Therapy aide vs certified medical technician

The differences between therapy aides and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $29,312 average annual salary of a therapy aide.

The top three skills for a therapy aide include patients, patient care and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Therapy aide vs certified medical technician overview

	Therapy Aide	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$29,312	$38,859
Hourly rate	$14.09	$18.68
Growth rate	25%	5%
Number of jobs	50,598	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	-	12

What does a therapy aide do?

A therapy aide is responsible for monitoring and stabilizing the patients' condition by leading therapy sessions and recording the patients' progress for the doctor's reference. Therapy aides administer quality care plans according to the patients' medical findings and treatment options. They also operate various therapy equipment and machinery, requiring them to inspect the tools regularly to avoid potential hazards and therapy operations delays. A therapy aide must have an excellent understanding of the medical industry to discuss therapy procedures and respond to the patients' inquiries and concerns accurately.

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.

Therapy aide vs certified medical technician salary

Therapy aides and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Therapy Aide	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$29,312	$38,859
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $37,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Beverly, MA	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Montana	Alaska
Best paying company	State Bar of Michigan	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between therapy aide and certified medical technician education

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

	Therapy Aide	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Kinesiology	Nursing
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Connecticut

Therapy aide vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between therapy aides' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Therapy Aide	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 29.1% Female, 70.9%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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 Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between therapy aide and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Therapy aide example responsibilities.

Assist in implementing clinical treatment programs using ABA (apply behavior analysis).
Prepare patients for physical therapy treatment by welcoming, comforting, providing and/or assisting patient into physical therapy apparel.
Require the physical ability and training to conduct CPR.
Fabricate and modify splints according to Dr. Gupta's specifications.
Perform wound care, remove sutures, and help the therapists in fabricating custom make orthotic splints.
Collect data on client's achievements for the purpose of documenting activities, preparing reports and/or updating IEP logs.

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.

Therapy aide vs certified medical technician skills

Common therapy aide skills

Patients, 28%
Patient Care, 16%
Rehabilitation, 16%
BARS, 10%
Physical Therapy, 5%
Occupational Therapy, 3%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Therapy Aide
Therapy Aide vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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