Respiratory care assistant vs medical laboratory assistant

The differences between respiratory care assistants and medical laboratory 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 medical laboratory assistant. Additionally, a medical laboratory assistant has an average salary of $34,673, 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 medical laboratory assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Respiratory care assistant vs medical laboratory assistant overview

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Medical Laboratory Assistant
Yearly salary	$33,491	$34,673
Hourly rate	$16.10	$16.67
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	134,726	124,322
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 47%	Associate Degree, 27%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	12	12

Respiratory care assistant vs medical laboratory assistant salary

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

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Medical Laboratory Assistant
Average salary	$33,491	$34,673
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $48,000	Between $27,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	Eugene, OR
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between respiratory care assistant and medical laboratory assistant education

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

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Medical Laboratory 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 medical laboratory assistant demographics

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

	Respiratory Care Assistant	Medical Laboratory Assistant
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%	Male, 18.9% Female, 81.1%
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, 11.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 9.1% White, 51.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between respiratory care assistant and medical laboratory 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 ..

Medical laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

Direct a team of professionals to achieve superior and consistent ventilator weaning outcomes for long term ventilator dependent patients.
Ensure and enforce medical office compliance with HIPAA, OSHA, and CLIA regulations for maximum quality and control
Adhere to JCAHO confidentiality as well as maintained CLIA and OSHA standards.
Monitor lab performance to be in compliance with CLIA requirements.
Ensure CLIA standards are compliant and assist annual state inspectors during their surveys.
Conduct intake assessments in emergency room which include administering of vitals, EKG s, and patient prepping.

Respiratory care assistant vs medical laboratory assistant skills

Common respiratory care assistant skills

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

Common medical laboratory assistant skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 8%
Data Entry, 6%
Lab Equipment, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Venipuncture, 4%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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