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The differences between operating room assistants 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 an operating room assistant and a medication aide. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $34,177 average annual salary of an operating room assistant.
The top three skills for an operating room assistant include patients, surgery and anesthesia. The most important skills for a medication aide are compassion, resident care, and state regulations.
| Operating Room Assistant | Medication Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $34,177 | $40,799 |
| Hourly rate | $16.43 | $19.61 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 218,839 | 275,582 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | High School Diploma, 23% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
An operating room assistant works alongside the surgeons in maintaining the orderly and sterile nature of operating rooms. The assistant ensures that all surgical equipment is clean and hygienic, all monitoring equipment is functional, and everything needed by the doctor is present inside the operating room. The assistant position is vital during an operation. The surgeon may become too focused on the operation at hand that helpful assistants must ensure an operation's smooth flow.
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.
Operating room assistants and medication aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operating Room Assistant | Medication Aide | |
| Average salary | $34,177 | $40,799 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $43,000 | Between $33,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Monica, CA | Madison, WI |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an operating room assistant and a medication aide in terms of educational background:
| Operating Room Assistant | Medication Aide | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | High School Diploma, 23% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between operating room assistants' and medication aides' demographics:
| Operating Room Assistant | Medication Aide | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2% | Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.1% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | 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% |