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The differences between operating room assistants and nurse technicians 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 nurse technician. Additionally, an operating room assistant has an average salary of $34,177, which is higher than the $33,005 average annual salary of a nurse technician.
The top three skills for an operating room assistant include patients, surgery and anesthesia. The most important skills for a nurse technician are patients, CPR, and vital signs.
| Operating Room Assistant | Nurse Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $34,177 | $33,005 |
| Hourly rate | $16.43 | $15.87 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 218,839 | 195,553 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| 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.
Nurse technicians, also known as nursing aides, assistants, or attendants, usually work in clinics, hospitals, and nursing homes. Primarily, they help a registered nurse by providing essential mobility, care, and support to patients. Everyday routine duties include maintaining patients' hygiene and moving them using wheelchairs or stretchers around the facility for their meals, treatment, events, and other activities. They do tasks that help improve a patient's comfort level and become their caregivers in the long run. This job requires a high school diploma along with the completed certified nursing assistant (CNA) program.
Operating room assistants and nurse technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operating Room Assistant | Nurse Technician | |
| Average salary | $34,177 | $33,005 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $43,000 | Between $26,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Monica, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Oregon |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Carondelet High School |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an operating room assistant and a nurse technician in terms of educational background:
| Operating Room Assistant | Nurse Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between operating room assistants' and nurse technicians' demographics:
| Operating Room Assistant | Nurse Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.8% Female, 53.2% | Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1% |
| 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, 11.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 8.0% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |