First-aid attendant vs care associate

The differences between first-aid attendants and care associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a first-aid attendant and a care associate. Additionally, a care associate has an average salary of $32,558, which is higher than the $27,639 average annual salary of a first-aid attendant.

The top three skills for a first-aid attendant include customer service, fire safety and BLS. The most important skills for a care associate are patients, vital signs, and PCA.

First-aid attendant vs care associate overview

	First-Aid Attendant	Care Associate
Yearly salary	$27,639	$32,558
Hourly rate	$13.29	$15.65
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	164,508	192,391
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	3

What does a first-aid attendant do?

First-Aid Attendants are responsible for providing immediate medical assistance to employees suffering an injury or illness. Their duties include gathering patient medical information, disinfecting wounds, administering bandages, handling artificial respirators and oxygen administration, and providing medications to relieve pain. They are responsible for arranging transport logistics, maintaining personnel headcount, attending safety meetings, producing first aid reports, and ensuring accurate documentation. First Aid Attendants in health care facilities manage bed changes as well as assist physicians during an emergency.

What does a care associate do?

Patient care associates typically work at different healthcare settings where their primary job is to provide basic patient needs and comfort. They are also responsible for several patient care tasks, including bathing patients, changing the pillows and bedsheets of patients, and serving patients' meals. They should comply with safety protocols when performing these tasks. Some of them can give patients medication depending on the level of their training. To become a patient care specialist, one should possess several skills, such as good communication.

First-aid attendant vs care associate salary

First-aid attendants and care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	First-Aid Attendant	Care Associate
Average salary	$27,639	$32,558
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $21,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	Hollister, CA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between first-aid attendant and care associate education

There are a few differences between a first-aid attendant and a care associate in terms of educational background:

	First-Aid Attendant	Care Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

First-aid attendant vs care associate demographics

Here are the differences between first-aid attendants' and care associates' demographics:

	First-Aid Attendant	Care Associate
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 33.2% Female, 66.8%	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 6.7% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between first-aid attendant and care associate duties and responsibilities

First-aid attendant example responsibilities.

Operate POS cash register to manage cash, credit, and debit card transactions for sell items.
Handle confidential materials and follow HIPPA regulations.
Keep records on individual pet, including daily observations and information activities perform, meals sever, and medication administer.
Work when need in the outpatient ambulatory surgery department.

Care associate example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

First-aid attendant vs care associate skills

Common first-aid attendant skills

Customer Service, 98%
Fire Safety, 0%
BLS, 0%
Emergency Situations, 0%
Front Desk, 0%
Certifications, 0%

Common care associate skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 11%
PCA, 7%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 5%

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Zippia Careers
Healthcare Support Industry
First-Aid Attendant
First-Aid Attendant vs Care Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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