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The differences between medical assistant externships and clinical 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 medical assistant externship and a clinical medical assistant. Additionally, a clinical medical assistant has an average salary of $37,052, which is higher than the $35,460 average annual salary of a medical assistant externship.
The top three skills for a medical assistant externship include patients, vital signs and EKG. The most important skills for a clinical medical assistant are patients, patient care, and vital signs.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,460 | $37,052 |
| Hourly rate | $17.05 | $17.81 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 172,671 | 233,464 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Diploma, 31% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| 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 medical assistant specializes in performing administrative and clinical tasks in a hospital or similar setting. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering a patient's information, medical history, test results, and other essential documentation, and updating patient medical records. Other tasks include reaching out to patients' families and guardians, assisting health workers with room preparation and patient care, and preparing medications and other treatments, all in adherence to a physician's directives. Furthermore, a clinical medical assistant may conduct inspections to ensure that the hospital complies with government regulations.
Medical assistant externships and clinical medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,460 | $37,052 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $54,000 | Between $29,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Brigham and Women's Hospital |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical assistant externship and a clinical medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Diploma, 31% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical assistant externships' and clinical medical assistants' demographics:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7% | Male, 10.8% Female, 89.2% |
| 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, 23.3% Asian, 9.1% White, 51.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |