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The differences between certified medical aides and medical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become a certified medical aide, becoming a medical assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medical assistant has an average salary of $34,900, which is higher than the $32,675 average annual salary of a certified medical aide.
The top three skills for a certified medical aide include vital signs, CMA and state regulations. The most important skills for a medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.
| Certified Medical Aide | Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $32,675 | $34,900 |
| Hourly rate | $15.71 | $16.78 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 235,444 | 189,915 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 25% | Associate Degree, 24% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 12 |
A certified medical aide's role is to assist registered nurses in providing care and assistance to patients. Among their responsibilities include administering medication to patients under the nurses' supervision, monitoring medication schedules and intakes, recording vital signs and other information, and observing the patients' behavior or progress, reporting to the nurses regularly. They may also assist medical staff in performing clerical tasks or transporting patients. Furthermore, a certified medical aide must respond to the needs of patients while adhering to the safety policies and standards.
Medical assistants provide support to medical practitioners in both administrative and clerical tasks. They keep and update the patient's medical records, administer medicines under the supervision of a physician, assist during medical examinations, prepare medical samples for laboratory testing, manage the schedule of appointments, and assist the patients with their bills and in filling out needed forms, such as insurance-related documents. Medical assistants should have good communication skills and analytical skills, be organized, and be flexible. They should also have knowledge of how to operate some medical equipment such as x-ray machines.
Certified medical aides and medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Certified Medical Aide | Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $32,675 | $34,900 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $41,000 | Between $27,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | The Blake School | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Media | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a certified medical aide and a medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Certified Medical Aide | Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 25% | Associate Degree, 24% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between certified medical aides' and medical assistants' demographics:
| Certified Medical Aide | Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% | Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |