Ah, A nursing assistant job. I'm a medic - just getting ready to test out on my full Paramedic, been an EMT for many, many years. But, also have advanced life saving certs (ACLS, PALS), and getting ready to start nursing school going on for my NP. My EMS education is about 60 semester hours of medical stuff - trauma, medical emergenices, peds, geriatrics, pharmacology, cardiology, A&B, plus labe, procedures, patient assessment. Which is significantly more than an LPN or MA class (particularly in terms of differential diagnosis, cardiology, pharmacology, trauma things). But, before my mid-life change of career I was a Research engineer, with a couple of undergrad degrees, Masters, and stupidly ABD with my doctorate. Plus I had started out as a pre-med in a do med school with undergrad program so had some med school background (I've had all the gross anatomy, physicology, and a bunch of related subjects years ago) before switching to engineering.
Anyhow, the way medical staffing works, with different limitations by state, but essentially staff less than MDs work under the license umbrella of a medical director. So, as a medic, I perform duties for which I have been trained, in accordance with protocols signed off by the county EMS Med Director, and have a guideline that allows me to administer medications, perform procedures within that scope of practice - without asking permission. I can call in for questions, or to get advice - different directions. That's why ALS medics have to learn so much to be able to make a critical initial differential diagnosis and initiate treatments (give the right med, do intubations, Ivs, some procedures ).
In a med practice the Mas, Nursing staff can do a lot of things like med administrations, blood draws, EKGs - as long as the med director has approved that their training allows them to do that. Where I was working, most of the nursing staff are Mas - which is a few month course focused on being able to do basic assistant procedures - doing vitals, giving injections, doing venipuncture. Doesn't go into the deeper science, whys, etc - it's a very functional training. This practice also has LPNs, RNs (not many) and a handful of NPs. So, the nursing staff is all grouped together - except the NPs - who have a lot of privileges on their own licenses. Evidently, my situation made the "older, lesser trained" Mas a bit uncomfortable (it's a do don't think kind of thing). The younger ones were fine.
Anyhow, I hope that explains things. It's pretty interesting in that most of us don't really know. I'm careful at my doctors - especially my primary care - when some new person is going to draw my blood and I'm not thrilled with their procedure.
Ellice