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The differences between senior medical assistants and 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 medical assistant. Additionally, a senior medical assistant has an average salary of $37,113, which is higher than the $34,900 average annual salary of a medical assistant.
The top three skills for a senior medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and patient care.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $37,113 | $34,900 |
| Hourly rate | $17.84 | $16.78 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 171,533 | 189,915 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Associate Degree, 24% |
| 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.
Medical assistants provide support to medical practitioners in both administrative and clerical tasks. They keep and update the patient's medical records, administer medicines under the supervision of a physician, assist during medical examinations, prepare medical samples for laboratory testing, manage the schedule of appointments, and assist the patients with their bills and in filling out needed forms, such as insurance-related documents. Medical assistants should have good communication skills and analytical skills, be organized, and be flexible. They should also have knowledge of how to operate some medical equipment such as x-ray machines.
Senior medical assistants and medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Average salary | $37,113 | $34,900 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $27,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Genentech | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior medical assistant and a medical assistant in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Associate Degree, 24% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between senior medical assistants' and medical assistants' demographics:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assistant | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 10.4% Female, 89.6% |
| 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, 10.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 25.7% Asian, 8.8% White, 49.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |