Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between certified nurses' aides and certified nursing assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a certified nurses' aide and a certified nursing assistant. Additionally, a certified nursing assistant has an average salary of $32,597, which is higher than the $32,566 average annual salary of a certified nurses' aide.
The top three skills for a certified nurses' aide include patients, vital signs and care plan. The most important skills for a certified nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.
| Certified Nurses' Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $32,566 | $32,597 |
| Hourly rate | $15.66 | $15.67 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 171,087 | 225,834 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.12 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 26% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A certified nurses' aide specializes in providing health care and welfare support to patients in nursing homes, hospitals, hospice, or any facilities that offer long-term care. A nurses' aide is responsible for assisting patients in bathing and dressing, toilet and catheter use, essential daily exercise and walks, and preparing and feeding meals. Furthermore, a nurses' aide must monitor a patient's vital signs and overall condition. It is also essential to coordinate with nurses and other health care workers by reporting changes or improvements.
A certified nursing assistant generally assists patients in their healthcare needs and medical procedures. They support patients in their daily activities by monitoring patients' temperature and food intake, ensuring the cleanliness of the patient's room, and keeping documentation of patients' conditions for reference of nurses and doctors. A certified nursing assistant should also communicate with patients' families and provide updates as often as needed. It is also important that a nursing assistant is patient and compassionate enough to attend to direct patient needs, which could get demanding or challenging at times.
Certified nurses' aides and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Certified Nurses' Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $32,566 | $32,597 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $42,000 | Between $24,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Guilderland, NY | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a certified nurses' aide and a certified nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Certified Nurses' Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 26% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between certified nurses' aides' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:
| Certified Nurses' Aide | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4% | Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.8% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |