Differences
One of the most significant differences is the acuity of patients. Obviously, hospitalized patients require a higher level of care than a clinic can provide. More monitoring is needed. However, occasionally a patient may present to a clinic with an acute or emergent issue, so nurses must be prepared to handle more complex patients and be able to stabilize them for transfer to an acute care setting.Both clinic nursing and hospital nursing can be busy. However, they are different kinds of busy. While hospital nurses are busy in that they have complex patients to care for with many nursing interventions needed, clinic nurses have a higher volume/ patient turnover to manage throughout the day. Multi-tasking is crucial in clinic nursing as nurses must not only provide hands-on care, they may also have to address messages from patients and perform telephone triage and follow up calls.
Similarities
Both LPNs and RNs are required to obtain a license. Both medical assistants and nurses work in doctor’s offices, clinics and ambulatory care. Nurses also work in long-term care facilities, nursing homes and hospitals. Nurses are often required to work long hours with rotating shifts and nontraditional hours. Medical assistants generally have a traditional workday with nights and weekends off of work.
I hope this helped.