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The differences between nurses' aides 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 nurses' aide and a certified medical aide. Additionally, a certified medical aide has an average salary of $32,675, which is higher than the $30,496 average annual salary of a nurses' aide.
The top three skills for a nurses' aide include patients, vital signs and electrocardiogram. The most important skills for a certified medical aide are vital signs, CMA, and state regulations.
| Nurses' Aide | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $30,496 | $32,675 |
| Hourly rate | $14.66 | $15.71 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 157,723 | 235,444 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Associate Degree, 25% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A nurses' aide is responsible for providing healthcare and welfare assistance to patients in long-term care facilities while under the supervision of a registered nurse or a licensed colleague with extensive expertise. A nurses' aide is mostly involved in basic hygienic tasks, such as helping a patient in bathing and dressing, using the toilet, preparing meals, feeding, and performing basic chores. It is also vital for a nurses' aide to coordinate with supervisors, reporting any changes in a patients' condition or behavior.
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.
Nurses' aides and certified medical aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nurses' Aide | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Average salary | $30,496 | $32,675 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $39,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | The Blake School |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Media |
There are a few differences between a nurses' aide and a certified medical aide in terms of educational background:
| Nurses' Aide | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Associate Degree, 25% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between nurses' aides' and certified medical aides' demographics:
| Nurses' Aide | Certified Medical Aide | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 7.6% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | 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% |