Medication aide vs medical assistant

The differences between medication aides and medical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become a medication aide, becoming a medical assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $34,900 average annual salary of a medical assistant.

The top three skills for a medication aide include compassion, resident care and state regulations. The most important skills for a medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.

Medication aide vs medical assistant overview

	Medication Aide	Medical Assistant
Yearly salary	$40,799	$34,900
Hourly rate	$19.61	$16.78
Growth rate	9%	16%
Number of jobs	275,582	189,915
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 23%	Associate Degree, 24%
Average age	42	37
Years of experience	3	12

What does a medication aide do?

A medication aide is a healthcare professional who is responsible for administering medication to patients daily in a hospital or medical facility. As certified nursing assistants, medication aides should possess knowledge of patient care procedures so that they can coordinate with different nurses to deliver them. They follow written or verbal instructions from physicians on how to manage their patients' medications. Medication aides are also required to observe their patients and document changes in their conditions.

What does a medical assistant do?

Medical assistants provide support to medical practitioners in both administrative and clerical tasks. They keep and update the patient's medical records, administer medicines under the supervision of a physician, assist during medical examinations, prepare medical samples for laboratory testing, manage the schedule of appointments, and assist the patients with their bills and in filling out needed forms, such as insurance-related documents. Medical assistants should have good communication skills and analytical skills, be organized, and be flexible. They should also have knowledge of how to operate some medical equipment such as x-ray machines.

Medication aide vs medical assistant salary

Medication aides and medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medication Aide	Medical Assistant
Average salary	$40,799	$34,900
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $50,000	Between $27,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Madison, WI	Vancouver, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between medication aide and medical assistant education

There are a few differences between a medication aide and a medical assistant in terms of educational background:

	Medication Aide	Medical Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 23%	Associate Degree, 24%
Most common major	Nursing	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	-	-

Medication aide vs medical assistant demographics

Here are the differences between medication aides' and medical assistants' demographics:

	Medication Aide	Medical Assistant
Average age	42	37
Gender ratio	Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3%	Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between medication aide and medical assistant duties and responsibilities

Medication aide example responsibilities.

Manage memory unity within facility.
Provide care for patients in need of long term care and rehabilitation.
Administer medication according to state laws and guidelines as well as facility guidelines and assist residents with ADL's.
preserve patient's dignity while providing such duties as bedpan changes, bathing, diapering, emptying catheter and colostomy bags.
Assist with changing colostomy bags.
learned to be more efficient with time restraints!

Medical assistant example responsibilities.

Create and maintain confidential patient files; implement EHR systems to automate patient records management for the purposes of meaningful use.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Participate in emergency surgical intervention in obstetrics and gynecology patients.
Demonstrate proficiency in taking patient history and vitals, venipuncture, injections, urinalysis and preparing examination trays.
Attend to new out patients in gynecology clinic, make clinical diagnosis and follow up.
Provide RMA support to physician, and patients, including but not limit to vitals and patient history.

Medication aide vs medical assistant skills

Common medication aide skills

Compassion, 11%
Resident Care, 11%
State Regulations, 8%
Infection Control, 7%
Incident Reports, 5%
Vital Signs, 5%

Common medical assistant skills

Patients, 20%
Vital Signs, 10%
Patient Care, 9%
Phlebotomy, 4%
CPR, 4%
EKG, 4%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Medication Aide
Medication Aide vs Medical Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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