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The differences between prns and patient care assistants 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 patient care assistant. Additionally, an prn has an average salary of $39,642, which is higher than the $32,799 average annual salary of a patient care assistant.
The top three skills for an prn include patients, healthcare and occupational therapy. The most important skills for a patient care assistant are patients, vital signs, and PCA.
| PRN | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $39,642 | $32,799 |
| Hourly rate | $19.06 | $15.77 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 72,309 | 261,345 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | High School Diploma, 26% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
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.
A patient care assistant is responsible for attending patients' needs with the supervision of a health care professional. Duties of a patient care assistant also include performing basic medical tasks such as taking patients' temperature, monitoring food intake, preparing medicines, recording health conditions, assisting on lab tests and other medical procedures, and providing information and important updates to the patient's family. A patient care assistant must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to perform duties efficiently and accurately.
Prns and patient care assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| PRN | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average salary | $39,642 | $32,799 |
| Salary range | Between $17,000 And $89,000 | Between $23,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Davis, CA | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Erlanger Health System | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an prn and a patient care assistant in terms of educational background:
| PRN | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | High School Diploma, 26% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between prns' and patient care assistants' demographics:
| PRN | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 21.0% Female, 79.0% | Male, 14.4% Female, 85.6% |
| 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, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.3% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |