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The differences between clinical medical assistants and lead medical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a clinical medical assistant and a lead medical assistant. Additionally, a lead medical assistant has an average salary of $38,303, which is higher than the $37,052 average annual salary of a clinical medical assistant.
The top three skills for a clinical medical assistant include patients, patient care and vital signs. The most important skills for a lead medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Lead Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,052 | $38,303 |
| Hourly rate | $17.81 | $18.41 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 233,464 | 163,228 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 27% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A clinical medical assistant specializes in performing administrative and clinical tasks in a hospital or similar setting. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering a patient's information, medical history, test results, and other essential documentation, and updating patient medical records. Other tasks include reaching out to patients' families and guardians, assisting health workers with room preparation and patient care, and preparing medications and other treatments, all in adherence to a physician's directives. Furthermore, a clinical medical assistant may conduct inspections to ensure that the hospital complies with government regulations.
A lead medical assistant performs administrative support tasks for clinical teams to provide optimal care and services to patients. They work under the supervision of a clinical manager whom they report to regularly. Among their responsibilities include establishing staff schedules and guidelines, conducting research and analysis, coordinating staff, reviewing medical charts and reports, organizing documents, and training new members of the workforce. Moreover, they may also assist patients by answering inquiries, performing follow-up calls to confirm appointment schedules, and preparing patients by giving them the information they need.
Clinical medical assistants and lead medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Lead Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,052 | $38,303 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $46,000 | Between $23,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | - |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a clinical medical assistant and a lead medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Lead Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 27% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between clinical medical assistants' and lead medical assistants' demographics:
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Lead Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.8% Female, 89.2% | Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.3% Asian, 9.1% White, 51.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 26.6% Asian, 8.7% White, 49.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |