Primary care provider vs sitter

The differences between primary care providers and sitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a primary care provider has an average salary of $35,422, which is higher than the $28,724 average annual salary of a sitter.

The top three skills for a primary care provider include patients, internal medicine and family practice. The most important skills for a sitter are patients, kids, and CPR.

Primary care provider vs sitter overview

	Primary Care Provider	Sitter
Yearly salary	$35,422	$28,724
Hourly rate	$17.03	$13.81
Growth rate	36%	36%
Number of jobs	103,863	85,152
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	High School Diploma, 32%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a primary care provider do?

Primary Care Providers, also known as general practitioners instead of specialists, are doctors trained to be the first point of contact for a patient entering the health care system. They diagnose, treat, and prevent a broad range of injuries and illnesses from allergies and colds to longer-term conditions such as Diabetes Mellitus. Their duties include performing lab tests to identify a condition, prescribing medications, checking for drug interactions, provide wound care, executing spirometry tests and electrocardiograms, and coordinating specialist care for your condition. A Primary Care Provider will also help create self-care plans prescribing a certain diet and recommending exercise routines.

What does a sitter do?

A sitter is responsible for assisting medical needs under the supervision of an attending physician, registered nurses, and other health professionals. Sitters monitor the patients' daily activities and perform medical duties such as taking the patient's temperature, administering medications, monitoring food intake, helping with bathing needs, and responding to the patients' inquiries, concerns, and requests. They also keep track of medical charts to report the patients' health condition and progress to the senior staff.

Primary care provider vs sitter salary

Primary care providers and sitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Primary Care Provider	Sitter
Average salary	$35,422	$28,724
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $58,000	Between $20,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	Fair Lawn, NJ
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Massachusetts
Best paying company	AstraZeneca	Southcoast Health
Best paying industry	-	Non Profits

Differences between primary care provider and sitter education

There are a few differences between a primary care provider and a sitter in terms of educational background:

	Primary Care Provider	Sitter
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	High School Diploma, 32%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Primary care provider vs sitter demographics

Here are the differences between primary care providers' and sitters' demographics:

	Primary Care Provider	Sitter
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 26.8% Female, 73.2%	Male, 13.9% Female, 86.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 9.7% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 17.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 8.0% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between primary care provider and sitter duties and responsibilities

Primary care provider example responsibilities.

Manage provider network to include verifying claims and benefits for healthcare providers/members and insurance companies.
Work alongside ABA therapists to continue to apply appropriate behavioral techniques.
Examine patients and carefully analyze test results and information gather during examinations to properly diagnose illnesses and diseases.
Used strong oral and written communications skills to develop and maintain effective relationships with patients, co-workers and international medical professionals.
Provide caring companionship to developmentally disabled/elderly residents.
Assist with toileting, including bedpans, urinals and commode chairs.

Show more

Sitter example responsibilities.

Run groceries or medical errands for patients.
Complete light housekeeping duties, such as dishes, folding laundry, buying groceries.
Help out with regular ADL's as well such as bathing, ambulating, eating, dressing, and exercise.
Assist with ADL's; bathing needs, food prep, exercise, drive and assist with appointments, light housekeeping
Provide colostomy care and administer medication for pain management in accordance with current physician recommendations.
Help nursing with flushing of catheters with certain residents.

Show more

Primary care provider vs sitter skills

Common primary care provider skills

Patients, 31%
Internal Medicine, 13%
Family Practice, 12%
Patient Care, 11%
Urgent Care, 10%
NP, 4%

Common sitter skills

Patients, 26%
Kids, 20%
CPR, 13%
Patient Safety, 6%
Home Health, 5%
PET, 5%

Primary Care Provider vs. similar jobs

Primary Care Provider related careers

Primary Care Provider related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse personal care and attendants jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z