Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between medical office assistants and medical assisting externs 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 office assistant and a medical assisting extern. Additionally, a medical assisting extern has an average salary of $35,737, which is higher than the $33,025 average annual salary of a medical office assistant.
The top three skills for a medical office assistant include patients, patient care and vital signs. The most important skills for a medical assisting extern are patients, vital signs, and EKG.
| Medical Office Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $33,025 | $35,737 |
| Hourly rate | $15.88 | $17.18 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 199,611 | 81,077 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 28% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A medical office assistant, or sometimes known as a medical administrative assistant, is an individual who performs administrative functions for a hospital or clinic. Medical office assistants are responsible for all office duties such as accounting, medical transcription, and filing insurance claims. They interview their patients about medical case history and critical information and must also compile their medical records. They must also possess knowledge in topics such as medical terminology and medical law and ethics.
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.
Medical office assistants and medical assisting externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Office Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Average salary | $33,025 | $35,737 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $38,000 | Between $26,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | - |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | - |
| Best paying company | Erickson Senior Living | - |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a medical office assistant and a medical assisting extern in terms of educational background:
| Medical Office Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 28% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical office assistants' and medical assisting externs' demographics:
| Medical Office Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 8.3% Female, 91.7% | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 9.0% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |