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The differences between nursing attendants and certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a nursing attendant and a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant. Additionally, a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant has an average salary of $36,382, which is higher than the $30,630 average annual salary of a nursing attendant.
The top three skills for a nursing attendant include patients, vital signs and blood pressure. The most important skills for a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Nursing Attendant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,630 | $36,382 |
| Hourly rate | $14.73 | $17.49 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 192,622 | 350,499 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 26% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
Also called a nursing aide, a nursing attendant provides fundamental patient care in residents and hospitals of long-term care facilities. Nursing attendants are supervised by registered nurses and follow physician or registered nurses' care instructions. The attendants monitor important signs and dispense medication, which depends on the experience level and the environment. They should have a good foundation of clinical knowledge and skills. Among the other skills for this job include attention to detail, good teamwork, work schedules and duties flexibility, and great verbal and written communication.
A certified medical assistant (CMA) or certified nurse assistant (CNA) is a healthcare professional who performs clinical and administrative duties in clinics or medical facilities. Certified medical assistants provide excellent customer service to patients arriving and departing from the medical facility and administer injections or medications to their patients. In administrative duties, certified medical assistants are tasked to help clients submit insurance claims and encode medical records to the computer system. They also can work with specialized physicians such as ophthalmologists and podiatrists.
Nursing attendants and certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Nursing Attendant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,630 | $36,382 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $47,000 | Between $27,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | Aya Healthcare |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a nursing attendant and a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant in terms of educational background:
| Nursing Attendant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 26% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between nursing attendants' and certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants' demographics:
| Nursing Attendant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2% | Male, 10.5% Female, 89.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 6.9% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |