Certified nurses' aide vs patient sitter

The differences between certified nurses' aides and patient sitters 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 sitter. Additionally, a certified nurses' aide has an average salary of $32,566, which is higher than the $29,649 average annual salary of a patient sitter.

The top three skills for a certified nurses' aide include patients, vital signs and care plan. The most important skills for a patient sitter are patients, BLS, and CPR.

Certified nurses' aide vs patient sitter overview

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Sitter
Yearly salary	$32,566	$29,649
Hourly rate	$15.66	$14.25
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	171,087	188,756
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
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 sitter do?

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.

Certified nurses' aide vs patient sitter salary

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

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Sitter
Average salary	$32,566	$29,649
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $42,000	Between $21,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Guilderland, NY	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	Carondelet High School
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between certified nurses' aide and patient sitter education

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

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Sitter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 26%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Certified nurses' aide vs patient sitter demographics

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

	Certified Nurses' Aide	Patient Sitter
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4%	Male, 21.5% Female, 78.5%
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, 10.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between certified nurses' aide and patient sitter 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 sitter example responsibilities.

Conduct and facilitate PCA lead group activities as scheduled
Apply restraints to violent and combative patients.
Maintain OSHA and HIPAA compliance with regulatory standards.
Train in techniques for physical restraints (CPI).
Provide therapeutic companionship and close observation of patients in a safe and clean environment
Transport patient to MRI department.

Certified nurses' aide vs patient sitter 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 sitter skills

Patients, 41%
BLS, 12%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Patient Observation, 5%
Continuous Observation, 4%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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