Respiratory care assistant vs clinical medical assistant

The differences between respiratory care assistants and clinical medical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a respiratory care assistant and a clinical medical assistant. Additionally, a clinical medical assistant has an average salary of $37,052, which is higher than the $33,491 average annual salary of a respiratory care assistant.

The top three skills for a respiratory care assistant include patients, CPR and RRT. The most important skills for a clinical medical assistant are patients, patient care, and vital signs.

Respiratory care assistant vs clinical medical assistant overview

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Clinical Medical Assistant
Yearly salary	$33,491	$37,052
Hourly rate	$16.10	$17.81
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	134,726	233,464
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 47%	Associate Degree, 27%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	12	12

Respiratory care assistant vs clinical medical assistant salary

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

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Clinical Medical Assistant
Average salary	$33,491	$37,052
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $48,000	Between $29,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	-	Vancouver, WA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between respiratory care assistant and clinical medical assistant education

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

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Clinical Medical Assistant
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 47%	Associate Degree, 27%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	-	-

Respiratory care assistant vs clinical medical assistant demographics

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

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Clinical Medical Assistant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%	Male, 10.8% Female, 89.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 9.6% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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	6%	6%

Differences between respiratory care assistant and clinical medical assistant duties and responsibilities

Respiratory care assistant example responsibilities.

Experience using BIPAP, CPAP, MetaNeb, IPPB
Perform routine and stat EKG testing.
Administer breathing treatments to patients in the trauma center under the watch of a respiratory therapist.
Administer medications via nebulizer, as well as, participate in other forms of intermittent non-invasive patient care.
Maintain intubation equipment and ambulation bags.
Work with mechanical vents and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation ..

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.

Respiratory care assistant vs clinical medical assistant skills

Common respiratory care assistant skills

Patients, 54%
CPR, 9%
RRT, 5%
EKG, 4%
Direct Patient Care, 4%
Resuscitation, 3%

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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Healthcare Support Industry
Respiratory Care Assistant
Respiratory Care Assistant vs Clinical Medical Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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