Care associate vs nurse technician

The differences between care associates and nurse technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a care associate and a nurse technician. Additionally, a nurse technician has an average salary of $33,005, 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 nurse technician are patients, CPR, and vital signs.

Care associate vs nurse technician overview

	Care Associate	Nurse Technician
Yearly salary	$32,558	$33,005
Hourly rate	$15.65	$15.87
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	192,391	195,553
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	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 nurse technician do?

Nurse technicians, also known as nursing aides, assistants, or attendants, usually work in clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes. Primarily, they help a registered nurse by providing essential mobility, care, and support to patients. Everyday routine duties include maintaining patients' hygiene and moving them using wheelchairs or stretchers around the facility for their meals, treatment, events, and other activities. They do tasks that help improve a patient's comfort level and become their caregivers in the long run. This job requires a high school diploma along with the completed certified nursing assistant (CNA) program.

Care associate vs nurse technician salary

Care associates and nurse technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Care Associate	Nurse Technician
Average salary	$32,558	$33,005
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $48,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Hollister, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Oregon
Best paying company	Analysis Group	Carondelet High School
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between care associate and nurse technician education

There are a few differences between a care associate and a nurse technician in terms of educational background:

	Care Associate	Nurse Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Care associate vs nurse technician demographics

Here are the differences between care associates' and nurse technicians' demographics:

	Care Associate	Nurse Technician
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%
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, 11.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 8.0% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between care associate and nurse technician 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.

Nurse technician example responsibilities.

Manage memory unity within facility.
Deliver timely and quality patient care on rehabilitation unit under direct supervision of staff nurses.
Assist patients with ADL's: bathing, transferring, ambulating, changing bed linens, skin care, etc.
Assist and serve patients with activities of daily living (ADL) in a manner conductive to their safety and comfort.
Assist new surgical patients with appropriate equipment to meet rehabilitation needs, and offer mental encouragement for a more positive recovery.
Pick up patient for surgery.

Care associate vs nurse technician skills

Common care associate skills

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

Common nurse technician skills

Patients, 26%
CPR, 9%
Vital Signs, 8%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Home Health, 5%
Direct Patient Care, 5%

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Zippia Careers
Healthcare Support Industry
Care Associate
Care Associate vs Nurse Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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