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The differences between medical assistant externships and lead 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 lead medical assistant. Additionally, a lead medical assistant has an average salary of $38,303, 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 lead medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Lead Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,460 | $38,303 |
| Hourly rate | $17.05 | $18.41 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 172,671 | 163,228 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| 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 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.
Medical assistant externships and lead medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Lead Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,460 | $38,303 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $54,000 | Between $23,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a medical assistant externship and a lead medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Lead 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 lead medical assistants' demographics:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Lead Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7% | Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1% |
| 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, 9.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 26.6% Asian, 8.7% White, 49.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |