Office nurse vs certified medical technician

The differences between office nurses and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an office nurse, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an office nurse has an average salary of $58,587, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for an office nurse include patients, vital signs and patient education. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Office nurse vs certified medical technician overview

	Office Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$58,587	$38,859
Hourly rate	$28.17	$18.68
Growth rate	6%	5%
Number of jobs	278,856	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does an office nurse do?

Office Nurses are responsible for preparing patients for examinations, administering injections, treating wounds and incisions. Other duties include cleaning and sterilizing various instruments and equipment.

What does a certified medical technician do?

Certified Medical Technicians are specialists in medical diagnoses by performing laboratory testing and analysis for hospitals and physicians. Their duties include lab sanitization to prepare for testing and collection, recording medical samples for testing, specimen preparation, blood drawing for donation and testing, and assisting physicians with sample collection as well as equipment handling in surgical rooms. They must also understand how to use complex and sensitive testing equipment such as cell counters, analyzers, microscopes, and centrifuges.

Office nurse vs certified medical technician salary

Office nurses and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Office Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$58,587	$38,859
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $87,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Uniondale, NY	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	New York	Alaska
Best paying company	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between office nurse and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between an office nurse and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Office Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Emory University	University of Connecticut

Office nurse vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between office nurses' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Office Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 5.0% Female, 95.0%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	9%	8%

Differences between office nurse and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Office nurse example responsibilities.

Case manage FMLA cases on a daily basis regarding FMLA abuse and employees with attendance issues.
Recognize and manage maternal complications: hemorrhage, preeclampsia, endometritis.
Monitor patients status that are on telemetry.
Facilitate ADL's and assist patients with functional mobility to increase comfort and quality of life.
Assist with patients, obtain EKG's, screen phone calls, and relay information to the physician.
Collect patient vital signs; monitor fetal heartbeats/rate/monitore fetal monitors for premature labor patients.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Office nurse vs certified medical technician skills

Common office nurse skills

Patients, 30%
Vital Signs, 7%
Patient Education, 5%
EKG, 4%
Exam Rooms, 4%
In-Office Procedures, 4%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Office Nurse
Office Nurse vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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