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The differences between hospital medical assistants and medical assisting externs 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 medical assisting extern. Additionally, a medical assisting extern has an average salary of $35,737, which is higher than the $35,545 average annual salary of a hospital medical assistant.
The top three skills for a hospital medical assistant include patients, vital signs and customer service. The most important skills for a medical assisting extern are patients, vital signs, and EKG.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $35,545 | $35,737 |
| Hourly rate | $17.09 | $17.18 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 164,640 | 81,077 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| 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 medical assisting extern is responsible for supporting the medical team in ensuring that the patients are offered the best care services by providing treatments and medications. Medical assisting externs' duties include practicing their medical skills by shadowing on medical professionals' activities, assisting patients with their inquiries and concerns, facilitating medical procedures with the doctor's supervision, and learning to operate medical tools and equipment as needed. A medical assisting extern must have excellent knowledge in the health industry, as well as a fast-learner to be familiarized with the complexities of medical processes and procedures.
Hospital medical assistants and medical assisting externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Average salary | $35,545 | $35,737 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $45,000 | Between $26,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Woburn, MA | - |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | - |
| Best paying company | Student Conservation Association | - |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a hospital medical assistant and a medical assisting extern in terms of educational background:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between hospital medical assistants' and medical assisting externs' demographics:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1% | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% |
| 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, 10.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 9.6% White, 50.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |