Clinical externship vs clinical supervisor

The differences between clinical externships and clinical supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a clinical externship and a clinical supervisor. Additionally, a clinical supervisor has an average salary of $61,615, which is higher than the $35,831 average annual salary of a clinical externship.

The top three skills for a clinical externship include patients, mental health and patient care. The most important skills for a clinical supervisor are patients, social work, and autism.

Clinical externship vs clinical supervisor overview

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Supervisor
Yearly salary	$35,831	$61,615
Hourly rate	$17.23	$29.62
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	63,061	71,220
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a clinical externship do?

A clinical externship is a short medical student program directly mentored by professionals within their chosen career path in healthcare. Clinical externs work in various settings such as hospitals, a doctor's office, or clinics and work directly with patients to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired in the classroom. They will be graded and must pass the program to be able to graduate from medical school. Externs must request a letter of recommendation from their site supervisor when applying for jobs.

What does a clinical supervisor do?

A clinical supervisor is responsible for managing a healthcare facility's daily operations, including the medical procedures and treatments of the medical professionals and practitioners. Clinical supervisors work with other healthcare professionals to optimize treatments, assess patients' health conditions, and administer medications. They also enforce strict sanitary and hygienic procedures for strict compliance of the staff. A clinical supervisor must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry to discuss recommendations and evaluate work procedures to provide the patients' highest quality services.

Clinical externship vs clinical supervisor salary

Clinical externships and clinical supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Supervisor
Average salary	$35,831	$61,615
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $51,000	Between $43,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	Alameda, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Genentech	Apple
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between clinical externship and clinical supervisor education

There are a few differences between a clinical externship and a clinical supervisor in terms of educational background:

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Psychology	Nursing
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	University of Pennsylvania

Clinical externship vs clinical supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between clinical externships' and clinical supervisors' demographics:

	Clinical Externship	Clinical Supervisor
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 25.8% Female, 74.2%	Male, 24.2% Female, 75.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 3.1% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	15%	15%

Differences between clinical externship and clinical supervisor duties and responsibilities

Clinical externship example responsibilities.

Set up and manage new medical transcription department.
Manage large scale TMF inventory/file cleanup projects in preparation for FDA and EMA inspections.
Manage difficult or emotional patient situations, with compassion and professionalism.
Participate in multiple studies managing CTM activities for various therapeutic areas simultaneously including oncology, urology, transplant, and immunology.
Monitor EKG's, assess blood pressure, palpate heart rates, safely progress patients in exercise.
Perform manual data entry in CTMS, TMF, CRF imaging and various departmental databases.

Clinical supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage the clinical reimbursement coordinators traveling schedule to ensure that facilities have adequate MDS coverage.
Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in EMR system.
Assist with implementation of OSHA, emergency preparedness, infection control and regulatory compliance for the medical clinic.
Participate in training on various topics such as HIPAA compliance, treatment planning, co-occurring disorders and crisis management.
Pick to be part of a group that work to establish the insurance information house in the EMR system.
Provide annual OSHA require health education, maintain the OSHA log and submit the final annual summary to company management.

Clinical externship vs clinical supervisor skills

Common clinical externship skills

Patients, 32%
Mental Health, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 4%
Vital Signs, 4%
Substance Abuse, 4%

Common clinical supervisor skills

Patients, 17%
Social Work, 8%
Autism, 7%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 6%
ABA, 5%
Clinical Supervision, 4%

Clinical Externship vs. similar jobs

Clinical Externship related careers

Clinical Externship related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Community and Social Services Industry
Clinical Externship
Clinical Externship vs Clinical Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs