What does a certified medical aide do?
A certified medical aide's role is to assist registered nurses in providing care and assistance to patients. Among their responsibilities include administering medication to patients under the nurses' supervision, monitoring medication schedules and intakes, recording vital signs and other information, and observing the patients' behavior or progress, reporting to the nurses regularly. They may also assist medical staff in performing clerical tasks or transporting patients. Furthermore, a certified medical aide must respond to the needs of patients while adhering to the safety policies and standards.
Certified medical aide responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real certified medical aide resumes:
- Manage memory unity within facility.
- Perform safety techniques, including CPR and first aid, in emergency situations.
- Coordinate & instruct CPR classes for MCPHD, community organizations & lay-persons.
- Adhere to all HIPAA regulations regarding the release of confidential medical information.
- Reorder & administrator medications, vitals, charting, and assist with ADL's.
- cart in order, to love and have compassion for residents, to listen and care
- Assist in ADL's of Alzheimer's and dementia residents, also assist in the passing of medications.
- Assist the organization's rehabilitation department.
- Provide care and compassion for those with developmental disabilities.
- Provide high-quality patient care as an in-demand within rehabilitation, and nursing-home settings.
- Assist physician in office procedures along with medical filing, phlebotomy, instrument management and surgical scheduling.
- Implement individual education plans, behavior management plans, and/or individualize services or activities as outlined for patients.
- Promote continuity of care by accurately and completely communicating to other caregivers the status of patients for which care is provided.
- Assist residents with feeding, dressing, and giving bed baths, urinals, etc.
- Change incontinent pads, assist with toileting, change beds and empty bed pans and urinals.
Certified medical aide skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Certified Medical Aides are proficient in Vital Signs, CMA, and State Regulations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Certified Medical Aides that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Vital Signs, 17%
Determined whether patient's vital signs allowed the administration of medication preventing further injury or illness to patients.
- CMA, 10%
Helped with making sure orders in the CMA MARS are correct and match the doctor's orders.
- State Regulations, 10%
Set up and administration of medications at the direction of License personnel in accordance to company policies/guidelines outlined by state regulations.
- Infection Control, 8%
Follow proper infection control techniques during medication administration and other resident care procedures.
- Patients, 6%
Implemented individual education plans, behavior management plans, and/or individualized services or activities as outlined for patients.
- CPR, 6%
Completed all training required MANDT, CRMA, Diabetic Training, First Aid, CPR.
"vital signs," "cma," and "state regulations" are among the most common skills that certified medical aides use at work. You can find even more certified medical aide responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a certified medical aide to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "nursing assistants and orderlies must communicate effectively to address patients’ or residents’ concerns." Additionally, a certified medical aide resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "provide emotional support and therapeutic communication for residents with dementia and alzheimer's disease. "
Compassion. Another essential skill to perform certified medical aide duties is compassion. Certified medical aides responsibilities require that "nursing assistants and orderlies assist and care for the sick, injured, and elderly." Certified medical aides also use compassion in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provided care and compassion for those with developmental disabilities. "
Patience. certified medical aides are also known for patience, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to certified medical aide responsibilities, because "the routine tasks of cleaning, feeding, and bathing patients or residents can be stressful." A certified medical aide resume example shows how patience is used in the workplace: "position requires compassion, patience and excellent communication and organizational skills. "
Physical stamina. A big part of what certified medical aides do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to certified medical aide responsibilities because "nursing assistants and orderlies spend much of their time on their feet." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical certified medical aide tasks: "assisted patients with physical challenges. "
The three companies that hire the most certified medical aides are:
- UTMB HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS101 certified medical aides jobs
- Southern Health Partners82 certified medical aides jobs
- Regency Health Services Inc59 certified medical aides jobs
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Compare different certified medical aides
Certified medical aide vs. Prn
A PRN or a "pro re nata" employee is responsible for covering a shift or a specific situation, especially during short-staffing or the need to complete a particular task. The PRNs often work for a medical industry without a regular or full-time commitment, having the freedom to manage their time and take multiple assignments from different organizations. A PRN must have excellent communication and organization skills, providing quality healthcare services to the patients and the organization.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a certified medical aide are more likely to require skills like "cma," "state regulations," "infection control," and "resident care." On the other hand, a job as an prn requires skills like "healthcare," "occupational therapy," "customer service," and "physical therapy." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Prns earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $49,871. On the other hand, certified medical aides are paid more in the media industry with an average salary of $31,870.On average, prns reach higher levels of education than certified medical aides. Prns are 8.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Certified medical aide vs. Patients transporter
A patients transporter is responsible for transporting patients from one place to assigned healthcare facilities to receive medical care and treatment. Patients transporters assist with moving the patients, such as on wheelchairs and beds, depending on their conditions. They also deliver laboratory tests, medical equipment, specimens, and other medical-related records to different institutions advised by healthcare management. A patients transporter must always adhere to the regulatory procedures to maintain safe and secure operations, especially on ensuring patients' comfort during transportation.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that certified medical aide responsibilities requires skills like "vital signs," "cma," "state regulations," and "infection control." But a patients transporter might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "medical equipment," "stretchers," and "jcaho."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Patients transporters tend to reach similar levels of education than certified medical aides. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Certified medical aide vs. Patient sitter
The primary job of a patient sitter is to provide patients with care and companionship. You will be responsible for a few duties that always include supervising patients, assisting them with basic personal hygiene and care, and monitoring their vital signs. As a patient sitter, you are expected to refrain from doing unauthorized or additional functions, identifying changes in patient's conditions, and maintaining patient information confidentiality. You are also expected to comply with relevant standards, procedures, and policies.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from certified medical aide resumes include skills like "cma," "state regulations," "resident care," and "topical medications," whereas a patient sitter is more likely to list skills in "bls," "customer service," "patient observation," and "continuous observation. "
Patient sitters make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $29,697. On the other hand, certified medical aides are paid the highest salary in the media industry, with average annual pay of $31,870.Most patient sitters achieve a similar degree level compared to certified medical aides. For example, they're 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Certified medical aide vs. Resident care associate
Resident Care Associates are responsible for providing support and care to individuals living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Their duties include assisting residents with daily tasks such as eating, bathing, and dressing, audit care records, as well as making sure patients take their prescribed medications. They implement daily group activities, attend to medical or safety issues, and communicates any concerns to a resident's family members as required.
Types of certified medical aide
Updated January 8, 2025
