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The differences between nurses' aides and clinical 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 nurses' aide, becoming a clinical medical assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a clinical medical assistant has an average salary of $37,052, which is higher than the $30,496 average annual salary of a nurses' aide.
The top three skills for a nurses' aide include patients, vital signs and electrocardiogram. The most important skills for a clinical medical assistant are patients, patient care, and vital signs.
| Nurses' Aide | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,496 | $37,052 |
| Hourly rate | $14.66 | $17.81 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 157,723 | 233,464 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 12 |
A nurses' aide is responsible for providing healthcare and welfare assistance to patients in long-term care facilities while under the supervision of a registered nurse or a licensed colleague with extensive expertise. A nurses' aide is mostly involved in basic hygienic tasks, such as helping a patient in bathing and dressing, using the toilet, preparing meals, feeding, and performing basic chores. It is also vital for a nurses' aide to coordinate with supervisors, reporting any changes in a patients' condition or behavior.
A clinical medical assistant specializes in performing administrative and clinical tasks in a hospital or similar setting. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering a patient's information, medical history, test results, and other essential documentation, and updating patient medical records. Other tasks include reaching out to patients' families and guardians, assisting health workers with room preparation and patient care, and preparing medications and other treatments, all in adherence to a physician's directives. Furthermore, a clinical medical assistant may conduct inspections to ensure that the hospital complies with government regulations.
Nurses' aides and clinical medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nurses' Aide | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,496 | $37,052 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $39,000 | Between $29,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Brigham and Women's Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a nurses' aide and a clinical medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Nurses' Aide | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between nurses' aides' and clinical medical assistants' demographics:
| Nurses' Aide | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% | Male, 10.8% Female, 89.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 7.6% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.3% Asian, 9.1% White, 51.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |