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Hospital medical assistant vs student medical assistant-externship

The differences between hospital medical 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 hospital medical 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 $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 student medical assistant-externship are patients, vital signs, and EKG.

Hospital medical assistant vs student medical assistant-externship overview

Hospital Medical AssistantStudent Medical Assistant-Externship
Yearly salary$35,545$35,588
Hourly rate$17.09$17.11
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs164,640178,362
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age3737
Years of experience1212

What does a hospital medical assistant do?

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.

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.

Hospital medical assistant vs student medical assistant-externship salary

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

Hospital Medical AssistantStudent Medical Assistant-Externship
Average salary$35,545$35,588
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $45,000Between $26,000 And $47,000
Highest paying CityWoburn, MA-
Highest paying stateMassachusetts-
Best paying companyStudent Conservation Association-
Best paying industryEducation-

Differences between hospital medical assistant and student medical assistant-externship education

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

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

Hospital medical assistant vs student medical assistant-externship demographics

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

Hospital Medical AssistantStudent Medical Assistant-Externship
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 31.9% Female, 68.1%Male, 23.8% Female, 76.2%
Race ratioBlack 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, 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 hospital medical assistant and student medical assistant-externship duties and responsibilities

Hospital medical assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage medical/isolation stalls and surgery treatment facility and assist in post surgery care.
  • Promote patient wellness and conduct patient education and ensure adherence to all OSHA and HIPAA regulations.
  • Accredit training for OSHA, JACHO for safety practices and procedures.
  • Administer EKG, range of motion, treatments, and physical assessment tests.
  • Write incoming, outgoing calls from patient, family member or PCP in their charts (EMR).
  • Maintain CPR certification and continuing education for position.
  • 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

Hospital medical assistant vs student medical assistant-externship skills

Common hospital medical assistant skills
  • Patients, 23%
  • Vital Signs, 9%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • CPR, 8%
  • Medical Terminology, 5%
  • Phlebotomy, 5%
Common student medical assistant-externship skills
  • Patients, 35%
  • Vital Signs, 11%
  • EKG, 5%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Data Entry, 3%
  • Surgery, 3%

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