Operating room assistant vs certified medical technician

The differences between operating room assistants and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become an operating room assistant, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $34,177 average annual salary of an operating room assistant.

The top three skills for an operating room assistant include patients, surgery and anesthesia. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Operating room assistant vs certified medical technician overview

	Operating Room Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$34,177	$38,859
Hourly rate	$16.43	$18.68
Growth rate	9%	5%
Number of jobs	218,839	164,424
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	42	44
Years of experience	3	12

What does an operating room assistant do?

An operating room assistant works alongside the surgeons in maintaining the orderly and sterile nature of operating rooms. The assistant ensures that all surgical equipment is clean and hygienic, all monitoring equipment is functional, and everything needed by the doctor is present inside the operating room. The assistant position is vital during an operation. The surgeon may become too focused on the operation at hand that helpful assistants must ensure an operation's smooth flow.

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.

Operating room assistant vs certified medical technician salary

Operating room assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Operating Room Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$34,177	$38,859
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $43,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Santa Monica, CA	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between operating room assistant and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between an operating room assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Operating Room Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Operating room assistant vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between operating room assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Operating Room Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	42	44
Gender ratio	Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.1% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	7%	8%

Differences between operating room assistant and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Operating room assistant example responsibilities.

Manage facility organization and cleanliness, maximizing the utilization of the facility and the efficiency of athlete's training routines.
Attach electrodes to patients in order to monitor electrocardiogram [EKG].
Obtain specimens, perform CPR, provide first aid, and check vital signs.
Facilitate patient safety while under anesthesia and awaking from anesthesia.
Review all group booking reports (Delphi).
Aid surgeons in suturing and management of trauma 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.

Operating room assistant vs certified medical technician skills

Common operating room assistant skills

Patients, 34%
Surgery, 11%
Anesthesia, 5%
Room Turnover, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 3%
Cleanliness, 3%

Common certified medical technician skills

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

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Operating Room Assistant
Operating Room Assistant vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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