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The differences between medical assisting externs 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 assisting extern and a clinical assistant. Additionally, a medical assisting extern has an average salary of $35,737, which is higher than the $30,215 average annual salary of a clinical assistant.
The top three skills for a medical assisting extern include patients, vital signs and EKG. The most important skills for a clinical assistant are patients, customer service, and PET.
| Medical Assisting Extern | Clinical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $35,737 | $30,215 |
| Hourly rate | $17.18 | $14.53 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 81,077 | 101,926 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A medical assisting extern is responsible for supporting the medical team in ensuring that the patients are offered the best care services by providing treatments and medications. Medical assisting externs' duties include practicing their medical skills by shadowing on medical professionals' activities, assisting patients with their inquiries and concerns, facilitating medical procedures with the doctor's supervision, and learning to operate medical tools and equipment as needed. A medical assisting extern must have excellent knowledge in the health industry, as well as a fast-learner to be familiarized with the complexities of medical processes and procedures.
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 assisting externs and clinical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Assisting Extern | Clinical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $35,737 | $30,215 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $48,000 | 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 assisting extern and a clinical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Assisting Extern | Clinical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Psychology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical assisting externs' and clinical assistants' demographics:
| Medical Assisting Extern | Clinical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% | Male, 18.4% Female, 81.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 9.6% White, 50.0% 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% |