Prn vs medication aide

The differences between prns and medication aides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both an prn and a medication aide. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $39,642 average annual salary of an prn.

The top three skills for an prn include patients, healthcare and occupational therapy. The most important skills for a medication aide are compassion, resident care, and state regulations.

Prn vs medication aide overview

	PRN	Medication Aide
Yearly salary	$39,642	$40,799
Hourly rate	$19.06	$19.61
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	72,309	275,582
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	High School Diploma, 23%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	3

What does an prn do?

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.

What does a medication aide do?

A medication aide is a healthcare professional who is responsible for administering medication to patients daily in a hospital or medical facility. As certified nursing assistants, medication aides should possess knowledge of patient care procedures so that they can coordinate with different nurses to deliver them. They follow written or verbal instructions from physicians on how to manage their patients' medications. Medication aides are also required to observe their patients and document changes in their conditions.

Prn vs medication aide salary

Prns and medication aides have different pay scales, as shown below.

	PRN	Medication Aide
Average salary	$39,642	$40,799
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $89,000	Between $33,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Davis, CA	Madison, WI
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Hawaii
Best paying company	Erlanger Health System	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company
Best paying industry	Professional	Manufacturing

Differences between prn and medication aide education

There are a few differences between an prn and a medication aide in terms of educational background:

	PRN	Medication Aide
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	High School Diploma, 23%
Most common major	Nursing	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Prn vs medication aide demographics

Here are the differences between prns' and medication aides' demographics:

	PRN	Medication Aide
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 21.0% Female, 79.0%	Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 8.3% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between prn and medication aide duties and responsibilities

Prn example responsibilities.

Develop discharge plans base on individual patients' medical and ADL needs to ensure safety and security issues are addressed.
Experience with ICU patients including ventilator and non-ventilator dependent patients.
Tend to the physical and emotional needs of patients recovering from critical injury or extensive orthopedic surgery.
Provide patient rehabilitation to primarily geriatric short/long term care patients of different diagnosis and document treatment sessions appropriately.
Provide PRN speech services including evaluation and treatments in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient settings with adult populations
Incorporate invasive monitoring and CPR skills as needed.

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Medication aide example responsibilities.

Manage memory unity within facility.
Provide care for patients in need of long term care and rehabilitation.
Administer medication according to state laws and guidelines as well as facility guidelines and assist residents with ADL's.
preserve patient's dignity while providing such duties as bedpan changes, bathing, diapering, emptying catheter and colostomy bags.
Assist with changing colostomy bags.
learned to be more efficient with time restraints!

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Prn vs medication aide skills

Common prn skills

Patients, 29%
Healthcare, 9%
Occupational Therapy, 7%
CPR, 5%
Rehabilitation, 5%
Customer Service, 4%

Common medication aide skills

Compassion, 11%
Resident Care, 11%
State Regulations, 8%
Infection Control, 7%
Incident Reports, 5%
Vital Signs, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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