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Senior medical assistant vs student medical assistant

The differences between senior medical assistants and student 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 student medical assistant. Additionally, a student medical assistant has an average salary of $37,781, which is higher than the $37,113 average annual salary of a senior medical assistant.

The top three skills for a senior medical assistant include patients, vital signs and patient care. The most important skills for a student medical assistant are patients, vital signs, and laboratory specimens.

Senior medical assistant vs student medical assistant overview

Senior Medical AssistantStudent Medical Assistant
Yearly salary$37,113$37,781
Hourly rate$17.84$18.16
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs171,533181,396
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 26%Associate Degree, 28%
Average age3737
Years of experience1212

What does a senior medical assistant do?

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.

What does a student medical assistant do?

It is evident that the student medical assistant does work for the administration and clinical expertise. One must know that they are known as medical analysts and devote themselves to addressing the problem of patients and medical assistants.

Senior medical assistant vs student medical assistant salary

Senior medical assistants and student medical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Medical AssistantStudent Medical Assistant
Average salary$37,113$37,781
Salary rangeBetween $21,000 And $64,000Between $26,000 And $53,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MA-
Highest paying stateMassachusetts-
Best paying companyGenentech-
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between senior medical assistant and student medical assistant education

There are a few differences between a senior medical assistant and a student medical assistant in terms of educational background:

Senior Medical AssistantStudent Medical Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 26%Associate Degree, 28%
Most common majorMedical Assisting ServicesMedical Assisting Services
Most common college--

Senior medical assistant vs student medical assistant demographics

Here are the differences between senior medical assistants' and student medical assistants' demographics:

Senior Medical AssistantStudent Medical Assistant
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 30.5% Female, 69.5%Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9%
Race ratioBlack 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, 10.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 9.2% White, 50.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between senior medical assistant and student medical assistant duties and responsibilities

Senior medical assistant example responsibilities.

  • Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care, using technology, performing procedures and managing emergencies.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in triage, phlebotomy, injections and various diagnostic procedures and ancillary tests.
  • Prioritize data entry daily to ensure patients labs and procedure results are immediately available for access.
  • Require to deliver daily lecture & clinical, teach CPR, typing, and hands-on lab.
  • Post insurance and patient payments, cash applications, and cash posting (EOB & EFT).
  • Help implement practice's quality assurance and control program ensuring compliance of HIPAA, CLIA, and OSHA regulations.
  • Show more

Student medical assistant example responsibilities.

  • Provide supportive counseling and utilize motivation interviewing to improve patients' ability to manage their medical diagnoses
  • Demonstrate clinical competency and compassion in providing care, using technology, performing procedures and managing emergencies.
  • Assist patients with consent forms, HIPAA questions and insurance verification to ensure accurate and timely care.
  • Used word processor and gain experience in EHR software.
  • Prepare examination rooms, take patient vitals, and update EHR.
  • Perform routine tests such as hearing tests, EKG's, vision tests, and specimen collection.
  • Show more

Senior medical assistant vs student medical assistant skills

Common senior medical assistant skills
  • Patients, 14%
  • Vital Signs, 8%
  • Patient Care, 8%
  • Exam Rooms, 5%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Phlebotomy, 4%
Common student medical assistant skills
  • Patients, 22%
  • Vital Signs, 11%
  • Laboratory Specimens, 6%
  • EKG, 5%
  • Surgical Procedures, 5%
  • Patient History, 4%

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