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The differences between medical assistant externships 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 medical assistant externship and a clinical assistant. Additionally, a medical assistant externship has an average salary of $35,460, which is higher than the $30,215 average annual salary of a clinical assistant.
The top three skills for a medical assistant externship include patients, vital signs and EKG. The most important skills for a clinical assistant are patients, customer service, and PET.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,460 | $30,215 |
| Hourly rate | $17.05 | $14.53 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 172,671 | 101,926 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Diploma, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Medical assistant externs are medical school students who took the opportunity to get on-the-job training at a medical facility, usually a hospital. They spend a set amount of time in the facility. Medical assistant externs do job shadowing. They join their mentors, who are usually doctors or other health professionals, in their daily activities. Unlike usual on-the-job trainees, medical assistant externs do not really work on administrative activities. Instead, they are given the opportunity to truly be exposed to the actual work in a medical facility. They experience talking to patients and their families, performing basic medical tasks under the supervision of a doctor, and interpreting laboratory results with their mentors.
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.
Medical assistant externships and clinical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,460 | $30,215 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $54,000 | Between $13,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Brockton, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | - | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a medical assistant externship and a clinical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Diploma, 31% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Psychology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical assistant externships' and clinical assistants' demographics:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7% | Male, 18.4% Female, 81.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.9% Asian, 9.3% White, 50.5% 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% |