought I was by myself in this circle of frustration, very frustrated, because I can not find a job in the career that I chose which is Surgical Technologist. There are Plenty of jobs but the problem is the DOCTORS they are the ones who are setting these guidelines of 1-2 years experience it doesn't matter if you had between 200-500 clincal hours it is the DOCTORS who always want their way, apparently they have forgotten where they came from they were once new grads themselves if know one gave them a chance where would they be now. I graudauted in 8/07 with a high G.P.A., completed 500 hours doing a variety of surgical procedures at a reputable hospital and still can't find a job. I have applied at so many hospitals I've have lost count I am registered with so many job sites like careerbuilder, monster, simplyhired, indeed and various hospitals e.t.c. and after 7 mths no job. Why promote going to school and getting an education if after you do all this especially investing your time you can't find a job and your stuck trying to pay for student loans you cant afford because you haven't found a job

I called the AST (the association for surgical techs) and asked them for advice for new grads. Although you're right that most jobs require 1-2 years of experience, Sheila at the AST says occasionally some employers will consider new grads.

Sheila and I would both like to know:
Where did you go to school and what help have they given you from their career center? Usually that organization is the biggest help to you for getting that first job.

I would just say I see ads all over the AST web site for surgical techs for Kaiser, and other employers.

Have you joined the AST? If you are a member, Sheila would be happy to talk to you. You can call them or email her at svanderpool@ast.org.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

I am a Career Services Advisor for a medical school in Oregon; I work with the Medical Assistant in finding jobs. I have found that getting 6 months experience as a caregiver which does not require a CNA license is an excellent way to get what your need on your resume to be considered. I have a least 2 graduates in the last month call me and tell me that is what they did to get their foot in the door.

How about taking on a "transporter" position in a hospital - when they advertise for a MA position you can apply and they are far more willing to hire from within - less training on their part.

Any job search can be helped by applying in volume - I recommend to my graduates that they should put out a minimum of 50 resumes a week. By the way, my placement rates are in the high 70's - I must be doing somthing right!

I JUX FINISHED SCHOOL TO BECOME A MEDICAL ASSISTANT AND NOW FINDING JOB BECOME INTRESTING! I'VE MEET ALOT OF NEW PEOPLE, NOT PEOPLE THAT WANT TO PAY ME BUT THEY ARE STILL NICE. AND WHO KNOWS SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE COULD NO SOME PEOPLE AND MAYBE THEY COULD PAY ME! YOU GUYS WISH ME LUCK I'LL SHOOT SOME RITE BACK AT YOU

it is nice to know you aren't the only one feeling like you're running in a circle.  I had a fantastic internship stayed on to take extra courses in biostatistics and grant writing and got my MPH with great references.  It's frustrating wondering if anyone hires people out of grad school.