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The differences between senior medical 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 senior medical assistant and a clinical medical assistant. Additionally, a senior medical assistant has an average salary of $37,113, which is higher than the $37,052 average annual salary of a clinical medical assistant.
The top three skills for a senior medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a clinical medical assistant are patients, patient care, and vital signs.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,113 | $37,052 |
| Hourly rate | $17.84 | $17.81 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 171,533 | 233,464 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A senior medical assistant performs support tasks for physicians, nurses, and managers in a medical facility to ensure that patients get to receive optimal care and services. In general, they are responsible for handling calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, verifying patient information, liaising with external parties such as insurance providers, monitoring the inventory of medical supplies, and performing regular maintenance checks. Moreover, they must assist patients by answering inquiries, helping them in filling out forms, and making them feel comfortable throughout the procedures.
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.
Senior medical assistants and clinical medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,113 | $37,052 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $29,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Genentech | Brigham and Women's Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior medical assistant and a clinical medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Associate Degree, 27% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between senior medical assistants' and clinical medical assistants' demographics:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Clinical Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 10.8% Female, 89.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 51.4% 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% |