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.
Patient sitter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real patient sitter resumes:
- 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.
- Empty catheter bags and measure fluids.
- Assist patient with ADL's when necessary.
- Replace and refill O2 tanks for patients.
- Sit with patient in home or nursing facility.
- Assist in ADL skills, range of motion exercises and swallowing exercises
- Assist in the loading and unloading of patients onto ambulances and vans.
- Transport patients to other areas of the hospital in wheelchairs and gurneys.
- Apply all applicable OSHA and relate local safety requirements to all assign work.
- Observe psychiatric, suicidal, fall precaution, Alzheimer, dementia, and intoxicate patients.
Patient sitter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 41% of Patient Sitters are proficient in Patients, BLS, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Patient Sitters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 41%
Provided therapeutic companionship and close observation of patients in a safe and clean environment
- BLS, 12%
Trained new hires BLS (Basic Life Support/CPR) certified.
- CPR, 7%
Utilize skills and clinical training as Certified CPR and Violence Abatement professional.
- Customer Service, 6%
Provided support, customer service, assisted with patient transfers and ambulation techniques.
- Patient Observation, 5%
Followed instructions for patient observation as directed by assigned nurse.
- Continuous Observation, 4%
Provided continuous observation to assigned patients.
Common skills that a patient sitter uses to do their job include "patients," "bls," and "cpr." You can find details on the most important patient sitter responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a patient sitter to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "nursing assistants and orderlies must communicate effectively to address patients’ or residents’ concerns." Patient sitters often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintained open communication with patient(s) and patient's family while also staying conscious of hippa laws. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling patient sitter duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "nursing assistants and orderlies assist and care for the sick, injured, and elderly." According to a patient sitter resume, here's how patient sitters can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "transport patients to and from other hospital floors, maintain cleanliness of rooms, show compassion and have a caring attitude. "
Patience. This is an important skill for patient sitters to perform their duties. For an example of how patient sitter responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "the routine tasks of cleaning, feeding, and bathing patients or residents can be stressful." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a patient sitter: "work with patience,compassion, and a good sense of priority and awareness. ".
Physical stamina. A big part of what patient sitters do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to patient sitter responsibilities because "nursing assistants and orderlies spend much of their time on their feet." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical patient sitter tasks: "monitor the patient's vital signs and make observations of their physical and emotional condition"
The three companies that hire the most patient sitters are:
- RWJBarnabas Health51 patient sitters jobs
- Hackensack Meridian Health29 patient sitters jobs
- Community Health Systems27 patient sitters jobs
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Compare different patient sitters
Patient sitter vs. Prn
A PRN or a "pro re nata" employee is responsible for covering a shift or a specific situation, especially during short-staffing or the need to complete a particular task. The PRNs often work for a medical industry without a regular or full-time commitment, having the freedom to manage their time and take multiple assignments from different organizations. A PRN must have excellent communication and organization skills, providing quality healthcare services to the patients and the organization.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between patient sitters and prn. For instance, patient sitter responsibilities require skills such as "bls," "patient observation," "continuous observation," and "direct observation." Whereas a prn is skilled in "healthcare," "occupational therapy," "physical therapy," and "acute care." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Prns tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $49,871. In contrast, patient sitters make the biggest average salary, $29,697, in the health care industry.The education levels that prns earn slightly differ from patient sitters. In particular, prns are 8.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a patient sitter. Additionally, they're 1.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient sitter vs. Nurse technician
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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, patient sitter responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "bls," "patient observation," "continuous observation," and "direct observation." Meanwhile, a nurse technician has duties that require skills in areas such as "home health," "direct patient care," "telemetry," and "phlebotomy." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, nurse technicians earn a higher salary than patient sitters. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, nurse technicians earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,642. Whereas patient sitters have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $29,697.nurse technicians earn similar levels of education than patient sitters in general. They're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Patient sitter vs. Nurses' aide
A nurses' aide is responsible for providing healthcare and welfare assistance to patients in long-term care facilities while under the supervision of a registered nurse or a licensed colleague with extensive expertise. A nurses' aide is mostly involved in basic hygienic tasks, such as helping a patient in bathing and dressing, using the toilet, preparing meals, feeding, and performing basic chores. It is also vital for a nurses' aide to coordinate with supervisors, reporting any changes in a patients' condition or behavior.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a patient sitter is likely to be skilled in "bls," "patient observation," "continuous observation," and "direct observation," while a typical nurses' aide is skilled in "electrocardiogram," "medical equipment," "home health," and "english language."
Nurses' aides earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $30,130. Comparatively, patient sitters have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $29,697.When it comes to education, nurses' aides tend to earn similar degree levels compared to patient sitters. In fact, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Patient sitter vs. Hospital corpsman
Hospital corpsmen are U.S. Navy enlisted medical specialists who perform the initial treatment during combat. The medical specialists serve as assistants in injury and disease prevention and treatment. They assist the health care professionals in the medical care of the Marine Corps and Navy personnel. Among their duties and responsibilities include preventive care, maintenance of patient treatment records, and administration of injections and medications. Also, it is their job to carry out emergency dental or medical treatment to marines and sailors.
Types of patient sitter
Updated January 8, 2025
