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The differences between medication aides and unit assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become a medication aide, becoming a unit assistant takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $33,802 average annual salary of a unit assistant.
The top three skills for a medication aide include compassion, resident care and state regulations. The most important skills for a unit assistant are patients, customer service, and HIPAA.
| Medication Aide | Unit Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $40,799 | $33,802 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $16.25 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 275,582 | 174,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 23% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 12 |
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.
A unit assistant is responsible for performing administrative duties within a department of a health care institution, ensuring that the patients receive the highest quality care services for their concerns and needs. Unit assistants assist the patients and the visitors, confirm their appointments, and direct them to the correct personnel or medical department. They also manage the adequacy of medical supplies and report defective equipment and machine to the maintenance for immediate repairs or replacements. A unit assistant must be highly organizational, especially on storing medical records and updating patients' information on the database.
Medication aides and unit assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medication Aide | Unit Assistant | |
| Average salary | $40,799 | $33,802 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $50,000 | Between $25,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Madison, WI | Westfield, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company | UC Santa Barbara |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a medication aide and a unit assistant in terms of educational background:
| Medication Aide | Unit Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 23% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between medication aides' and unit assistants' demographics:
| Medication Aide | Unit Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3% | Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0% |
| 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, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 9.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |