Student medical assistant vs medical scribe

The differences between student medical assistants and medical scribes can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a student medical assistant and a medical scribe. Additionally, a student medical assistant has an average salary of $37,781, which is higher than the $30,045 average annual salary of a medical scribe.

The top three skills for a student medical assistant include patients, vital signs and laboratory specimens. The most important skills for a medical scribe are patients, medical terminology, and excellent organizational.

Student medical assistant vs medical scribe overview

	Student Medical Assistant	Medical Scribe
Yearly salary	$37,781	$30,045
Hourly rate	$18.16	$14.44
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	181,396	80,035
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	12	12

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.

What does a medical scribe do?

As a medical scribe, their main responsibility is to follow a physician's daily work and do charting of patient encounters in real-time by accessing their medical electronic health record (EHR). It is their duty to make sure the patient schedules are followed, generate referral letters for physicians and manage and sort medical documents within the EHR. Medical scribes can be held as data custodians, medical assistants, and nurses to focus on patient in-take and care throughout clinic hours. In addition, they manage patient flow through the clinic and increase productivity to cater to more patients.

Student medical assistant vs medical scribe salary

Student medical assistants and medical scribes have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Student Medical Assistant	Medical Scribe
Average salary	$37,781	$30,045
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $53,000	Between $23,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Boston Medical Center
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between student medical assistant and medical scribe education

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

	Student Medical Assistant	Medical Scribe
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common major	Medical Assisting Services	Biology
Most common college	-	-

Student medical assistant vs medical scribe demographics

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

	Student Medical Assistant	Medical Scribe
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9%	Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 24.3% Asian, 9.7% White, 50.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between student medical assistant and medical scribe duties and responsibilities

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.

Medical scribe example responsibilities.

Manage sensitive and confidential materials such as patient health records following HIPAA regulations.
Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Rotate in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, orthopedic surgery, and burn medicine departments
Transcribe patient orders including laboratory tests results, radiology test findings, medications, allergies.
Utilize PC and LIS to enter and retrieve patient data, includes verifying orders and retrieving results using HIPAA compliance.
Perform Phlebotomy procedures on patients.

Student medical assistant vs medical scribe skills

Common student medical assistant skills

Patients, 22%
Vital Signs, 11%
Laboratory Specimens, 6%
EKG, 5%
Surgical Procedures, 5%
Patient History, 4%

Common medical scribe skills

Patients, 18%
Medical Terminology, 17%
Excellent Organizational, 10%
Physician Assistants, 8%
Emergency Medicine, 6%
HIPAA, 4%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Student Medical Assistant
Student Medical Assistant vs Medical Scribe

Updated January 8, 2025

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