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The differences between medical transcriptionists and medical assistant externships can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medical transcriptionist has an average salary of $38,725, which is higher than the $35,460 average annual salary of a medical assistant externship.
The top three skills for a medical transcriptionist include transcription, dictation and discharge summaries. The most important skills for a medical assistant externship are patients, vital signs, and EKG.
| Medical Transcriptionist | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Yearly salary | $38,725 | $35,460 |
| Hourly rate | $18.62 | $17.05 |
| Growth rate | -7% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 78,292 | 172,671 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | Diploma, 31% |
| Average age | 41 | 37 |
| Years of experience | - | 12 |
A Medical Transcriptionist is responsible for accurately transcribing audio records from Physicians and other health workers as part of a patient's medical history or other necessary documentation. Most of the time, a Medical Transcriptionist must sign non-disclosure agreements as the majority of the information relayed are personal and confidential. Furthermore, they must be meticulous in detecting inconsistencies and errors, translating or converting the information gathered into various medical documents, performing edits and revision, and following up any missing detail.
Medical assistant externs are medical school students who took the opportunity to get on-the-job training at a medical facility, usually a hospital. They spend a set amount of time in the facility. Medical assistant externs do job shadowing. They join their mentors, who are usually doctors or other health professionals, in their daily activities. Unlike usual on-the-job trainees, medical assistant externs do not really work on administrative activities. Instead, they are given the opportunity to truly be exposed to the actual work in a medical facility. They experience talking to patients and their families, performing basic medical tasks under the supervision of a doctor, and interpreting laboratory results with their mentors.
Medical transcriptionists and medical assistant externships have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Transcriptionist | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Average salary | $38,725 | $35,460 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $47,000 | Between $23,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | - |
| Best paying company | White Plains Hospital | - |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a medical transcriptionist and a medical assistant externship in terms of educational background:
| Medical Transcriptionist | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | Diploma, 31% |
| Most common major | Health Care Administration | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medical transcriptionists' and medical assistant externships' demographics:
| Medical Transcriptionist | Medical Assistant Externship | |
| Average age | 41 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 6.3% Female, 93.7% | Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.9% Asian, 9.3% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |