Dietary patient aide vs medication aide

The differences between dietary patient aides and medication aides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $27,112 average annual salary of a dietary patient aide.

The top three skills for a dietary patient aide include patients, patient safety and vital signs. The most important skills for a medication aide are compassion, resident care, and state regulations.

Dietary patient aide vs medication aide overview

	Dietary Patient Aide	Medication Aide
Yearly salary	$27,112	$40,799
Hourly rate	$13.03	$19.61
Growth rate	12%	9%
Number of jobs	103,465	275,582
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 23%
Average age	41	42
Years of experience	-	3

Dietary patient aide vs medication aide salary

Dietary patient aides and medication aides have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dietary Patient Aide	Medication Aide
Average salary	$27,112	$40,799
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $34,000	Between $33,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Bangor, ME	Madison, WI
Highest paying state	Maine	Hawaii
Best paying company	Tufts Medical Center	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Manufacturing

Differences between dietary patient aide and medication aide education

There are a few differences between a dietary patient aide and a medication aide in terms of educational background:

	Dietary Patient Aide	Medication Aide
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 23%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Dietary patient aide vs medication aide demographics

Here are the differences between dietary patient aides' and medication aides' demographics:

	Dietary Patient Aide	Medication Aide
Average age	41	42
Gender ratio	Male, 24.7% Female, 75.3%	Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 27.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 48.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	8%	7%

Differences between dietary patient aide and medication aide duties and responsibilities

Dietary patient aide example responsibilities.

Conduct and facilitate PCA lead group activities as scheduled
Provide in house rehabilitation to the disable.
Demonstrate compassion and professionalism while delivering dialysis treatment to high-risk populations.
Explain dialysis procedure and operation of hemodialysis machine to patient and calculate the proper amount for fluid removal during dialysis procedure.
Present peer to peer health education and provide administrative support to student health center including filing medical records using HIPPA compliant procedures

Medication aide example responsibilities.

Manage memory unity within facility.
Provide care for patients in need of long term care and rehabilitation.
Administer medication according to state laws and guidelines as well as facility guidelines and assist residents with ADL's.
preserve patient's dignity while providing such duties as bedpan changes, bathing, diapering, emptying catheter and colostomy bags.
Assist with changing colostomy bags.
learned to be more efficient with time restraints!

Dietary patient aide vs medication aide skills

Common dietary patient aide skills

Patients, 55%
Patient Safety, 6%
Vital Signs, 5%
Direct Patient Care, 5%
CPR, 5%
Rehabilitation, 4%

Common medication aide skills

Compassion, 11%
Resident Care, 11%
State Regulations, 8%
Infection Control, 7%
Incident Reports, 5%
Vital Signs, 5%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Dietary Patient Aide
Dietary Patient Aide vs Medication Aide

Updated January 8, 2025

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