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The differences between medical assistant externships and medical laboratory 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 medical laboratory assistant. Additionally, a medical assistant externship has an average salary of $35,460, which is higher than the $34,673 average annual salary of a medical laboratory assistant.
The top three skills for a medical assistant externship include patients, vital signs and EKG. The most important skills for a medical laboratory assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Medical Laboratory Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,460 | $34,673 |
| Hourly rate | $17.05 | $16.67 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 172,671 | 124,322 |
| 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 medical laboratory assistant is in charge of performing support tasks while under the supervision and directives of a more experienced medical technician or scientist. Their responsibilities typically revolve around collecting samples such as blood and tissues, preparing slides, running tests using machines and equipment, and maintaining records of all procedures and results. Furthermore, a medical laboratory assistant must also keep the cleanliness of the laboratory, organize and monitor inventories, procure supplies, and implement the laboratory's policies and regulations.
Medical assistant externships and medical laboratory assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Assistant Externship | Medical Laboratory Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,460 | $34,673 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $54,000 | Between $27,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Eugene, OR |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical assistant externship and a medical laboratory assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Medical Laboratory 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 medical laboratory assistants' demographics:
| Medical Assistant Externship | Medical Laboratory Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7% | Male, 18.9% Female, 81.1% |
| 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, 11.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 9.1% White, 51.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |