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The differences between lead medical assistants and unit 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 lead medical assistant and a unit assistant. Additionally, a lead medical assistant has an average salary of $38,303, which is higher than the $33,802 average annual salary of a unit assistant.
The top three skills for a lead medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a unit assistant are patients, customer service, and HIPAA.
| Lead Medical Assistant | Unit Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $38,303 | $33,802 |
| Hourly rate | $18.41 | $16.25 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 163,228 | 174,425 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 27% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A lead medical assistant performs administrative support tasks for clinical teams to provide optimal care and services to patients. They work under the supervision of a clinical manager whom they report to regularly. Among their responsibilities include establishing staff schedules and guidelines, conducting research and analysis, coordinating staff, reviewing medical charts and reports, organizing documents, and training new members of the workforce. Moreover, they may also assist patients by answering inquiries, performing follow-up calls to confirm appointment schedules, and preparing patients by giving them the information they need.
A unit assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties within a department of a health care institution, ensuring that the patients receive the highest quality care services for their concerns and needs. Unit assistants assist the patients and the visitors, confirm their appointments, and direct them to the correct personnel or medical department. They also manage the adequacy of medical supplies and report defective equipment and machine to the maintenance for immediate repairs or replacements. A unit assistant must be highly organizational, especially on storing medical records and updating patients' information on the database.
Lead medical assistants and unit assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Medical Assistant | Unit Assistant | |
| Average salary | $38,303 | $33,802 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $63,000 | Between $25,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Westfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | UC Santa Barbara |
| Best paying industry | - | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a lead medical assistant and a unit assistant in terms of educational background:
| Lead Medical Assistant | Unit Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 27% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lead medical assistants' and unit assistants' demographics:
| Lead Medical Assistant | Unit Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1% | Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 26.6% Asian, 8.7% White, 49.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 9.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |