Medical assistants typically have a greater role in patient care, and may perform tasks like taking vital signs, providing injections or medications or aiding in patient exams.
Medical office/administrative assistants practice in a clerical role rather than in direct patient care, responsible for organizing patient records, scheduling appointments, answering phones or filing paperwork.
Learn more about the medical office administration program
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2023 / Occupational Outlook Handbook 2022. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.