Medication aide vs care associate

The differences between medication aides and care associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a medication aide and a care associate. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $32,558 average annual salary of a care associate.

The top three skills for a medication aide include compassion, resident care and state regulations. The most important skills for a care associate are patients, vital signs, and PCA.

Medication aide vs care associate overview

	Medication Aide	Care Associate
Yearly salary	$40,799	$32,558
Hourly rate	$19.61	$15.65
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	275,582	192,391
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 23%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	3

What does a medication aide do?

A medication aide is a healthcare professional who is responsible for administering medication to patients daily in a hospital or medical facility. As certified nursing assistants, medication aides should possess knowledge of patient care procedures so that they can coordinate with different nurses to deliver them. They follow written or verbal instructions from physicians on how to manage their patients' medications. Medication aides are also required to observe their patients and document changes in their conditions.

What does a care associate do?

Patient care associates typically work at different healthcare settings where their primary job is to provide basic patient needs and comfort. They are also responsible for several patient care tasks, including bathing patients, changing the pillows and bedsheets of patients, and serving patients' meals. They should comply with safety protocols when performing these tasks. Some of them can give patients medication depending on the level of their training. To become a patient care specialist, one should possess several skills, such as good communication.

Medication aide vs care associate salary

Medication aides and care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medication Aide	Care Associate
Average salary	$40,799	$32,558
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $50,000	Between $21,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Madison, WI	Hollister, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Hawaii
Best paying company	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between medication aide and care associate education

There are a few differences between a medication aide and a care associate in terms of educational background:

	Medication Aide	Care Associate
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 23%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Medication aide vs care associate demographics

Here are the differences between medication aides' and care associates' demographics:

	Medication Aide	Care Associate
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3%	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between medication aide and care associate duties and responsibilities

Medication aide example responsibilities.

Manage memory unity within facility.
Provide care for patients in need of long term care and rehabilitation.
Administer medication according to state laws and guidelines as well as facility guidelines and assist residents with ADL's.
preserve patient's dignity while providing such duties as bedpan changes, bathing, diapering, emptying catheter and colostomy bags.
Assist with changing colostomy bags.
learned to be more efficient with time restraints!

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Care associate example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

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Medication aide vs care associate skills

Common medication aide skills

Compassion, 11%
Resident Care, 11%
State Regulations, 8%
Infection Control, 7%
Incident Reports, 5%
Vital Signs, 5%

Common care associate skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 11%
PCA, 7%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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