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Nurses' aide vs health aide

The differences between nurses' aides and health aides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a nurses' aide has an average salary of $30,496, which is higher than the $30,434 average annual salary of a health aide.

The top three skills for a nurses' aide include patients, vital signs and electrocardiogram. The most important skills for a health aide are patients, home health, and community health.

Nurses' aide vs health aide overview

Nurses' AideHealth Aide
Yearly salary$30,496$30,434
Hourly rate$14.66$14.63
Growth rate9%36%
Number of jobs157,723121,842
Job satisfaction4.5-
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 30%Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age4250
Years of experience3-

What does a nurses' aide do?

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.

What does a health aide do?

A health aide is responsible for providing care and assistance to patients in medical facilities, care centers, and even at home. They typically help patients by administering medicines, monitoring their blood pressure and vital signs, facilitating exercises, preparing meals, providing emotional support, and assisting them in performing hygienic tasks such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, and going to the toilet. Furthermore, as a health aide, it is essential to monitor the behavior and progress of patients, reporting to nurses and physicians regularly.

Nurses' aide vs health aide salary

Nurses' aides and health aides have different pay scales, as shown below.

Nurses' AideHealth Aide
Average salary$30,496$30,434
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $39,000Between $23,000 And $39,000
Highest paying CityUrban Honolulu, HIMarysville, WA
Highest paying stateHawaiiWashington
Best paying companyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBoston Medical Center
Best paying industryHealth CareEducation

Differences between nurses' aide and health aide education

There are a few differences between a nurses' aide and a health aide in terms of educational background:

Nurses' AideHealth Aide
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 30%Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common majorNursingNursing
Most common college--

Nurses' aide vs health aide demographics

Here are the differences between nurses' aides' and health aides' demographics:

Nurses' AideHealth Aide
Average age4250
Gender ratioMale, 13.2% Female, 86.8%Male, 16.6% Female, 83.4%
Race ratioBlack 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, 24.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 35.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage7%5%

Differences between nurses' aide and health aide duties and responsibilities

Nurses' aide example responsibilities.

  • Manage and schedule restorative nursing programs for patients to encourage further rehabilitation or maintenance of physical function.
  • Maintain current CPR and hospital policies, work with patients ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics on a daily basis.
  • Perform ADL's (activities of daily living) and direct care services to assign patients to ensure schedule appointments are met
  • Assist with patient transfer, ambulation, catheter care, vital signs, answering call lights, feeding, and shower.
  • Lead RCA that overlook on residents and supervise staff.
  • Perform housekeeping to maintain cleanliness of the facility or patient's residence.
  • Show more

Health aide example responsibilities.

  • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
  • Perform care plan documentation to effectively implement personal care, dietary needs, and ADL requirements.
  • Share health information with school staff and arrange training sessions for CPR certification and health care implementation.
  • Care consists of medication administration, helping with ADL'S if necessary with the students with significant needs.
  • Last school year, perform CPR on an adult volunteer and help resuscitate him and is doing just fine.
  • Document all physical condition, behavioral and mental illness changes in patients as well as procedures perform and medication administer.
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Nurses' aide vs health aide skills

Common nurses' aide skills
  • Patients, 27%
  • Vital Signs, 12%
  • Electrocardiogram, 8%
  • Compassion, 7%
  • Rehabilitation, 5%
  • Medical Equipment, 4%
Common health aide skills
  • Patients, 32%
  • Home Health, 20%
  • Community Health, 7%
  • Vital Signs, 5%
  • Patient Care, 5%
  • CPR, 5%

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