Care associate vs patient escort

The differences between care associates and patient escorts 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 patient escort. Additionally, a patient escort has an average salary of $33,351, 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 patient escort are patients, customer service, and patient transport.

Care associate vs patient escort overview

	Care Associate	Patient Escort
Yearly salary	$32,558	$33,351
Hourly rate	$15.65	$16.03
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	192,391	174,801
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
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 patient escort do?

A patient escort assists health care staff in providing patient care by managing a patient's immediate needs. Typical duties that you will perform include organizing and coordinating the transport of patients, assisting patients in personal hygiene such as dressing and bathing, and engaging with patients. As a patient escort, you are expected to create good relationships with patients by treating them with dignity and respect. You may also provide support services such as restocking supplies and changing linens.

Care associate vs patient escort salary

Care associates and patient escorts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Care Associate	Patient Escort
Average salary	$32,558	$33,351
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $48,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Hollister, CA	-
Highest paying state	Hawaii	-
Best paying company	Analysis Group	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between care associate and patient escort education

There are a few differences between a care associate and a patient escort in terms of educational background:

	Care Associate	Patient Escort
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Nursing	Business
Most common college	-	-

Care associate vs patient escort demographics

Here are the differences between care associates' and patient escorts' demographics:

	Care Associate	Patient Escort
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%	Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2%
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, 13.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.6% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between care associate and patient escort 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.

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Patient escort example responsibilities.

Conduct and facilitate PCA lead group activities as scheduled
Perform CPR during emergency Harvey situations.
Transport patients to and from on ultrasound and XRay
Ensure patients make timely appointments to MRI and other tests.
Train to safely handle patient moves with traction, IVs, drainage apparatus, oxygen and other encumbrances.
Transport patients to and from surgery to the surgery room to recovery from ultrasound and x ray and so on

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Care associate vs patient escort skills

Common care associate skills

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

Common patient escort skills

Patients, 42%
Customer Service, 9%
Patient Transport, 8%
CPR, 6%
Stretchers, 4%
Reception Desk, 2%

Care Associate vs. similar jobs

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Updated January 8, 2025

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