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The differences between patient care assistants and geriatric nursing 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 patient care assistant and a geriatric nursing assistant. Additionally, a geriatric nursing assistant has an average salary of $34,595, which is higher than the $32,799 average annual salary of a patient care assistant.
The top three skills for a patient care assistant include patients, vital signs and PCA. The most important skills for a geriatric nursing assistant are patients, rehabilitation, and vital signs.
| Patient Care Assistant | Geriatric Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $32,799 | $34,595 |
| Hourly rate | $15.77 | $16.63 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 261,345 | 137,681 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 23% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A patient care assistant is responsible for attending patients' needs with the supervision of a health care professional. Duties of a patient care assistant also include performing basic medical tasks such as taking patients' temperature, monitoring food intake, preparing medicines, recording health conditions, assisting on lab tests and other medical procedures, and providing information and important updates to the patient's family. A patient care assistant must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties efficiently and accurately.
A geriatric nursing assistant is responsible for assisting elderly patients with their daily activities in a health care institution or private household setting. Geriatric nursing assistants monitor the patients' conditions, maintain an organized record of medical charts, administer medications, and update the attending physician for any health concerns. They also guide the patients with their doctor appointments, process medical documents, and coordinate with medical staff for medical procedures and payments. A geriatric nursing assistant must have excellent communication and organizational skills to ensure high-quality care services for the patients and help them improve their lifestyle.
Patient care assistants and geriatric nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Patient Care Assistant | Geriatric Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $32,799 | $34,595 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $45,000 | Between $25,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Diego, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a patient care assistant and a geriatric nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Patient Care Assistant | Geriatric Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 26% | Bachelor's Degree, 23% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between patient care assistants' and geriatric nursing assistants' demographics:
| Patient Care Assistant | Geriatric Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.4% Female, 85.6% | Male, 13.4% Female, 86.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.3% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 20.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |