Medical Assistant Vs Nursing

Medical Assistant Vs Nursing

Are you thinking about pursuing a career as a medical assistant or nurse? Although they’re both in the healthcare industry, these two careers are very different from one another. In this guide, we’ll review the basic differences between becoming a medical assistant versus becoming a nurse. We’ll also look at their education requirements and job outlooks to help you decide if one may be better suited for your personal goals than the other.

Medical Assistant vs. Nurse: The Basic Differences

Medical assistants are trained to perform a variety of clinical, administrative, and clerical tasks. They assist doctors in the examination room, administer injections and other medications, take medical histories from patients, and prepare patients for procedures. They also assist nurses by taking vital signs like temperature and blood pressure.

Medical assistants do not require a bachelor’s degree; however, they must complete an accredited program of study at a community college or technical school before they can be certified by their state board of nursing as an entry-level medical assistant (CMA).

Nurses are specially trained health professionals who provide direct patient care through professional nursing practice. Nurses generally work under the supervision of physicians or other physicians’ assistants but can also provide independent care when qualified to do so by having appropriate licensure or certification

The Education Required

Medical assistant: High school diploma or equivalent

Nurse: Associate’s degree or higher

A nursing degree will take two years, while a medical assistant degree will take one year.

Medical Assistant vs. Nurse: What They Do

Medical assistants and nurses perform similar functions in a medical setting. Both medical assistants and nurses have the same basic duties: they assist doctors and other healthcare providers with patient care. The difference is that one is not required to have a college degree, while the other must complete an accredited nursing program before they can practice their trade.

Medical assistants often perform administrative duties such as answering phones, scheduling appointments, making copies of patient records, billing insurance companies for services rendered by doctors and nurse practitioners (NPs). They may also help out in exam rooms by taking vital signs like blood pressure or temperature readings; measuring height; weight; heart rates; respiratory rates; etc.; collecting samples for tests such as urine analysis or blood work; helping patients who need assistance getting out of bed onto examination tables etc.; assisting with physical therapy procedures including range-of-motion exercises for example bending someone’s knees so he or she can move them back into a standing position after lying down on his back on an exam table for several minutes without moving his legs

Salary and Job Outlook

If you’re looking for a career that pays well and is in high demand, becoming a medical assistant may be the right choice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary for medical assistants was $36,000 in 2016. The job outlook for this type of career is also good. Jobs are expected to grow by 20% through 2026—which is much faster than average across all occupations—and there are currently over 474,000 open positions that require this skill set.

However, if you want more prestige and independence as you earn your paycheck, becoming a nurse could be the better option for you. The BLS reports that nurses earned an average wage of $70,110 per year in 2015—$33k more than their counterparts! This means they have more autonomy when dealing with people who need their help; no matter what condition or ailment someone presents with on their doorstep (or wherever else), these caretakers will know exactly how best to respond thanks to all their training experience over time spent learning from others who have gone before them in order to make sure everything runs smoothly every time around.”

A career as a medical assistant or nurse can be very rewarding, and both are sure to provide job opportunities for many years to come.

There are many similarities between a career as a medical assistant or nurse, and the two can be very rewarding. Both provide job opportunities for many years to come, and both offer the chance to help people by providing health care services. The main difference is that nurses have more advanced training and education than medical assistants, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they will make more money than their colleagues in the field who choose not to pursue additional schooling after high school.

Nurses also have less responsibility than doctors; they’re usually not responsible for diagnosing patients or prescribing medications on their own–these tasks are left up mostly to physicians, who do most of their work in hospitals rather than private offices like those staffed by medical assistants. Nurses often have more autonomy on their shifts than other kinds of medical professionals do during theirs (apart from those working directly under supervision) because there’s often no doctor present when someone needs attention at night or on weekends (or even during regular business hours).

In conclusion, medical assistants and nurses are both vital to the health care industry. They perform many different types of jobs and can have very different responsibilities depending on the setting in which they work. However, they all share the common goal of providing quality patient care and helping others feel better.

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