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The differences between hospice aides and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become a hospice aide, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $28,632 average annual salary of a hospice aide.
The top three skills for a hospice aide include home health, patients and CPR. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Hospice Aide | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $28,632 | $38,859 |
| Hourly rate | $13.77 | $18.68 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 163,630 | 164,424 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 25% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 12 |
A hospice aide is responsible for assisting patients in their daily activities, usually in a medical institution or private household. Hospice aides monitor the patients' conditions, administer medication, and report updates to the attending physician or other health care professionals. They also manage the patients' food intake, support them with their lifestyle activities, and perform duties that would make the patients comfortable. A hospice aide must have excellent communication skills, especially in responding to the patients' inquiries and concerns and listening to their stories.
Certified Medical Technicians are specialists in medical diagnoses by performing laboratory testing and analysis for hospitals and physicians. Their duties include lab sanitization to prepare for testing and collection, recording medical samples for testing, specimen preparation, blood drawing for donation and testing, and assisting physicians with sample collection as well as equipment handling in surgical rooms. They must also understand how to use complex and sensitive testing equipment such as cell counters, analyzers, microscopes, and centrifuges.
Hospice aides and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hospice Aide | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average salary | $28,632 | $38,859 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $36,000 | Between $28,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Framingham, MA | Denton, TX |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Alive Hospice | Favorite Healthcare Staffing |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a hospice aide and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:
| Hospice Aide | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 25% | Bachelor's Degree, 28% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | University of Connecticut |
Here are the differences between hospice aides' and certified medical technicians' demographics:
| Hospice Aide | Certified Medical Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 9.5% Female, 90.5% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 7.0% White, 63.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |