Nursing care attendant vs care associate

The differences between nursing care attendants and care associates 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 care attendant and a care associate. Additionally, a nursing care attendant has an average salary of $45,960, which is higher than the $32,558 average annual salary of a care associate.

The top three skills for a nursing care attendant include CPR, vital signs and . The most important skills for a care associate are patients, vital signs, and PCA.

Nursing care attendant vs care associate overview

	Nursing Care Attendant	Care Associate
Yearly salary	$45,960	$32,558
Hourly rate	$22.10	$15.65
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	153,501	192,391
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	3

Nursing care attendant vs care associate salary

Nursing care attendants and care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nursing Care Attendant	Care Associate
Average salary	$45,960	$32,558
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $70,000	Between $21,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	Hollister, CA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between nursing care attendant and care associate education

There are a few differences between a nursing care attendant and a care associate in terms of educational background:

	Nursing Care Attendant	Care Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Nursing care attendant vs care associate demographics

Here are the differences between nursing care attendants' and care associates' demographics:

	Nursing Care Attendant	Care Associate
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 21.2% Female, 78.8%	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 25.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 6.1% White, 49.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between nursing care attendant and care associate duties and responsibilities

Nursing care attendant example responsibilities.

Keep linens and utilities clean and in order, empty and clean urinals commodes and bedpans.
Perform and report clinical observations of patients' temperature/pulse/respiration rate and blood pressure.
Assist clients with ADL's, and making sure their needs are meet.
Perform CPR and post mortem care.
Perform routine technical duties including Phlebotomy and EKG's.
Company and assist babies to x-ray, EKG, sonogram.

Care associate example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

Nursing care attendant vs care associate skills

Common nursing care attendant skills

CPR, 70%
Vital Signs, 30%

Common care associate skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 11%
PCA, 7%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 5%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Nursing Care Attendant
Nursing Care Attendant vs Care Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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