Patient sitter vs certified medical technician

The differences between patient sitters and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become a patient sitter, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $29,649 average annual salary of a patient sitter.

The top three skills for a patient sitter include patients, BLS and CPR. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Patient sitter vs certified medical technician overview

	Patient Sitter	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$29,649	$38,859
Hourly rate	$14.25	$18.68
Growth rate	9%	5%
Number of jobs	188,756	164,424
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	42	44
Years of experience	3	12

What does a patient sitter do?

The primary job of a patient sitter is to provide patients with care and companionship. You will be responsible for a few duties that always include supervising patients, assisting them with basic personal hygiene and care, and monitoring their vital signs. As a patient sitter, you are expected to refrain from doing unauthorized or additional functions, identifying changes in patient's conditions, and maintaining patient information confidentiality. You are also expected to comply with relevant standards, procedures, and policies.

What does a certified medical technician do?

Certified Medical Technicians are specialists in medical diagnoses by performing laboratory testing and analysis for hospitals and physicians. Their duties include lab sanitization to prepare for testing and collection, recording medical samples for testing, specimen preparation, blood drawing for donation and testing, and assisting physicians with sample collection as well as equipment handling in surgical rooms. They must also understand how to use complex and sensitive testing equipment such as cell counters, analyzers, microscopes, and centrifuges.

Patient sitter vs certified medical technician salary

Patient sitters and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Sitter	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$29,649	$38,859
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $40,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Washington	Alaska
Best paying company	Carondelet High School	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient sitter and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a patient sitter and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Patient Sitter	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Patient sitter vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between patient sitters' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Patient Sitter	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	42	44
Gender ratio	Male, 21.5% Female, 78.5%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	7%	8%

Differences between patient sitter and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Patient sitter example responsibilities.

Conduct and facilitate PCA lead group activities as scheduled
Apply restraints to violent and combative patients.
Maintain OSHA and HIPAA compliance with regulatory standards.
Train in techniques for physical restraints (CPI).
Provide therapeutic companionship and close observation of patients in a safe and clean environment
Transport patient to MRI department.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Patient sitter vs certified medical technician skills

Common patient sitter skills

Patients, 41%
BLS, 12%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Patient Observation, 5%
Continuous Observation, 4%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Patient Sitter
Patient Sitter vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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