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The differences between nurses' aides and medication 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 medication aide. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, 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 medication aide are compassion, resident care, and state regulations.
| Nurses' Aide | Medication Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $30,496 | $40,799 |
| Hourly rate | $14.66 | $19.61 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 157,723 | 275,582 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | High School Diploma, 23% |
| 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 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.
Nurses' aides and medication aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nurses' Aide | Medication Aide | |
| Average salary | $30,496 | $40,799 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $39,000 | Between $33,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Madison, WI |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a nurses' aide and a medication aide in terms of educational background:
| Nurses' Aide | Medication Aide | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | High School Diploma, 23% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between nurses' aides' and medication aides' demographics:
| Nurses' Aide | Medication Aide | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% | Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3% |
| 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, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |