Certified nurses' aide vs patient escort

The differences between certified nurses' aides 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 certified nurses' aide and a patient escort. Additionally, a patient escort has an average salary of $33,351, 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 patient escort are patients, customer service, and patient transport.

Certified nurses' aide vs patient escort overview

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Escort
Yearly salary	$32,566	$33,351
Hourly rate	$15.66	$16.03
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	171,087	174,801
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	3

What does a certified nurses' aide do?

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.

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.

Certified nurses' aide vs patient escort salary

Certified nurses' aides and patient escorts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Escort
Average salary	$32,566	$33,351
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $42,000	Between $25,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	Guilderland, NY	-
Highest paying state	Hawaii	-
Best paying company	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between certified nurses' aide and patient escort education

There are a few differences between a certified nurses' aide and a patient escort in terms of educational background:

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Escort
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Nursing	Business
Most common college	-	-

Certified nurses' aide vs patient escort demographics

Here are the differences between certified nurses' aides' and patient escorts' demographics:

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Escort
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4%	Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2%
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, 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 certified nurses' aide and patient escort duties and responsibilities

Certified nurses' aide example responsibilities.

Recognize by physicians for ability to meticulously prepare patient's chest and attach leads to obtain excellent quality EKG tracings.
Administer nursing care under direct supervision to assign residents and patients in order to achieve maximum level of independence.
Assist residents with bathing, feeding, transferring, oral care, etc., care track on vital signs and ADL 's
Demonstrate understanding of the needs of the patients and make appropriate matches between HHA and patients.
Provide companionship to keep patients mentally healthy.
Establish compassion by providing emotional/spiritual support to patients and families.

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

Certified nurses' aide vs patient escort skills

Common certified nurses' aide skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 15%
Care Plan, 6%
Blood Pressure, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Infection Control, 4%

Common patient escort skills

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

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Zippia Careers
Healthcare Support Industry
Certified Nurses' Aide
Certified Nurses' Aide vs Patient Escort

Updated January 8, 2025

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