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The differences between senior medical assistants and medical assisting externs 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 assisting extern. Additionally, a senior medical assistant has an average salary of $37,113, which is higher than the $35,737 average annual salary of a medical assisting extern.
The top three skills for a senior medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a medical assisting extern are patients, vital signs, and EKG.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Yearly salary | $37,113 | $35,737 |
| Hourly rate | $17.84 | $17.18 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 171,533 | 81,077 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| 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 medical assisting extern is responsible for supporting the medical team in ensuring that the patients are offered the best care services by providing treatments and medications. Medical assisting externs' duties include practicing their medical skills by shadowing on medical professionals' activities, assisting patients with their inquiries and concerns, facilitating medical procedures with the doctor's supervision, and learning to operate medical tools and equipment as needed. A medical assisting extern must have excellent knowledge in the health industry, as well as a fast-learner to be familiarized with the complexities of medical processes and procedures.
Senior medical assistants and medical assisting externs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Average salary | $37,113 | $35,737 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $26,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | - |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | - |
| Best paying company | Genentech | - |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a senior medical assistant and a medical assisting extern in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between senior medical assistants' and medical assisting externs' demographics:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Medical Assisting Extern | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 24.3% Female, 75.7% |
| 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, 10.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 9.6% White, 50.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |