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Comparing Phlebotomist to Medical Assistant
Learn the basic differences between phlebotomy and medical assisting, including job duties, educational requirements, and future career options.
Phlebotomy vs. medical assisting: What career pathway is right for you?
Both medical assisting and phlebotomy are vital roles in healthcare with select shared responsibilities—however, their overall scope of practice and training differ significantly.
Medical assisting is a comprehensive pathway, including phlebotomy training which can open up doors to additional career opportunities.
Read on for more information about both careers, which one is right for you, and how to consider both options in your overall career pathway.
Duties and Responsibilities
1. Establishing the basics: duties and responsibilities of a medical assistant vs. phlebotomist
Phlebotomists
Phlebotomists are specialized healthcare professionals primarily responsible for drawing blood for medical tests, transfusions, research, or donations. They specialize in venipuncture (drawing blood from a vein) and capillary blood collection (finger sticks).
Phlebotomists focus on the precise and safe collection of blood samples and managing samples and equipment. They also explain procedures to and give patients comfort throughout the process.
Specific phlebotomist duties can be grouped into three main categories: blood collection, specimen handling, and equipment management.
Blood collection
- Performing venipunctures using various techniques (e.g., evacuated tube system, syringe, butterfly needle)
- Performing capillary sticks (finger sticks) for smaller blood samples
- Identifying and preparing patients for blood draws
- Explaining procedures to patients to alleviate anxiety
- Ensuring patient comfort throughout the process
Specimen handling
- Properly labeling and organizing blood samples
- Processing and preparing specimens for laboratory testing
- Following strict safety protocols to prevent contamination and infection
- Maintaining accurate records of collected samples
Equipment management
- Assembling, maintaining, and disposing of medical instruments (needles, test tubes, blood vials).
Medical assistants
Medical assistants perform a variety of duties, ranging from patient-focused care to administrative tasks.
Clinical duties include:
- Taking vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, pulse, respiration)
- Assisting doctors during examinations and minor procedures (e.g., handing instruments)
- Preparing patients for examinations
- Collecting and preparing laboratory specimens (including drawing blood and collecting urine and swabs)
- Performing electrocardiograms (EKGs)
- Sterilizing medical instruments
- Providing patient education on medications, diets, and many other procedures
Administrative tasks include:
- Scheduling appointments and managing patient check-ins
- Updating and organizing medical records (both paper and electronic)
- Handling billing and insurance paperwork
- Answering phones and directing patient inquiries
Can medical assistants draw blood?
Yes, medical assistants can draw blood, though it's not always their primary duty. For phlebotomists, however, drawing blood is their main responsibility.
Education Requirements
2. Education requirements for medical assistants and phlebotomists
Education requirements are similar in kind in both phlebotomy and medical assisting. Either way, requirements include:
- A high school diploma or GED
- Completion of an educational program
- Gain clinical experience
Educational programs can vary in terms of program length, credits required, and specific award (certificate, diploma, or degree). State requirements heavily influence minimal education requirements.
In general, medical assisting programs must be more comprehensive than phlebotomy training, meaning MA programs usually take longer to complete. Phlebotomy can be a part of an MA’s job, but phlebotomists are specialists whose scope of practice does not include additional MA responsibilities.
For this reason, choosing the MA pathway can potentially lead to broader possibilities for future career advancement. Medical assisting is a potential advancement for a phlebotomist—but working as an MA can be a foundation to pursue careers in healthcare administration, health information, health sciences, or even nursing.
Certification options
Both phlebotomists and MAs can become certified, which demonstrates you’ve met certain professional standards. Certification requirements can vary by state.
To become a certified phlebotomist, you’ll need a certain number of hours of work experience and/or successful patient draws. You’ll also need to successfully pass a certification exam from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), National Phlebotomy Association (NPA-CPT), or National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT).
There are two primary medical assisting certifications you can pursue, which are tied to the degree program you choose:
- Diploma program: Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA)
- Associate degree program: Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) from the American Medical Technologists (AMT)
In each program, we pay for your first attempt in the last semester of the program.
After earning your diploma or degree and a certification, you’ll be ready to become a vital contributor for a team of healthcare professionals.1
Where They Work
3. Where do medical assistants and phlebotomists work?
Both medical assistants and phlebotomists work in a variety of healthcare settings, including doctor's offices, clinics, hospitals, and outpatient care centers.
They may also work in more specialized settings, such as:
- Medical and diagnostic laboratories: These facilities process blood samples for testing.
- Blood donation centers: Organizations like the American Red Cross rely heavily on phlebotomists to collect blood from volunteer donors.
- Research institutions: Universities and private research companies may employ phlebotomists or medical assistants for studies that require blood samples from participants.
- Public health agencies: For community health screenings or disease surveillance programs.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, MAs are much more likely to work in physician’s offices, while phlebotomists are much more often employed in medical and diagnostic laboratories:
Percent of total occupational employment in industry, May 2024i
| Industry | Phlebotomists | Medical Assistants |
|---|---|---|
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 35.2% | 17.2% |
| Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories | 33.2% | 0.4% |
| Other Ambulatory Health Care Services | 17.2% | 0.9% |
| Offices of Physicians | 7.4% | 61.3% |
| Employment Services | 2.1% | 1.7% |
| Outpatient Care Centers | 1.8% | 10.8% |
| Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals | 0.7% | 0.6% |
| Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 0.4% | 1.0% |
| Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| i. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Occupational employment and wage statistics, May 2024: All data. United States Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. This table includes a selection of the top industries for each occupation. That’s why there are only 10 industries listed and percentages do not add to 100%. | ||
4. Pros and cons of both jobs
What are the pros and cons of working as a medical assistant?
Working as a medical assistant can offer a lot of variety, blending clinical and administrative duties in a healthcare environment.
MAs can work in diverse settings, and the position often serves as a steppingstone for career advancement, such as becoming a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or registered nurse (RN).
However, the job can be demanding, often requiring MAs to juggle multiple tasks and patients, which may be stressful.
What are the pros and cons of working as a phlebotomist?
There are many benefits to being a phlebotomist: a short training time allows you to pursue an entry-level career quickly. However, the work can be repetitive, and phlebotomists frequently interact with anxious patients. There are also limited advancement opportunities unless you pursue further education.
Career Pathways
5. Career pathways: Can a medical assistant work as a phlebotomist, and vice versa?
Medical assistant to phlebotomist
Yes, with the proper education and experience, a medical assistant can potentially work as a phlebotomist.
Our MA program includes phlebotomy training as a core component of its curriculum. This means MAs learn the necessary techniques for drawing blood (venipuncture and capillary sticks), patient identification, specimen handling, and safety protocols.
However, keep in mind you will need field experience to have the number of successful venipunctures required to take a certification exam.
Phlebotomist to medical assistant
A phlebotomist cannot work as a medical assistant without additional training and education, because MAs have a broader scope of practice beyond blood collection.
To become an MA, a phlebotomist must complete a medical assisting program covering administrative and clinical skills, including a required clinical externship. With Herzing University, you can choose either a diploma or degree pathway depending on your overall career goals.
Salary and Job Outlook
6. Salary and job outlook comparison
Phlebotomists and medical assistants earn a very similar average salary, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a much greater need for MAs over the next 10 years.
Total employment of medical assistants is much higher than phlebotomists (783,900 vs. 141,200), and the expected growth in these figures both in terms of total count and percentage increase favors MA.
It’s a good time to earn a medical assisting education and join a growing field where your knowledge and skills will be in high demand.
Average salaries, 2023-2033*
| Job | Avg. annual salary | Avg. hourly salary |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Assistants | $44,720 | $21.50 |
| Phlebotomists | $44,390 | $21.34 |
Projected employment increase, 2023-2033*
| Job | % increase | Jobs added |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Assistants | 15% | 118,000 |
| Phlebotomists | 8% | 11,000 |
Start your path to medical assisting today
Both phlebotomists and medical assistants play an important role in healthcare, and both have their unique benefits.
Whether your focus is phlebotomy or another aspect of medical assisting, earning a formal education in medical assisting can help provide a more flexible career path and greater advancement opportunities.
Learn more about the Herzing University Medical Assisting program
1. Certification in this program is not a state requirement.
BLS pay estimates calculate the median annual wage for various occupations. Per the BLS the median wage for an occupation is: "The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount, and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey." Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2024. BLS median wage estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geographic market in which you want to work, and degree level and field, will affect career outcomes, including starting salary and earnings as an experienced employee. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the median salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, particular wage or salary, or other career growth.