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The differences between resident care assistants and certified medical assistants/certified nurse 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 resident care assistant and a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant. Additionally, a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant has an average salary of $36,382, which is higher than the $30,930 average annual salary of a resident care assistant.
The top three skills for a resident care assistant include resident care, customer service and patients. The most important skills for a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant are patients, vital signs, and CPR.
| Resident Care Assistant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,930 | $36,382 |
| Hourly rate | $14.87 | $17.49 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 199,892 | 350,499 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3.5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 28% | Associate Degree, 26% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
Resident care assistants work with a group to care for residents with Alzheimer's disease, administer treatments, and chart their conditions. They manage intermediate care patients with EKG monitoring and epidural infusions. They assist residents with various forms of dementia to live while providing for their well-being. The assistants may also facilitate activities and games to engage residents with dementia. They assist residents in the dementia care unit with including dressing, showers, and bed baths. This position may require traits like integrity, compassion, and physical stamina.
A certified medical assistant (CMA) or certified nurse assistant (CNA) is a healthcare professional who performs clinical and administrative duties in clinics or medical facilities. Certified medical assistants provide excellent customer service to patients arriving and departing from the medical facility and administer injections or medications to their patients. In administrative duties, certified medical assistants are tasked to help clients submit insurance claims and encode medical records to the computer system. They also can work with specialized physicians such as ophthalmologists and podiatrists.
Resident care assistants and certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Resident Care Assistant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,930 | $36,382 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | Between $27,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chelsea, MA | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Aya Healthcare |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a resident care assistant and a certified medical assistant/certified nurse assistant in terms of educational background:
| Resident Care Assistant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 28% | Associate Degree, 26% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between resident care assistants' and certified medical assistants/certified nurse assistants' demographics:
| Resident Care Assistant | Certified Medical Assistant/Certified Nurse Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% | Male, 10.5% Female, 89.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 6.6% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |