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Prn vs clinical medical assistant

The differences between prns 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 an prn, becoming a clinical medical assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an prn has an average salary of $39,642, which is higher than the $37,052 average annual salary of a clinical medical assistant.

The top three skills for an prn include patients, healthcare and occupational therapy. The most important skills for a clinical medical assistant are patients, patient care, and vital signs.

Prn vs clinical medical assistant overview

PRNClinical Medical Assistant
Yearly salary$39,642$37,052
Hourly rate$19.06$17.81
Growth rate9%16%
Number of jobs72,309233,464
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 41%Associate Degree, 27%
Average age4237
Years of experience312

What does an prn do?

A PRN or a "pro re nata" employee is responsible for covering a shift or a specific situation, especially during short-staffing or the need to complete a particular task. The PRNs often work for a medical industry without a regular or full-time commitment, having the freedom to manage their time and take multiple assignments from different organizations. A PRN must have excellent communication and organization skills, providing quality healthcare services to the patients and the organization.

What does a clinical medical assistant do?

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.

Prn vs clinical medical assistant salary

Prns and clinical medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

PRNClinical Medical Assistant
Average salary$39,642$37,052
Salary rangeBetween $17,000 And $89,000Between $29,000 And $46,000
Highest paying CityDavis, CAVancouver, WA
Highest paying stateHawaiiCalifornia
Best paying companyErlanger Health SystemBrigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industryProfessionalHealth Care

Differences between prn and clinical medical assistant education

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

PRNClinical Medical Assistant
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 41%Associate Degree, 27%
Most common majorNursingMedical Assisting Services
Most common college--

Prn vs clinical medical assistant demographics

Here are the differences between prns' and clinical medical assistants' demographics:

PRNClinical Medical Assistant
Average age4237
Gender ratioMale, 21.0% Female, 79.0%Male, 10.8% Female, 89.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%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 Percentage7%6%

Differences between prn and clinical medical assistant duties and responsibilities

Prn example responsibilities.

  • Develop discharge plans base on individual patients' medical and ADL needs to ensure safety and security issues are addressed.
  • Experience with ICU patients including ventilator and non-ventilator dependent patients.
  • Tend to the physical and emotional needs of patients recovering from critical injury or extensive orthopedic surgery.
  • Provide patient rehabilitation to primarily geriatric short/long term care patients of different diagnosis and document treatment sessions appropriately.
  • Provide PRN speech services including evaluation and treatments in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient settings with adult populations
  • Incorporate invasive monitoring and CPR skills as needed.
  • Show more

Clinical medical assistant example responsibilities.

  • Obtain vital signs, calculate body mass indexes, administer intramuscular injections, administer venipuncture on patients using aseptic technique.
  • Treat patients and coworkers with dignity, respect and compassion.
  • Obtain EKG's and vitals along with medical history, family history, current medications and chief complaints.
  • Present data in a Powerpoint presentation in mentoring professor's classes.
  • Process super-bills for submission to CPR billing, and daily bank deposits.
  • Order new equipment and work with word, excel, and PowerPoint.
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Prn vs clinical medical assistant skills

Common prn skills
  • Patients, 29%
  • Healthcare, 9%
  • Occupational Therapy, 7%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Rehabilitation, 5%
  • Customer Service, 4%
Common clinical medical assistant skills
  • Patients, 19%
  • Patient Care, 12%
  • Vital Signs, 10%
  • CPR, 4%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Medical Assistants, 4%

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