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The differences between senior medical assistants and student medical assistant-externships 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-externship. Additionally, a senior medical assistant has an average salary of $37,113, which is higher than the $35,588 average annual salary of a student medical assistant-externship.
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-externship are patients, vital signs, and EKG.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant-Externship | |
| Yearly salary | $37,113 | $35,588 |
| Hourly rate | $17.84 | $17.11 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 171,533 | 178,362 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| 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.
Student Medical Assistant Externship is a broad term for catering students for short, reliable, and practical work experience. Once you graduate, you can get a chance to meet contacts that may be useful for your career. You can have a better chance to work in a clinic, hospital, and any medical platform after going through this kind of externship.
Senior medical assistants and student medical assistant-externships have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant-Externship | |
| Average salary | $37,113 | $35,588 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $64,000 | Between $26,000 And $47,000 |
| 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 student medical assistant-externship in terms of educational background:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant-Externship | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Medical Assisting Services | Medical Assisting Services |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between senior medical assistants' and student medical assistant-externships' demographics:
| Senior Medical Assistant | Student Medical Assistant-Externship | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 23.8% Female, 76.2% |
| 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, 12.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 9.4% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |