Medical assistance vs CNA

Healthcare clinics and medical offices would be congested without them. Doctors and nurses will have thrice as much to do and patients will have a harder time getting attended to. Medical assistants are essential people that keep these institutions running smoothly, although people usually overlook their value.

To be a medical assistant, one has to go through one year of education and training. When dealing with patients, they always are under the supervision of doctors and/or registered nurses. Their responsibilities include:

Attending to patients

Checking the patient’s vitals

Completing medical records

Paperwork like billing and bookkeeping

Setting appointments

Prescribing short-term healthcare

Drawing blood (if the doctor asks)

They share similarities with licensed practical nurses (LPN) in terms of length of education and always working under the supervision of doctors. However, medical assistants mostly focus on the administrative functions rather than the patients. They cannot perform invasive procedures like using injections (unless specially trained and allowed by the state). They can pursue specialization in fields like optometry and podiatry but most usually do not. They also should not be confused with non-physician licensed healthcare practitioners. Medical assistants only work in places where doctors are always present to supervise them in case they need to directly care for the patient. This is in accordance with the law.

Medical Assistant Salary

A medical assistant’s salary is significantly lower than of nurses (both LPN and RN). They can earn from $20,000 up to $37,000, depending on the number of years of experience. According to Payscale.com, medical assistants (values rounded off to the nearest thousands for annual, nearest tens for hourly):

With less than 1 year of experience: $21,000-$32,000 per year / $9-$12 per hour

1-4 years of experience: $21,000-$30,000 per year / $10-$13 per hour

5-9 years of experience: $25,000-$36,000 per year / $12-$15 per hour

10-19 years of experience: $25,000-$36,000 per year / $13-$16 per hour

20 years or more of experience: $28,000-$38,000 per year / $13-$18 per hour

There could be variations in pay depending on the institution and the location. Some can earn up to $44,000 annually plus benefits. Not so bad for an honest and noble way to make a living with regular work hours.