Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between psychiatric nursing assistants 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 psychiatric nursing assistant and a certified nursing assistant. Additionally, a certified nursing assistant has an average salary of $32,597, which is higher than the $30,184 average annual salary of a psychiatric nursing assistant.
The top three skills for a psychiatric nursing assistant include patients, mental health and vital signs. The most important skills for a certified nursing assistant are patients, vital signs, and home health.
| Psychiatric Nursing Assistant | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,184 | $32,597 |
| Hourly rate | $14.51 | $15.67 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 181,338 | 225,834 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.12 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
Psychiatric Nursing Assistants require the ability to carry out individual patient treatment programs, as well as verbalization of patients' needs, clear and concise communication of information, and ensuring patient safety and well-being. Paying out at around $26K per year, this position requires no formal education outside of a diploma or GED, but postsecondary courses in psychology may help. Those who choose this career will be called on to assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients under nursing or medical staff direction, assist patients with their daily living activities, lead them to and from examinations and treatment, and restrain patients who become violent.
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.
Psychiatric nursing assistants and certified nursing assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Psychiatric Nursing Assistant | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,184 | $32,597 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $40,000 | Between $24,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a psychiatric nursing assistant and a certified nursing assistant in terms of educational background:
| Psychiatric Nursing Assistant | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 29% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between psychiatric nursing assistants' and certified nursing assistants' demographics:
| Psychiatric Nursing Assistant | Certified Nursing Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3% | Male, 12.3% Female, 87.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 16.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 7.3% White, 49.4% 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% |