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Health aide vs sitter

The differences between health aides and sitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a health aide has an average salary of $30,434, which is higher than the $28,724 average annual salary of a sitter.

The top three skills for a health aide include patients, home health and community health. The most important skills for a sitter are patients, kids, and CPR.

Health aide vs sitter overview

Health AideSitter
Yearly salary$30,434$28,724
Hourly rate$14.63$13.81
Growth rate36%36%
Number of jobs121,84285,152
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 28%High School Diploma, 32%
Average age5048
Years of experience--

What does a health aide do?

A health aide is responsible for providing care and assistance to patients in medical facilities, care centers, and even at home. They typically help patients by administering medicines, monitoring their blood pressure and vital signs, facilitating exercises, preparing meals, providing emotional support, and assisting them in performing hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, and going to the toilet. Furthermore, as a health aide, it is essential to monitor the behavior and progress of patients, reporting to nurses and physicians regularly.

What does a sitter do?

A sitter is responsible for assisting medical needs under the supervision of an attending physician, registered nurses, and other health professionals. Sitters monitor the patients' daily activities and perform medical duties such as taking the patient's temperature, administering medications, monitoring food intake, helping with bathing needs, and responding to the patients' inquiries, concerns, and requests. They also keep track of medical charts to report the patients' health condition and progress to the senior staff.

Health aide vs sitter salary

Health aides and sitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Health AideSitter
Average salary$30,434$28,724
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $39,000Between $20,000 And $39,000
Highest paying CityMarysville, WAFair Lawn, NJ
Highest paying stateWashingtonMassachusetts
Best paying companyBoston Medical CenterSouthcoast Health
Best paying industryEducationNon Profits

Differences between health aide and sitter education

There are a few differences between a health aide and a sitter in terms of educational background:

Health AideSitter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 28%High School Diploma, 32%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common college--

Health aide vs sitter demographics

Here are the differences between health aides' and sitters' demographics:

Health AideSitter
Average age5048
Gender ratioMale, 16.6% Female, 83.4%Male, 13.9% Female, 86.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 17.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 8.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage5%7%

Differences between health aide and sitter duties and responsibilities

Health aide example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
  • Perform care plan documentation to effectively implement personal care, dietary needs, and ADL requirements.
  • Share health information with school staff and arrange training sessions for CPR certification and health care implementation.
  • Care consists of medication administration, helping with ADL'S if necessary with the students with significant needs.
  • Last school year, perform CPR on an adult volunteer and help resuscitate him and is doing just fine.
  • Document all physical condition, behavioral and mental illness changes in patients as well as procedures perform and medication administer.
  • Show more

Sitter example responsibilities.

  • Run groceries or medical errands for patients.
  • Complete light housekeeping duties, such as dishes, folding laundry, buying groceries.
  • Help out with regular ADL's as well such as bathing, ambulating, eating, dressing, and exercise.
  • Assist with ADL's; bathing needs, food prep, exercise, drive and assist with appointments, light housekeeping
  • Provide colostomy care and administer medication for pain management in accordance with current physician recommendations.
  • Help nursing with flushing of catheters with certain residents.
  • Show more

Health aide vs sitter skills

Common health aide skills
  • Patients, 32%
  • Home Health, 20%
  • Community Health, 7%
  • Vital Signs, 5%
  • Patient Care, 5%
  • CPR, 5%
Common sitter skills
  • Patients, 26%
  • Kids, 20%
  • CPR, 13%
  • Patient Safety, 6%
  • Home Health, 5%
  • PET, 5%

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