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Health assistant vs student medical assistant-externship

The differences between health assistants and student medical assistant-externships can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a health assistant and a student medical assistant-externship. Additionally, a student medical assistant-externship has an average salary of $35,588, which is higher than the $31,960 average annual salary of a health assistant.

The top three skills for a health assistant include patients, CPR and customer service. The most important skills for a student medical assistant-externship are patients, vital signs, and EKG.

Health assistant vs student medical assistant-externship overview

Health AssistantStudent Medical Assistant-Externship
Yearly salary$31,960$35,588
Hourly rate$15.37$17.11
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs100,084178,362
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age3737
Years of experience1212

What does a health assistant do?

A health assistant is responsible for providing quality care for the patients under the supervision of registered nurses and attending physicians. Health assistants perform basic medical procedures, such as collecting specimens for examinations, checking the patients' conditions, and administering required medications. They also assist health care professionals in conducting complex medical processes by preparing the equipment and ensuring the cleanliness of the operating room. A health assistant keeps an organized record of medical charts for the doctor's reference and may also coordinate with the patient's family for medical updates.

What does a student medical assistant-externship do?

Student Medical Assistant Externship is a broad term for catering students for short, reliable, and practical work experience. Once you graduate, you can get a chance to meet contacts that may be useful for your career. You can have a better chance to work in a clinic, hospital, and any medical platform after going through this kind of externship.

Health assistant vs student medical assistant-externship salary

Health assistants and student medical assistant-externships have different pay scales, as shown below.

Health AssistantStudent Medical Assistant-Externship
Average salary$31,960$35,588
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $43,000Between $26,000 And $47,000
Highest paying CityCambridge, MA-
Highest paying stateMassachusetts-
Best paying companyBoston Public Schools-
Best paying industryGovernment-

Differences between health assistant and student medical assistant-externship education

There are a few differences between a health assistant and a student medical assistant-externship in terms of educational background:

Health AssistantStudent Medical Assistant-Externship
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common majorNursingMedical Assisting Services
Most common college--

Health assistant vs student medical assistant-externship demographics

Here are the differences between health assistants' and student medical assistant-externships' demographics:

Health AssistantStudent Medical Assistant-Externship
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 17.9% Female, 82.1%Male, 23.8% Female, 76.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 9.5% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 9.4% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between health assistant and student medical assistant-externship duties and responsibilities

Health assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
  • Review and do compliance of school health records in NYC public schools to ensure adherence to protocols and for quality control.
  • Study correlation of high incarceration rates and community health indicators in NYC neighborhoods
  • Provide breastfeeding promotion to all WIC women as the preferred infant feeding method.
  • Learned how to triage campers during health center hours on a case to case basis.
  • Perform diagnostic procedure including but not limit to EKG's, urine dipsticks, etc.
  • Show more

Student medical assistant-externship example responsibilities.

  • Perform EKG's, ear cleanings, injections, nail cultures and assist with women's yearly physicals.
  • Gain experience in performing routine patient care interventions while developing strong organizational skills while caring for patients.
  • Shadowed/Assist official personnel on performance of special procedures, patient evaluation, transporting patients, therapeutic exercises and body mechanics/functional mobility.
  • Observe various departments and operations within the hospital and clinical setting environment including surgery, radiology, urology, and emergency.
  • Review and administration of medications, allergies and other pharmacology relate items.
  • Perform CLIA wave laboratory testing.
  • Show more

Health assistant vs student medical assistant-externship skills

Common health assistant skills
  • Patients, 18%
  • CPR, 10%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Vital Signs, 5%
  • Mental Health, 5%
  • Health Services, 4%
Common student medical assistant-externship skills
  • Patients, 35%
  • Vital Signs, 11%
  • EKG, 5%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Data Entry, 3%
  • Surgery, 3%

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