Triage nurse vs certified medical technician

The differences between triage nurses and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a triage nurse, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a triage nurse has an average salary of $64,592, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for a triage nurse include patients, home health and patient education. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Triage nurse vs certified medical technician overview

	Triage Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$64,592	$38,859
Hourly rate	$31.05	$18.68
Growth rate	6%	5%
Number of jobs	345,410	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does a triage nurse do?

A triage nurse provides patient care and overall nursing duties alongside the resident doctor in a clinic or hospital. It is the task of a triage nurse to oversee the condition of each patient and to report immediately to a doctor when emergencies occur. Added tasks of a triage nurse are monitoring and administering doctor prescriptions, and providing a caring environment for patients and their relatives through constant communication. The triage nurse is an essential part of a healthcare facility and is in-demand in many places around the world.

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.

Triage nurse vs certified medical technician salary

Triage nurses and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Triage Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$64,592	$38,859
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $95,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between triage nurse and certified medical technician education

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

	Triage Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	University of Connecticut

Triage nurse vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between triage nurses' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Triage Nurse	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 9.1% Female, 90.9%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 8.9% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	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	9%	8%

Differences between triage nurse and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Triage nurse example responsibilities.

Recognize and manage maternal complications: hemorrhage, preeclampsia, endometritis.
Provide outpatient chemotherapy administration, patient education and telephone triage of patients undergoing cancer treatment.
Follow up on denials and appeals.
Experience in initiating prior authorizations, denials, and appeals.
Perform EKG's, labs, vision screening, hearing tests, pulmonary function tests.
Handle all heavy phone scheduling which include visits, blood work, diagnostic testing and cardiac rehabilitation.

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.

Triage nurse vs certified medical technician skills

Common triage nurse skills

Patients, 30%
Home Health, 10%
Patient Education, 4%
Test Results, 3%
Symptom Management, 3%
Urgent Care, 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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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Triage Nurse
Triage Nurse vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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