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The differences between direct care workers and certified nursing assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified nursing assistant has an average salary of $32,597, which is higher than the $29,343 average annual salary of a direct care worker.
The top three skills for a direct care worker include direct care, patients and CPR. The most important skills for a certified nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.
| Direct Care Worker | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $29,343 | $32,597 |
| Hourly rate | $14.11 | $15.67 |
| Growth rate | 36% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 140,788 | 225,834 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.12 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 3 |
A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule. Furthermore, it is also the duty of a Direct Care Worker to empathize and build rapport with clients to make them feel more at ease.
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.
Direct care workers and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Direct Care Worker | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $29,343 | $32,597 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $36,000 | Between $24,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, ME | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Arizona Training & Evaluation Center | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a direct care worker and a certified nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Direct Care Worker | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between direct care workers' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:
| Direct Care Worker | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.4% Female, 76.6% | Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.7% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.1% 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% |