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The differences between registered nursing assistants and nurses' aides can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a registered nursing assistant and a nurses' aide. Additionally, a registered nursing assistant has an average salary of $50,644, which is higher than the $30,496 average annual salary of a nurses' aide.
The top three skills for a registered nursing assistant include patients, BLS and surgery. The most important skills for a nurses' aide are patients, vital signs, and electrocardiogram.
| Registered Nursing Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $50,644 | $30,496 |
| Hourly rate | $24.35 | $14.66 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 231,224 | 157,723 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
The main role of a certified nurse assistant is to provide basic care to patients and help them with daily activities they might have trouble doing on their own, such as bathing and getting dressed. Their responsibilities include taking vital signs, providing food to patients and helping them eat, and lifting and moving patients who cannot move by themselves. Cleaning patients and maintaining a clean and sanitized environment is also important in this role.
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.
Registered nursing assistants and nurses' aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Registered Nursing Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Average salary | $50,644 | $30,496 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $80,000 | Between $23,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Kaneohe, HI | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Huntington Hospital | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a registered nursing assistant and a nurses' aide in terms of educational background:
| Registered Nursing Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between registered nursing assistants' and nurses' aides' demographics:
| Registered Nursing Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 14.0% Female, 86.0% | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.5% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 7.6% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |