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The differences between hospital medical assistants and clinical 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 hospital medical assistant and a clinical assistant. Additionally, a hospital medical assistant has an average salary of $35,545, which is higher than the $30,215 average annual salary of a clinical assistant.
The top three skills for a hospital medical assistant include patients, vital signs and customer service. The most important skills for a clinical assistant are patients, customer service, and PET.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Clinical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,545 | $30,215 |
| Hourly rate | $17.09 | $14.53 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 164,640 | 101,926 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Hospital Medical Assistants offer a variety of services like clerical, technical, and patient care as long as they work under nurses or medical practitioners' supervision. While their specific tasks vary depending on the hospital, practice, or medical facility, they generally support medical practitioners and members of the health care team by recording vital patient information and occasionally assisting with minor, office-based procedures. Working as a hospital medical assistant requires skills like organizational skills, professionalism, confidentiality, and people skills to reach top performance levels for the role.
A clinical assistant is responsible for assisting medical professionals with medical procedures and ensure a high level of patient care. Clinical assistants perform minor clinic procedures such as taking patients' temperature, sterilizing medical equipment, proper dumping of disposable items, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, processing payments, arranging appointment schedules, and maintaining an organized record of patients' information, such as their medical history and health insurance records. A clinical assistant must strictly adhere to sanitary and hygienic procedures at all times to promote a safe and clean environment for the patients.
Hospital medical assistants and clinical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Clinical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,545 | $30,215 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $45,000 | Between $13,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Woburn, MA | Brockton, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Student Conservation Association | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Education | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a hospital medical assistant and a clinical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Clinical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Psychology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between hospital medical assistants' and clinical assistants' demographics:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Clinical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1% | Male, 18.4% Female, 81.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 9.5% White, 51.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 8.9% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |