Medical assistants, sometimes called MAs, and certified nursing assistants, also called nursing aides or CNAs, both work with patients, but their job descriptions and educational tracks are quite different. Medical assistants perform a broader variety of non-medical assignments, including administrative tasks such as filing, answering phones. They also may do medical tasks such as taking histories or drawing blood. Salaries vary in both specialties depending on where you work, whether you're certified and how many years you've been at your place of employment.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for a medical assistant is $13.87 per hour, or $28,860 per year, while the median annual salary for nursing aides is $11.54 per hour, or $24,010 per year.
Education and Salary
If you attend an accredited school and take a competency test to receive certification as either an MA or CNA, you will make more money than if you don't have your certification. Medical assistants are often trained on the job, but to become a certified MA, you need to go through a program certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools. An MA course takes between one to two years, depending on whether the program offers an associate's degree. In most states, nursing aides or assistants must be certified by taking an approved course and passing the state certification exam.
Places of Employment and Salary
Where you work can impact your salary. Medical assistants who do more complex patient care such as removing sutures, drawing blood or assisting the physician with surgical procedures in the office will earn more than those who do mostly administrative tasks. Hospital salaries for CNAs are often higher than those offered by nursing homes or home health agencies.
When considering different careers, it's important to look not just at what your starting salary will be, but at your potential for growth and advancement in your career. For both CNAs and MAs, any type of job advancement will require more education. Neither job, for example, leads to a nursing career without going back to school, although CNAs can take additional training that qualifies them to give medications as a certified medication assistant. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the potential for jobs in both fields in better than average. The job growth outlook from 2010 to 2020 for MAs is 31 percent, compared to 20 percent for nursing aides.
- American Association of Medical Assistants: Is Medical Assisting For You?
- Nursing Assistant guides: Are Nursing Assisting(CNA) and Medical Assisting the Same?
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Medical Assistants
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants
- Nurse Together.com: Certified Nursing Assistant Salary and Job Description
- Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images