Difference Between Medical Assistant and Nurse

Medical Assistant vs Nurse
 

All of us know what a nurse means, and we have also seen how nurses perform their duties taking care of patients in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The images of Florence Nightingale and Mother Teresa come straight to our mind whenever we hear the word nurse as these personalities have become synonymous with all the compassion and sympathy that the profession of nursing has become known for. There is another title of medical assistant that many people become confused with because of the similarities in roles and duties of a medical assistant and a nurse. This article attempts to clarify these doubts in the minds of readers who have a desire to enter the noble medical profession as a care provider.

Medical Assistant

A medical assistant is a healthcare professional who is employed to perform many administrative and clerical duties to help doctors and patients in hospitals and nursing homes. These professionals can take vital signs of patients, use medical instruments and supplies, help in diagnosis of patients by preparing patients for lab tests, and also help in keeping medical records as well as administering injections and medications to patients. These wide ranging duties give an indication of the importance of a medical assistant in a hospital. A medical assistant may even be in charge of scheduling appointments for a doctor and organizing and maintaining documents in a healthcare setting.

Medical assistants can perform the task of a nurse by taking temperature and blood pressure, but they are mostly seen performing administrative and clerical duties in hospitals and at the office of a physician. No degree is needed to become a medial assistant though passing an exam conducted by AAMA provides a certification that helps in getting a higher pay scale job in hospitals.

Nurse

Nurse is a healthcare professional who is there to give medication to sick people and to take care of them in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The focus of a nurse is upon providing optimum care and assistance to the sick and the injured so that they regain their health, and their quality of life is improved. Nurses are Registered Nurses who give medication and treat wounds of the sick and the injured. They also provide advice on health matters and give emotional support to help people regain health. Nurses help people understand how to take medication and diet. In short, nurses are invaluable for the sick as well as the doctors. Nurses take care of the patients under their supervision recording their vital signs and keeping the doctors informed about the condition of the patients. Nurses make the work of doctors much easier by preparing the patients for health checkups.

What is the difference between Medical Assistant and Nurse?

• While nurses take direct care of the patients, medical assistants are known to perform administrative and clerical duties in healthcare settings.

• While nurses have to undergo training in special nursing schools, medical assistants only need to have a High School diploma or equivalent.

• There are training programs for LPN and RN, and after completing either of these programs, individuals have to pass a licensing exam to work as a professional nurse.

• There are differences in education and skills of nurses and medical assistants that govern their roles and responsibilities in hospitals and nursing homes.

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