Mental health technician vs nurse technician

The differences between mental health technicians and nurse technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a nurse technician has an average salary of $33,005, which is higher than the $32,118 average annual salary of a mental health technician.

The top three skills for a mental health technician include patients, vital signs and CPR. The most important skills for a nurse technician are patients, CPR, and vital signs.

Mental health technician vs nurse technician overview

	Mental Health Technician	Nurse Technician
Yearly salary	$32,118	$33,005
Hourly rate	$15.44	$15.87
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	103,710	195,553
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	34	42
Years of experience	-	3

What does a mental health technician do?

A mental health technician's primary responsibility is to provide care and assistance to patients with mental health issues. Their tasks mainly revolve around administering scheduled and prescribed medication, monitoring vital signs, assisting during therapy sessions, and assessing patients' progress and behavior. They may also have administrative support tasks such as processing necessary documentation, preparing reports, managing schedules, and even reaching out to patients' guardians and families. A mental health technician may also build a healthy rapport with patients, giving them guidance and positive influence.

What does a nurse technician do?

Nurse technicians, also known as nursing aides, assistants, or attendants, usually work in clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes. Primarily, they help a registered nurse by providing essential mobility, care, and support to patients. Everyday routine duties include maintaining patients' hygiene and moving them using wheelchairs or stretchers around the facility for their meals, treatment, events, and other activities. They do tasks that help improve a patient's comfort level and become their caregivers in the long run. This job requires a high school diploma along with the completed certified nursing assistant (CNA) program.

Mental health technician vs nurse technician salary

Mental health technicians and nurse technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mental Health Technician	Nurse Technician
Average salary	$32,118	$33,005
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Vermont	Oregon
Best paying company	CARE	Carondelet High School
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between mental health technician and nurse technician education

There are a few differences between a mental health technician and a nurse technician in terms of educational background:

	Mental Health Technician	Nurse Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Psychology	Nursing
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	-

Mental health technician vs nurse technician demographics

Here are the differences between mental health technicians' and nurse technicians' demographics:

	Mental Health Technician	Nurse Technician
Average age	34	42
Gender ratio	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 8.0% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	15%	7%

Differences between mental health technician and nurse technician duties and responsibilities

Mental health technician example responsibilities.

Prevent and manage aggressive behavior among patients and administer CPR in emergency intervention.
Assist and organize workshops consisting of education, personal self-defense, CPR, and other techniques relating to mental health patients.
Assist in taking care of mental health patients, doing rounds on the ward, helping patients with compassion and care.
Apply immeasurable levels of compassion to preserve and safeguard the dignity of patients at all times.
Observe patient behaviors, if patients become physically violent, CPI training restraint techniques may become necessary.
Conduct patient rounds, assist with ADL care, offer therapeutic support, and provide written reports on assign patients

Nurse technician example responsibilities.

Manage memory unity within facility.
Deliver timely and quality patient care on rehabilitation unit under direct supervision of staff nurses.
Assist patients with ADL's: bathing, transferring, ambulating, changing bed linens, skin care, etc.
Assist and serve patients with activities of daily living (ADL) in a manner conductive to their safety and comfort.
Assist new surgical patients with appropriate equipment to meet rehabilitation needs, and offer mental encouragement for a more positive recovery.
Pick up patient for surgery.

Mental health technician vs nurse technician skills

Common mental health technician skills

Patients, 26%
Vital Signs, 7%
CPR, 6%
Social Work, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 5%
Patient Safety, 4%

Common nurse technician skills

Patients, 26%
CPR, 9%
Vital Signs, 8%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Home Health, 5%
Direct Patient Care, 5%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Mental Health Technician
Mental Health Technician vs Nurse Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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