Care associate vs health care specialist

The differences between care associates and health care specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health care specialist has an average salary of $53,766, which is higher than the $32,558 average annual salary of a care associate.

The top three skills for a care associate include patients, vital signs and PCA. The most important skills for a health care specialist are patient care, rehabilitation, and medical care.

Care associate vs health care specialist overview

	Care Associate	Health Care Specialist
Yearly salary	$32,558	$53,766
Hourly rate	$15.65	$25.85
Growth rate	9%	36%
Number of jobs	192,391	118,429
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	42	50
Years of experience	3	-

What does a care associate do?

Patient care associates typically work at different healthcare settings where their primary job is to provide basic patient needs and comfort. They are also responsible for several patient care tasks, including bathing patients, changing the pillows and bedsheets of patients, and serving patients' meals. They should comply with safety protocols when performing these tasks. Some of them can give patients medication depending on the level of their training. To become a patient care specialist, one should possess several skills, such as good communication.

What does a health care specialist do?

Health care specialists are medical professionals working in the health care industry. These medical specialists handle their subordinate corpsmen while maintaining their administrative records during deployment. They work hand in hand with patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's, paralysis, and dementia. It is part of their job to provide nursing care to patients, which may include immunization and medical examination. They need to develop skills and knowledge in patient care, military health care, and routine medical treatment.

Care associate vs health care specialist salary

Care associates and health care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Care Associate	Health Care Specialist
Average salary	$32,558	$53,766
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $48,000	Between $30,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	Hollister, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Analysis Group	Moss Adams
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between care associate and health care specialist education

There are a few differences between a care associate and a health care specialist in terms of educational background:

	Care Associate	Health Care Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Care associate vs health care specialist demographics

Here are the differences between care associates' and health care specialists' demographics:

	Care Associate	Health Care Specialist
Average age	42	50
Gender ratio	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%	Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	7%	5%

Differences between care associate and health care specialist duties and responsibilities

Care associate example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

Health care specialist example responsibilities.

Train and certify soldiers in CPR and first aid classes and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Manage a team of 12 sailors in three departments including manpower, inpatient and outpatient behavioral health, and pediatrics.
Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide nursing care of patients including medical examinations, administering immunizations, and assisting with triage of mass casualties.
Ensure compliance with CLIA, EMA, and FDA operating guidelines.
Provide emotional support and companionship to clients.

Care associate vs health care specialist skills

Common care associate skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 11%
PCA, 7%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 5%

Common health care specialist skills

Patient Care, 26%
Rehabilitation, 23%
Medical Care, 18%
Emergency Care, 14%
Medical Readiness, 5%
Patients, 4%

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Zippia Careers
Healthcare Support Industry
Care Associate
Care Associate vs Health Care Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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