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The differences between certified medical aides and patient services assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a certified medical aide and a patient services assistant. Additionally, a patient services assistant has an average salary of $33,879, 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 patient services assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Certified Medical Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $32,675 | $33,879 |
| Hourly rate | $15.71 | $16.29 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 235,444 | 273,881 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 25% | Bachelor's Degree, 26% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
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.
A patient services assistant is responsible for handling initial patients' assessments by scheduling appointments. They also are responsible for processing patients' referrals to the appropriate medical professional and admission payments, validating health insurance details, recording patient's information on the database, and assessing medical history and related health information. A patient services assistant also responds to the patients' inquiries and concerns, provides health services recommendations, and processes medical procedures. A patient services assistant must have excellent communication and time-management skills and the ability to perform administrative and clerical tasks as needed.
Certified medical aides and patient services assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Certified Medical Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Average salary | $32,675 | $33,879 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $41,000 | Between $24,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | The Blake School | Adobe |
| Best paying industry | Media | Government |
There are a few differences between a certified medical aide and a patient services assistant in terms of educational background:
| Certified Medical Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 25% | Bachelor's Degree, 26% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between certified medical aides' and patient services assistants' demographics:
| Certified Medical Aide | Patient Services Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% | Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8% |
| 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, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 7.1% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |