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What does a hospice aide do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a hospice aide do

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.

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Hospice aide responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real hospice aide resumes:

  • Recognize by physicians for ability to meticulously prepare patient's chest and attach leads to obtain excellent quality EKG tracings.
  • Provide individualize and highest quality of care to patients who face a life-limiting illness, provide assistance with patients ADL's.
  • Follow HIPPA laws, universal precautions.
  • Involve in adaptive clothing to the needs of residents.
  • Provide comfort and compassion to the client as well as their family members.
  • Assist with routine catheter care and enemas according to the plan of care.
  • Help students with mathematics and reading, correct papers, and place grades in a database.
  • Place devises such as braces and adaptive spoons so that resident can maintain as much independence as possible.
  • Implement ABA interventions including: reward systems, social skills training and parent training in client's home.
  • Go to different facilities and homes to assist with personal care, light housekeeping, assist with other ADL'S.
  • Work one-on-one with autistic children, using ABA techniques, the use of Proloquo2go application for assistance with non-speaking students.
  • Motivate physically and emotionally challenge students to develop mathematics and reading skills.
  • Provide end-of-life care to resident patients, supporting patients and families medically and emotionally.
  • Plan activities base on assign student's IEP to encourage appropriate independence and facilitate/support student's participation in all activities.
  • Promote continuity of care by accurately and completely communicating to other caregivers the status of patients for which care is provided.

Hospice aide skills and personality traits

We calculated that 22% of Hospice Aides are proficient in Home Health, Patients, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Patience.

We break down the percentage of Hospice Aides that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Home Health, 22%

    Manage personnel records for all home health aides and conduct reference checks, criminal background checks and abuse registry checks.

  • Patients, 17%

    Provided end-of-life care to resident patients, supporting patients and families medically and emotionally.

  • CPR, 10%

    Certified in CPR, Hospice Certified in Palliative care.

  • Care Plan, 8%

    Handled electronic documentation, attended care plan meetings, and provided family support and education.

  • HHA, 7%

    Participated in developing and updating HHA records and procedures.

  • Direct Patient Care, 4%

    Provided comprehensive direct patient care to critically ill patients.

"home health," "patients," and "cpr" are among the most common skills that hospice aides use at work. You can find even more hospice aide responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a hospice aide to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what hospice aides do because "nursing assistants and orderlies must communicate effectively to address patients’ or residents’ concerns." Additionally, a hospice aide resume shows how hospice aides use communication skills: "support the patient and families during the dying process with communication and compassion. "

Compassion. Many hospice aide duties rely on compassion. "nursing assistants and orderlies assist and care for the sick, injured, and elderly," so a hospice aide will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways hospice aide responsibilities rely on compassion: "visited no more than 6 clients per day to ensure quality care, compassion and companionship. "

Patience. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of hospice aides is patience. This skill is critical to many everyday hospice aide duties, as "the routine tasks of cleaning, feeding, and bathing patients or residents can be stressful." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "used compassion, patience, and understanding to help families, facilities, and patients with the realities of terminal diagnosis. "

Physical stamina. A big part of what hospice aides do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to hospice aide responsibilities because "nursing assistants and orderlies spend much of their time on their feet." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical hospice aide tasks: "provide physical comfort and emotional support to patients. "

Most common hospice aide skills

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Compare different hospice aides

Hospice aide vs. Prn

A PRN or a "pro re nata" employee is responsible for covering a shift or a specific situation, especially during short-staffing or the need to complete a particular task. The PRNs often work for a medical industry without a regular or full-time commitment, having the freedom to manage their time and take multiple assignments from different organizations. A PRN must have excellent communication and organization skills, providing quality healthcare services to the patients and the organization.

If we compare the average hospice aide annual salary with that of an prn, we find that prns typically earn a $11,010 higher salary than hospice aides make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both hospice aide and prn positions are skilled in home health, patients, and cpr.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, hospice aide responsibilities require skills like "care plan," "hha," "direct supervision," and "oral hygiene." Meanwhile a typical prn has skills in areas such as "healthcare," "occupational therapy," "physical therapy," and "acute care." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Prns earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $49,871. On the other hand, hospice aides are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $32,484.prns tend to reach higher levels of education than hospice aides. In fact, prns are 9.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Hospice aide vs. Patient escort

A patient escort assists health care staff in providing patient care by managing a patient's immediate needs. Typical duties that you will perform include organizing and coordinating the transport of patients, assisting patients in personal hygiene such as dressing and bathing, and engaging with patients. As a patient escort, you are expected to create good relationships with patients by treating them with dignity and respect. You may also provide support services such as restocking supplies and changing linens.

A career as a patient escort brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a hospice aide. In fact, patient escorts salary is $4,719 higher than the salary of hospice aides per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Hospice aides and patient escorts both require similar skills like "patients," "cpr," and "vital signs" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real hospice aide resumes. While hospice aide responsibilities can utilize skills like "home health," "care plan," "hha," and "direct patient care," patient escorts use skills like "patient transport," "stretchers," "reception desk," and "osha."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Patient escorts tend to reach similar levels of education than hospice aides. In fact, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Hospice aide vs. Certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant

A certified medical assistant (CMA) or certified nurse assistant (CNA) is a healthcare professional who performs clinical and administrative duties in clinics or medical facilities. Certified medical assistants provide excellent customer service to patients arriving and departing from the medical facility and administer injections or medications to their patients. In administrative duties, certified medical assistants are tasked to help clients submit insurance claims and encode medical records to the computer system. They also can work with specialized physicians such as ophthalmologists and podiatrists.

An average certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of hospice aides. The difference in salaries amounts to certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants earning a $7,750 higher average salary than hospice aides.By looking over several hospice aides and certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "home health," "patients," and "cpr." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from hospice aide resumes include skills like "care plan," "hha," "direct supervision," and "palliative care," whereas a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant is more likely to list skills in "phone calls," "medical terminology," "infection control," and "exam rooms. "

Certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $34,559. Hospice aides earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $32,484.Most certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants achieve a similar degree level compared to hospice aides. For example, they're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Hospice aide vs. Certified nursing assistant

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.

Certified nursing assistants typically earn higher pay than hospice aides. On average, certified nursing assistants earn a $3,965 higher salary per year.According to resumes from hospice aides and certified nursing assistants, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "home health," "patients," and "cpr. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "hha," "direct supervision," "palliative care," and "nutritious meals" are skills that commonly show up on hospice aide resumes. On the other hand, certified nursing assistants use skills like resident care, infection control, patient care, and english language on their resumes.The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for certified nursing assistants, with average annual pay of $32,376. Comparatively, the highest hospice aide annual salary comes from the professional industry.certified nursing assistants reach similar levels of education compared to hospice aides, in general. The difference is that they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of hospice aide

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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