Patient sitter vs certified nursing assistant

The differences between patient sitters and certified 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 sitter and a certified nursing assistant. Additionally, a certified nursing assistant has an average salary of $32,597, 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 nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.

Patient sitter vs certified nursing assistant overview

	Patient Sitter	Certified Nursing Assistant
Yearly salary	$29,649	$32,597
Hourly rate	$14.25	$15.67
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	188,756	225,834
Job satisfaction	5	3.12
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	High School Diploma, 29%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	3

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 nursing assistant do?

A certified nursing assistant generally assists patients in their healthcare needs and medical procedures. They support patients in their daily activities by monitoring patients' temperature and food intake, ensuring the cleanliness of the patient's room, and keeping documentation of patients' conditions for reference of nurses and doctors. A certified nursing assistant should also communicate with patients' families and provide updates as often as needed. It is also important that a nursing assistant is patient and compassionate enough to attend to direct patient needs, which could get demanding or challenging at times.

Patient sitter vs certified nursing assistant salary

Patient sitters and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patient Sitter	Certified Nursing Assistant
Average salary	$29,649	$32,597
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $40,000	Between $24,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Washington	Hawaii
Best paying company	Carondelet High School	Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between patient sitter and certified nursing assistant education

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

	Patient Sitter	Certified Nursing Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 30%	High School Diploma, 29%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Patient sitter vs certified nursing assistant demographics

Here are the differences between patient sitters' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:

	Patient Sitter	Certified Nursing Assistant
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 21.5% Female, 78.5%	Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7%
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, 9.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between patient sitter and certified nursing assistant 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 nursing assistant example responsibilities.

Achieve lead CMA role when a nurse are not available.
Manage patient charts as relates to activity of daily living through EMR system.
Manage memory unity within facility.
Care for patients with blood born pathogens such as but not limit to HIV/AIDS.
Work per LNA practice guidelines in all aspects of care at facility: assist living; skil nursing and rehabilitation
Assist the patients with their various mobility devices such as their walkers, wheelchairs, canes and lifters if need.

Patient sitter vs certified nursing assistant skills

Common patient sitter skills

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

Common certified nursing assistant skills

Patients, 23%
Vital Signs, 10%
Home Health, 7%
Rehabilitation, 5%
CPR, 5%
Quality Care, 4%

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Healthcare Support Industry
Patient Sitter
Patient Sitter vs Certified Nursing Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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