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Senior therapist vs certified medical technician

The differences between senior therapists and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior therapist, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior therapist has an average salary of $63,963, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for a senior therapist include social work, autism and mental health. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Senior therapist vs certified medical technician overview

Senior TherapistCertified Medical Technician
Yearly salary$63,963$38,859
Hourly rate$30.75$18.68
Growth rate14%5%
Number of jobs68,064164,424
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age4144
Years of experience412

What does a senior therapist do?

Senior therapists lead and manage a facility's therapeutic program and work hand-in-hand with other facility team members to deliver, oversee, plan, and coordinate the therapeutic program. These professionals promote professional accountability, quality development, evaluation, clinical governance, and monitoring. Besides supervising community forums and similar activities, senior therapists also attend appropriate staff and clinical supervision meetings. They document and share with the clinical team the right therapeutic guidelines and processes to follow.

What does a certified medical technician do?

Certified Medical Technicians are specialists in medical diagnoses by performing laboratory testing and analysis for hospitals and physicians. Their duties include lab sanitization to prepare for testing and collection, recording medical samples for testing, specimen preparation, blood drawing for donation and testing, and assisting physicians with sample collection as well as equipment handling in surgical rooms. They must also understand how to use complex and sensitive testing equipment such as cell counters, analyzers, microscopes, and centrifuges.

Senior therapist vs certified medical technician salary

Senior therapists and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior TherapistCertified Medical Technician
Average salary$63,963$38,859
Salary rangeBetween $44,000 And $91,000Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYDenton, TX
Highest paying statePennsylvaniaAlaska
Best paying companyMontage HealthFavorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industryEnergyHealth Care

Differences between senior therapist and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a senior therapist and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

Senior TherapistCertified Medical Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 53%Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common majorPsychologyNursing
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachUniversity of Connecticut

Senior therapist vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between senior therapists' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

Senior TherapistCertified Medical Technician
Average age4144
Gender ratioMale, 26.0% Female, 74.0%Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 4.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage6%8%

Differences between senior therapist and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Senior therapist example responsibilities.

  • Manage and target behaviors using the ESDM, ABA, PRT and SCERTS model.
  • Function as a case manager, co-le group therapy and provide psychiatrist supervise individual therapy to adolescent patients.
  • Work with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families.
  • Produce detailed quarterly reports on each student, used in IEP meetings to assess student's progress.
  • Collaborate with parents, teachers, and other professionals on the implementation of programs, and attend IEP meetings.
  • Implement one on one behavioral intervention programs in the homes of children with autism while using apply behavioral analysis therapy.
  • Show more

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

  • Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
  • Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
  • Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
  • Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
  • Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
  • Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.
  • Show more

Senior therapist vs certified medical technician skills

Common senior therapist skills
  • Social Work, 12%
  • Autism, 9%
  • Mental Health, 8%
  • Patients, 8%
  • Behavior Analysis, 7%
  • ABA, 5%
Common certified medical technician skills
  • Patients, 17%
  • Vital Signs, 12%
  • CPR, 8%
  • Administer Medications, 7%
  • Resident Care, 6%
  • HIPAA, 6%

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