Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between hospital medical assistants and registered 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 hospital medical assistant and a registered medical assistant. Additionally, a registered medical assistant has an average salary of $36,580, 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 registered medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and office procedures.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Registered Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,545 | $36,580 |
| Hourly rate | $17.09 | $17.59 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 164,640 | 183,988 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Associate 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.
The primary job of registered medical assistants is to perform clinical and administrative tasks in a healthcare setting. They offer support services to physicians, so the latter have plenty of time to care for patients. They carry out varied administrative, clerical, and clinical tasks that include taking vital signs, filing records, and scheduling patient appointments. Other responsibilities include discussing treatment procedures to patients, interacting with patients, and collecting laboratory specimens such as tissue and blood. Ideal characteristics to become a registered medical assistant include being compassionate, can work well with people, and adaptable.
Hospital medical assistants and registered medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Registered Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,545 | $36,580 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $45,000 | Between $26,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Woburn, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Student Conservation Association | Griffin Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a hospital medical assistant and a registered medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Registered Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Associate Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between hospital medical assistants' and registered medical assistants' demographics:
| Hospital Medical Assistant | Registered Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1% | Male, 8.2% Female, 91.8% |
| 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, 11.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 8.7% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |