Medical Assistant vs Nurse has become the most popular career choices in the medical stream. If you wish to make it big in the healthcare sector, it is essential to first understand the concept between the two professions. Although both the professions work for the health and benefits of the patients, there are certain prominent differences between them as well. We have also provided an in depth details about med school for more information.
Medical assistants focus primarily on emergency and ambulatory services. On the other hand, a nurse is more involved in clinical and hospital care. With a steady growth pace, the healthcare industry in the US is known to offer rewarding, challenging, and progressive employment opportunities to skilled candidates.
The healthcare industry in the US is constantly developing, thanks to the advanced technologies and treatment options. Let’s understand the basic difference between medical assistant vs nurse assistant.
Medical Assistant vs Nurse – Outlook
Medical assistants are the expert health professionals who work to support the physicians. They are also actively involved with many other medical professionals. These professionals work majorly in outpatient care and ambulatory facilities like medical offices and clinics. Interestingly, medical assistants are also cross-trained to manage both clinical and administrative and functions.
In comparison to medical assistant vs nurse aide, nurses are one of the most crucial parts of the healthcare industry. While doctors generally specialize in a specific area, nurses are meant to coordinate with all the domains of the healthcare sector. A nurse is a constant companion of the patient throughout his treatment procedure.
They are responsible to take complete care of the patients, ensuring proper prescriptions, and preparing them for medical tests. They can work in different health care settings like private physician clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and so on. It is to be noted that this profession is subjected to uncommon working conditions, long working hours, and challenging situations.
Medical Assistant vs Nurse : Common Tasks performance
Here is the list of common duties shared by medical assistants and nurses:
- Take patients information
- Check vital signs
- Collect samples
- Administer vaccinations and medications
- Assist in minor surgeries
Medical Assistant vs Registered Nurse : Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a medical assistant are:
- Taking medical histories
- Performing laboratory tests
- Updating medical records
- Filling forms and coding
- Managing the billing and bookkeeping functions
- Assisting doctors during medical examinations
- Collecting specimen for laboratory analysis
- Explaining the treatment options and procedures to the patients
- Preparing patients for the medical examinations
The primary duties and responsibilities of a registered nurse are:
- Taking down health-related histories of the patients
- Conduct physical examinations
- Listen to the symptoms of the patient and analyzing their medical care needs
- Counseling and providing health care education to the patients
- Stay abreast with the latest and advances of the healthcare industry
- Check the vital signs of the patient
- Take blood samples and perform relevant testing
- Coordinate care and treatment procedures with other health care specialists
- Communicating with doctors
- Managing IV lines
- Self-administer physical therapy and medication
Key to success in healthcare
Before we proceed further in our debate regarding medical assistant vs nurse, we should clarify a few things. By taking care of patients in diverse areas such as hospitals, clinics, government departments, and educational establishments, healthcare practitioners play a crucial role in the general health and well-being of the country.
Irrespective of the designation you hold, each team member must learn several different skills in order to continue to thrive in the healthcare sector. So, in order to ensure your success, what should you do?
By following these tips, you can proceed forward in your career at a great pace:
- Be engaging
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Great organization skills
- Be confidential
- Manage stress
- Stick to a timetable
- Keep learning
- Hone your critical thinking abilities
- Keep networking
Foster engagement and interpersonal abilities
People who are sick or injured are going to look for empathy from someone who knows what they are going through. You let patients know you have respect and see them as normal people through specialized communication.
It is also essential to master transparent interaction with clients as a healthcare provider, by taking the time to describe technical information in a manner that they can clearly comprehend. If we consider the job responsibilities of medical assistant vs nurse, both are similar to some extent. So, ensure building your skills.
Remain Organized
A number of patients are seen on a regular basis by healthcare practitioners. They must be sufficiently coordinated when handling schedules and reports.
Not only does this help to eliminate a possible mess, but it also helps the company to work more successfully by being able to easily access the details they need.
Maintain confidentiality
You would never mishandle classified information to avoid breaching the patients’ confidentiality. It is not only morally unjust to do so, but it is against the rules as well.
Learn how to manage stress
A lot of healthcare jobs require you to make critical choices that impact your patients. Incorporate it with working late and managing a high workload. It can quickly overwhelm a person working in the healthcare industry.
- You have to try and balance your job and personal life.
- Until it gets too stressful, do everything you can to handle the tension.
Keep a flexible timetable for work
Your workload would force you to work various hours, including days, evenings, weekends, vacations, and over time because there are no fixed dates when people might get sick. When an emergency situation happens fast, you will need to be prepared to work during strange hours.
Keep learning
Make sure you learn new skills whenever possible. This will improve your competency. Keep an eye on the industry news and pay attention to the patterns that are continuously evolving and you will stay one step ahead. It’s not about medical assistant vs nurse, who is better. It’s about what you can do to improve your odds of professional success.
Network regularly
It’s often not what you know, it’s who you know that determines your career success. Networking helps you to create business relationships that in the future may help you.
- Join trade unions
- Attend job events
- Don’t be afraid to speak both inside and outside the office with individuals you meet
Import these characteristics into your professional life to succeed, no matter what career path you are on in the healthcare sector.
Improve Critical Thinking
As a medical professional, you must develop your out-of-the-box thinking abilities. Knowledge is required to respond to a shifting environment, specific patient conditions, unusual variations of drugs, and an evolving staff. It is important for success to analyze and examine the entire picture by using the critical thinking learned in school and on the job.
Now, let us quickly dive into our discussion: medical assistant vs nurse.
Patient Care
Providing patient care services should be noticed as one of the prime duty in medical assistant vs nurse topic. Patient care includes assisting patients in their routine activities like feeding, hygiene, and wound dressing, and preparing the patients for diagnostic procedures.
The similarity in medical assistant vs registered nurse is that both nurses and medical assistants are responsible to prevent the spread of infection and diseases by offering a clean and healthy environment for the patients. This process includes activities like changing bed linens, disinfecting surfaces, and cleaning non-disposable medical equipment that is shared by several patients.
Medical Assistant vs Nurse Assistant – Scope of Practice
Medical Assistant
You see, the medical assistants work directly under the guidance and supervision of an experienced and licensed doctor. In certain cases, they can also work under the supervision of a registered nurse. The scope of practice for this profile includes patient care, administering medications, obtaining a medical history of the patients, patient education, handling administrative procedures, helping in minor surgeries, and so on.
Apart from this, every medical facility can also designate additional duties to the medical assistants. Some experienced medical assistants with higher qualifications can also start intravenous lines and help during emergencies.
Nurse
The majority of the duties performed by a nurse are similar to that of a medical assistant. That since nurses receive intensive medical training, they can offer advanced medical care services to the patients. This makes them eligible to provide advanced medications like allergy tests, blood products, and chemotherapy.
Nurses can also start IV lines and other advanced forms of care when needed. They can also specialize in specific areas of medicine like oncology, emergency medicine, cardiology, and so on. This will give them a chance to practice advanced medical skills. You see, nurses are one of the prime patient educators.
Registered Nurse vs Medical Assistant – Education
Medical Assistant
There is a lot of difference in the education requirements of both the professions. Medical assistants need to undergo intensive training before starting their practice. Medical assistants generally attend two types of Medical Assistant programs; nine months or one year. Various certificates and diploma programs are also available that are of 9-12 years of duration.
Nurses
On the other hand, nurses are required to complete an accredited training course along with licensure or certification from the state in which they want to serve. Advanced nursing programs can be found at several colleges and universities across the US. Candidates thereafter can apply for different nursing professions all over the country.
The major subjects taught in these courses are physiology, chemistry, biology, the lifespan of disease, pharmacology, and so on. Nurses can earn their LPN degrees by completing a one-year nursing school course.
They can also study for one more year and earn the designation of a registered nurse. 2 years of nursing school studies can help them get an Associate degree. Whereas, studying for 4 years can give them a bachelor’s degree. Hope the programs related to registered nurse vs medical assistant is clear to you.
Medical Assistant vs Nurse Aide – Salary
The average Medical Assistant salary in the United States is $36,048 as of July 27, 2020, but the range typically falls between $33,235 and $38,925. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.
Now in comparison to medical assistant vs nurse aide salary ,in the United States the average annual salary for a Registered Nurse is currently $73,550 which breaks down as an average of $35.36 per hour, $1,414 per week and a monthly salary of $6,129.
These were the basic points in medical assistant vs nurse. If you too wish to pursue a career in any of these professions, make sure you have their complete understanding first. Connect with us for more details on medical assistants and nurses. Also check out our home page at online schools near me for more information.
