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The differences between hospital technicians and patient care assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a hospital technician, becoming a patient care assistant takes usually requires 1-3 months. Additionally, a hospital technician has an average salary of $34,666, which is higher than the $32,799 average annual salary of a patient care assistant.
The top three skills for a hospital technician include patients, customer service and hospital policies. The most important skills for a patient care assistant are patients, vital signs, and PCA.
| Hospital Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $34,666 | $32,799 |
| Hourly rate | $16.67 | $15.77 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 78,657 | 261,345 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 26% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 3 |
A hospital technician assists the doctors and nurses in a clinic or hospital. They assist healthcare administrators in providing quality health care to patients, which may include providing prescriptions to patients. They are expected to keep patient records, and they may also be called upon to operate some laboratory equipment. This position requires basic knowledge of how to operate hospital equipment.
A patient care assistant is responsible for attending patients' needs with the supervision of a health care professional. Duties of a patient care assistant also include performing basic medical tasks such as taking patients' temperature, monitoring food intake, preparing medicines, recording health conditions, assisting on lab tests and other medical procedures, and providing information and important updates to the patient's family. A patient care assistant must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties efficiently and accurately.
Hospital technicians and patient care assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hospital Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average salary | $34,666 | $32,799 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $45,000 | Between $23,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Baystate Health | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a hospital technician and a patient care assistant in terms of educational background:
| Hospital Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 26% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between hospital technicians' and patient care assistants' demographics:
| Hospital Technician | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.1% Female, 67.9% | Male, 14.4% Female, 85.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 8.0% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.3% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 7% |