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The differences between certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants and care associates 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 assistant/certified nurse assistant and a care associate. Additionally, a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant has an average salary of $36,382, which is higher than the $32,558 average annual salary of a care associate.
The top three skills for a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant include patients, vital signs and CPR. The most important skills for a care associate are patients, vital signs, and PCA.
| Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | Care Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $36,382 | $32,558 |
| Hourly rate | $17.49 | $15.65 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 350,499 | 192,391 |
| Job satisfaction | 3.5 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A certified medical assistant (CMA) or certified nurse assistant (CNA) is a healthcare professional who performs clinical and administrative duties in clinics or medical facilities. Certified medical assistants provide excellent customer service to patients arriving and departing from the medical facility and administer injections or medications to their patients. In administrative duties, certified medical assistants are tasked to help clients submit insurance claims and encode medical records to the computer system. They also can work with specialized physicians such as ophthalmologists and podiatrists.
Patient care associates typically work at different healthcare settings where their primary job is to provide basic patient needs and comfort. They are also responsible for several patient care tasks, including bathing patients, changing the pillows and bedsheets of patients, and serving patients' meals. They should comply with safety protocols when performing these tasks. Some of them can give patients medication depending on the level of their training. To become a patient care specialist, one should possess several skills, such as good communication.
Certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants and care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | Care Associate | |
| Average salary | $36,382 | $32,558 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $47,000 | Between $21,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | Hollister, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Aya Healthcare | Analysis Group |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant and a care associate in terms of educational background:
| Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | Care Associate | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants' and care associates' demographics:
| Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | Care Associate | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.5% Female, 89.5% | Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |