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Optometrist assistant vs medical assistant externship

The differences between optometrist assistants and medical assistant externships can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an optometrist assistant and a medical assistant externship. Additionally, an optometrist assistant has an average salary of $122,813, which is higher than the $35,460 average annual salary of a medical assistant externship.

The top three skills for an optometrist assistant include patients, appointment scheduling and exam rooms. The most important skills for a medical assistant externship are patients, vital signs, and EKG.

Optometrist assistant vs medical assistant externship overview

Optometrist AssistantMedical Assistant Externship
Yearly salary$122,813$35,460
Hourly rate$59.04$17.05
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs48,461172,671
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%Diploma, 31%
Average age3737
Years of experience1212

Optometrist assistant vs medical assistant externship salary

Optometrist assistants and medical assistant externships have different pay scales, as shown below.

Optometrist AssistantMedical Assistant Externship
Average salary$122,813$35,460
Salary rangeBetween $85,000 And $177,000Between $23,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between optometrist assistant and medical assistant externship education

There are a few differences between an optometrist assistant and a medical assistant externship in terms of educational background:

Optometrist AssistantMedical Assistant Externship
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%Diploma, 31%
Most common majorBusinessMedical Assisting Services
Most common college--

Optometrist assistant vs medical assistant externship demographics

Here are the differences between optometrist assistants' and medical assistant externships' demographics:

Optometrist AssistantMedical Assistant Externship
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 11.8% Female, 88.2%Male, 15.3% Female, 84.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 24.7% Asian, 9.9% White, 50.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%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 Percentage6%6%

Differences between optometrist assistant and medical assistant externship duties and responsibilities

Optometrist assistant example responsibilities.

  • Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
  • Pretest patients on NCT, OCT, refractomotor, visual field machine, and retinal camera.
  • Check in and work up patients for eye exam, assist optometrist with retinal photos, glaucoma testing and basic refraction.
  • Perform require pretests for the Dr's.
  • Perform OCT scan of optic nerve, macula, and fundus photo.
  • Clean and maintain equipment and instruments in the optometric area, pre-test room, and restock inventories.
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Medical assistant externship example responsibilities.

  • Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
  • Perform various clinical duties, such as vital signs, EKG's, urinalysis, PFT's, and rooming/interviewing patients.
  • Interview patients during check-in/check-out procedures to obtain their medical information following HIPAA standards.
  • Perform EKG, pregnancy test, vision & hearing examinations, as well as analyzed and document controls for urinalysis.
  • Back office duties including taking patients vitals, CLIA waive testing, and assisting the doctor and nurse practitioner as needed.
  • Assist podiatrists with patients suffering from complications relate to diabetes or obesity.
  • Show more

Optometrist assistant vs medical assistant externship skills

Common optometrist assistant skills
  • Patients, 37%
  • Appointment Scheduling, 7%
  • Exam Rooms, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Eye Exams, 3%
  • Front Desk, 3%
Common medical assistant externship skills
  • Patients, 24%
  • Vital Signs, 13%
  • EKG, 8%
  • Office Procedures, 7%
  • Exam Rooms, 6%
  • Laboratory Specimens, 3%

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