Medical scribe vs student medical assistant-externship

The differences between medical scribes and student medical assistant-externships 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 scribe and a student medical assistant-externship. Additionally, a student medical assistant-externship has an average salary of $35,588, 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 student medical assistant-externship are patients, vital signs, and EKG.

Medical scribe vs student medical assistant-externship overview

	Medical Scribe	Student Medical Assistant-Externship
Yearly salary	$30,045	$35,588
Hourly rate	$14.44	$17.11
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	80,035	178,362
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	12	12

What does a medical scribe do?

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.

What does a student medical assistant-externship do?

Student Medical Assistant Externship is a broad term for catering students for short, reliable, and practical work experience. Once you graduate, you can get a chance to meet contacts that may be useful for your career. You can have a better chance to work in a clinic, hospital, and any medical platform after going through this kind of externship.

Medical scribe vs student medical assistant-externship salary

Medical scribes and student medical assistant-externships have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Scribe	Student Medical Assistant-Externship
Average salary	$30,045	$35,588
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $38,000	Between $26,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	Boston Medical Center	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between medical scribe and student medical assistant-externship education

There are a few differences between a medical scribe and a student medical assistant-externship in terms of educational background:

	Medical Scribe	Student Medical Assistant-Externship
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Biology	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	-	-

Medical scribe vs student medical assistant-externship demographics

Here are the differences between medical scribes' and student medical assistant-externships' demographics:

	Medical Scribe	Student Medical Assistant-Externship
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6%	Male, 23.8% Female, 76.2%
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, 12.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 9.4% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between medical scribe and student medical assistant-externship duties and responsibilities

Medical scribe example responsibilities.

Manage sensitive and confidential materials such as patient health records following HIPAA regulations.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Rotate in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, orthopedic surgery, and burn medicine departments
Transcribe patient orders including laboratory tests results, radiology test findings, medications, allergies.
Utilize PC and LIS to enter and retrieve patient data, includes verifying orders and retrieving results using HIPAA compliance.
Perform Phlebotomy procedures on patients.

Student medical assistant-externship example responsibilities.

Perform EKG's, ear cleanings, injections, nail cultures and assist with women's yearly physicals.
Gain experience in performing routine patient care interventions while developing strong organizational skills while caring for patients.
Shadowed/Assist official personnel on performance of special procedures, patient evaluation, transporting patients, therapeutic exercises and body mechanics/functional mobility.
Observe various departments and operations within the hospital and clinical setting environment including surgery, radiology, urology, and emergency.
Review and administration of medications, allergies and other pharmacology relate items.
Perform CLIA wave laboratory testing.

Medical scribe vs student medical assistant-externship skills

Common medical scribe skills

Patients, 18%
Medical Terminology, 17%
Excellent Organizational, 10%
Physician Assistants, 8%
Emergency Medicine, 6%
HIPAA, 4%

Common student medical assistant-externship skills

Patients, 35%
Vital Signs, 11%
EKG, 5%
CPR, 5%
Data Entry, 3%
Surgery, 3%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Medical Scribe
Medical Scribe vs Student Medical Assistant-Externship

Updated January 8, 2025

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