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The differences between medical assistants and student 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 and a student medical assistant. Additionally, a student medical assistant has an average salary of $37,781, which is higher than the $34,900 average annual salary of a medical assistant.
The top three skills for a medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a student medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and laboratory specimens.
| Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $34,900 | $37,781 |
| Hourly rate | $16.78 | $18.16 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 189,915 | 181,396 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 24% | Associate Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Medical assistants provide support to medical practitioners in both administrative and clerical tasks. They keep and update the patient's medical records, administer medicines under the supervision of a physician, assist during medical examinations, prepare medical samples for laboratory testing, manage the schedule of appointments, and assist the patients with their bills and in filling out needed forms, such as insurance-related documents. Medical assistants should have good communication skills and analytical skills, be organized, and be flexible. They should also have knowledge of how to operate some medical equipment such as x-ray machines.
It is evident that the student medical assistant does work for the administration and clinical expertise. One must know that they are known as medical analysts and devote themselves to addressing the problem of patients and medical assistants.
Medical assistants and student medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $34,900 | $37,781 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $43,000 | Between $26,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | - |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | - |
| Best paying company | Columbia University in the City of New York | - |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a medical assistant and a student medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 24% | Associate Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical assistants' and student medical assistants' demographics:
| Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6% | Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 9.2% White, 50.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |