Medical Assistant

Duties and Responsibilities:

Medical assistants help physicians and nurses deliver patient care.  They schedule appointments; take blood pressures, respirations, temperatures; and perform other routine patient pre-examining procedures.  Sometimes they help with office and clerical tasks.  Medical assistants work in hospitals, clinics, and private physician offices.

Average Salary:  $17,000 - $18,000

Educational Requirements:

Students should complete high school with courses in biology, physical science, office management, communications, and human relations, although medical assistant training programs may accept GED certificates.  Medical assistant training programs are provided by community colleges and for-profit technical training schools.  They may take between six months and two years to complete.

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)

Duties and Responsibilities:

                Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) work with and under the direction of registered nurses and physicians.  They care for injured, handicapped, and sick patients.  Their duties include taking temperatures, blood pressures, and pulses.  They also give injections, change dressings, and help give patients baths.  In general, they care for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and extended care facilities.  Some practical nurses work in private homes.

Salary: $35,000 - $45,000

Educational Requirements:

 Although a high school diploma or GED certificate is not always required, it is encouraged.  LPNs do not have the extensive professional education that is required for a registered nurse.  State approved training programs are offered by the hospitals, vocational schools, junior colleges and private schools.