Medical Assistant Salary – A Complete Guide to Earnings, Growth, and Career Outlook

Medical assistants are the key personnel of the healthcare industry, working closely with doctors and patients. They organize tasks and work efficiently to run Clinics or Hospitals smoothly. Serving as the surgeon’s or doctor’s right hand, they keep them informed about patients, make appointments, take care of expenses, and more. 

Many run into or heard of medical assistants when visiting a physician’s office. All of us wonder what is the medical assistant salary in USA. Let’s explore their earnings and the factors influencing their compensation in more detail in this blog. 

Information about the Medical Assistants can be obtained from the Salary Slip.

Average Medical Assistant Salary in US

According to the BLS report, the average medical assistant salary in US is $42,000 per year or $20.19 per hour. Several factors determine the salary of Medical assistants, including experience, certification, and workplace location. 

The top 10% of medical assistants make around $56,480 annually. The lowest 10% of medical assistants, on the other hand, make $33,500 or less per year. 

Apart from this salary, according to the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), as of 2021, about 96% of full-time medical assistants receive benefits from their employment. 

Here are some of the benefits that they receive:

Also Read:- Hourly to Salary United States || Anesthesiologist Assistant in United States

Best Paying States For Medical Assistants in the United States

Also Read:- Nutritionist Salary In United States || Radiologist Salary In United States

Best Paying Cities for Certified Medical Assistants in the United States 

Average Annual Medical Assistant Salary in USA Vs Other Countries

• Medical assistant salary in USA: $42,000
• Medical assistant salary in India: $7,109.85
• Medical assistant salary in Germany:  $48,000 
• Medical assistant salary in Saudi Arabia: $23,910.15
• Medical assistant salary in Canada: $53,399
• Medical assistant salary in UK: $24,067.82

Also Read:- Underwater Welder Salary in the United States || Neurosurgeon Salary in the United States

What Do Medical Assistants Do?

A medical assistant is a multi-skilled professional who assists in planning crucial activities to improve office or clinic operations. Although they perform a variety of activities, most of them are administrative and fundamental clinical.

For example, when you schedule an appointment at a hospital or doctor’s office, you could speak with a medical assistant at the front desk. Or, in your doctor’s office, one could take your blood.

1) Administrative Duties of a Medical Assistant 

The administrative responsibilities that a medical assistant performs are: 

• Greetings the patients.
• Making appointments and taking phone calls.
• Maintaining and organizing medical records.
• Filling up and entering insurance documents.
• Scheduling up a lab test or hospital visit.
• Billing, bookkeeping, and general office mail handling.

2) Clinical Duties of a Medical Assistant

A medical assistant has certain clinical duties that include:

• Guiding patients to the examination area.
• Keeping track of symptoms and revising medical records.
• Preparing patients for their doctor’s appointment.
• Helping doctors during physical examinations.
• Speaking with patients about medication, and changes to their diet and lifestyle.
• Giving out prescription drugs.
• Making requests for prescription refills.
• Changing wound dressings or taking out stitches.
• Taking blood for lab examinations.
• Conducting simple laboratory tests and doing medical examinations, such as an EKG (heart test).

Also Read:- Electrician Salary United States || Electrical Engineer Salary in United States

How to Become a Medical Assistant: Education &Training

The path to becoming a medical assistant is simpler and shorter than those of other medical specialties. In various cities in the US, there is no need for certification for medical assistants. However, certified medical assistants are more reliable, and hence tend to be hired more. 

These are the steps to becoming a certified medical assistant. 

• Obtain a high school diploma or GED: This is the basic minimum educational qualification needed for pursuing a career as a medical assistant. It’s more profitable if you have completed your degree in a field of science like biology, physics, or human anatomy.
• Complete an accredited CMA (AAMA) educational program: Complete an approved medical assistant education program that may vary from four months to two years. Additionally, you may choose to specialize in a medical assistant field like radiology.
• CMA (AAMA) certification exam: You may think about earning certification as a Registered Medical Assistant (RMA), Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA), or Certified Medical Assistant (CMA).
• Gain experience: Work with experienced seniors, physicians, and other medical professionals.

Factors Influencing the Salary of Medical Assistants

Numerous factors, like location, experience, qualifications, certifications, and specializations, affect the medical assistant salary range. 

• Work Location: Because of the high standard of living in metropolitan areas, medical assistants are paid more. 
• Experience: A medical assistant salary increases with his level of expertise.
• Certification &Specialization: Because of their experience, physical therapist assistants with qualifications in various specialties, such as CMA, RMA, and CCMA. Medical-assisting.us States that CMAs are paid somewhat more than RMAs.  
• Work Setting: Medical assistants operating in super-specialty hospitals or outpatient facilities are paid more than those operating in local nursing homes. 
• Schedule: An employee’s pay is impacted by their work schedule. Medical assistants who work weekends or irregular hours are likely to be paid more.
• Employer Type: To entice qualified workers, the private sector frequently provides greater salaries. As a result, private-sector employees could make more money than public-sector employees.

Job Outlook For Certified Medical Assistants

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for medical assistants for 2023-33 is 15% which is much faster than average. This means the demand for medical assistants expands faster than average, especially in comparison to other careers. 

The salary of medical assistants depends largely on work location, experience, employers, sector and certification, and specialization. For instance, pediatric medical assistants make less money than medical assistants in other specialties, such as Cardiology, Podiatry, and Dermatology. 

The rise in job outlook for medical assistants is higher due to several reasons including higher population, aging population, advancement in medical facilities, health awareness, and so on. Such developments require a high demand for medical assistants in clinics and care centers, and hence higher pay range.

FAQs

Recommended:-