Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between licensed nursing assistants and certified medical aides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a licensed nursing assistant and a certified medical aide. Additionally, a licensed nursing assistant has an average salary of $41,395, which is higher than the $32,675 average annual salary of a certified medical aide.
The top three skills for a licensed nursing assistant include patients, vital signs and LNA. The most important skills for a certified medical aide are vital signs, CMA, and state regulations.
| Licensed Nursing Assistant | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $41,395 | $32,675 |
| Hourly rate | $19.90 | $15.71 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 258,713 | 235,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 25% | Associate Degree, 25% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A licensed or certified nursing assistant (CNA) is a healthcare professional who is responsible for providing basic health care to patients in medical settings. Under the supervision of a registered nurse, licensed nursing assistants help in repositioning bedridden patients as well as take vital signs of patients such as temperature and blood pressure. They can work with medical technology such as billing, health information, and medical recording charting software. Depending on their level of training and state regulations, licensed nursing staff can also administer medication to patients.
A certified medical aide's role is to assist registered nurses in providing care and assistance to patients. Among their responsibilities include administering medication to patients under the nurses' supervision, monitoring medication schedules and intakes, recording vital signs and other information, and observing the patients' behavior or progress, reporting to the nurses regularly. They may also assist medical staff in performing clerical tasks or transporting patients. Furthermore, a certified medical aide must respond to the needs of patients while adhering to the safety policies and standards.
Licensed nursing assistants and certified medical aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Licensed Nursing Assistant | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Average salary | $41,395 | $32,675 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $56,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Union City, CA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Cornerstone VNA | The Blake School |
| Best paying industry | Education | Media |
There are a few differences between a licensed nursing assistant and a certified medical aide in terms of educational background:
| Licensed Nursing Assistant | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 25% | Associate Degree, 25% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between licensed nursing assistants' and certified medical aides' demographics:
| Licensed Nursing Assistant | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 10.0% Female, 90.0% | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 68.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |