Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between medical scribes and certified nursing assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a medical scribe, becoming a certified nursing assistant takes usually requires 1-3 months. Additionally, a certified nursing assistant has an average salary of $32,597, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a medical scribe.
The top three skills for a medical scribe include patients, medical terminology and excellent organizational. The most important skills for a certified nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.
| Medical Scribe | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,045 | $32,597 |
| Hourly rate | $14.44 | $15.67 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 80,035 | 225,834 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.12 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Average age | 37 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 3 |
As a medical scribe, their main responsibility is to follow a physician's daily work and do charting of patient encounters in real-time by accessing their medical electronic health record (EHR). It is their duty to make sure the patient schedules are followed, generate referral letters for physicians and manage and sort medical documents within the EHR. Medical scribes can be held as data custodians, medical assistants, and nurses to focus on patient in-take and care throughout clinic hours. In addition, they manage patient flow through the clinic and increase productivity to cater to more patients.
A certified nursing assistant generally assists patients in their healthcare needs and medical procedures. They support patients in their daily activities by monitoring patients' temperature and food intake, ensuring the cleanliness of the patient's room, and keeping documentation of patients' conditions for reference of nurses and doctors. A certified nursing assistant should also communicate with patients' families and provide updates as often as needed. It is also important that a nursing assistant is patient and compassionate enough to attend to direct patient needs, which could get demanding or challenging at times.
Medical scribes and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Scribe | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,045 | $32,597 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $38,000 | Between $24,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Boston Medical Center | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical scribe and a certified nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medical Scribe | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Most common major | Biology | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical scribes' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:
| Medical Scribe | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6% | Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 9.7% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |