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Licensed nursing assistant vs prn

The differences between licensed nursing assistants and prns 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 an prn. Additionally, a licensed nursing assistant has an average salary of $41,395, which is higher than the $39,642 average annual salary of an prn.

The top three skills for a licensed nursing assistant include patients, vital signs and LNA. The most important skills for an prn are patients, healthcare, and occupational therapy.

Licensed nursing assistant vs prn overview

Licensed Nursing AssistantPRN
Yearly salary$41,395$39,642
Hourly rate$19.90$19.06
Growth rate9%9%
Number of jobs258,71372,309
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 25%Associate Degree, 41%
Average age4242
Years of experience33

What does a licensed nursing assistant do?

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.

What does an prn do?

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.

Licensed nursing assistant vs prn salary

Licensed nursing assistants and prns have different pay scales, as shown below.

Licensed Nursing AssistantPRN
Average salary$41,395$39,642
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $56,000Between $17,000 And $89,000
Highest paying CityUnion City, CADavis, CA
Highest paying stateHawaiiHawaii
Best paying companyCornerstone VNAErlanger Health System
Best paying industryEducationProfessional

Differences between licensed nursing assistant and prn education

There are a few differences between a licensed nursing assistant and an prn in terms of educational background:

Licensed Nursing AssistantPRN
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 25%Associate Degree, 41%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common college--

Licensed nursing assistant vs prn demographics

Here are the differences between licensed nursing assistants' and prns' demographics:

Licensed Nursing AssistantPRN
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 10.0% Female, 90.0%Male, 21.0% Female, 79.0%
Race ratioBlack 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, 11.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between licensed nursing assistant and prn duties and responsibilities

Licensed nursing assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage memory unity within facility.
  • Perform assessments, responsible for medication administration, wind care treatment, documentation and aiding in the residents' ADL's.
  • Set up telemetry units, EKG remove hep locks, stock order, assist patients with healing and recovery after surgery.
  • Provide medical assistance and perform duties as a license nursing assistant at local nursing home and rehabilitation centers.
  • Support the entire interdisciplinary ICU team in providing high quality patient care.
  • Involve in maintenance of compliance measures for OSHA regulations for office practice.
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Prn example responsibilities.

  • Develop discharge plans base on individual patients' medical and ADL needs to ensure safety and security issues are addressed.
  • Experience with ICU patients including ventilator and non-ventilator dependent patients.
  • Tend to the physical and emotional needs of patients recovering from critical injury or extensive orthopedic surgery.
  • Provide patient rehabilitation to primarily geriatric short/long term care patients of different diagnosis and document treatment sessions appropriately.
  • Provide PRN speech services including evaluation and treatments in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient settings with adult populations
  • Incorporate invasive monitoring and CPR skills as needed.
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Licensed nursing assistant vs prn skills

Common licensed nursing assistant skills
  • Patients, 22%
  • Vital Signs, 10%
  • LNA, 7%
  • ADL, 5%
  • Adaptive, 5%
  • Rehabilitation, 4%
Common prn skills
  • Patients, 29%
  • Healthcare, 9%
  • Occupational Therapy, 7%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Rehabilitation, 5%
  • Customer Service, 4%

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