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The differences between resident care 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 resident care assistant and a nurses' aide. Additionally, a resident care assistant has an average salary of $30,930, which is higher than the $30,496 average annual salary of a nurses' aide.
The top three skills for a resident care assistant include resident care, customer service and patients. The most important skills for a nurses' aide are patients, vital signs, and electrocardiogram.
| Resident Care Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Yearly salary | $30,930 | $30,496 |
| Hourly rate | $14.87 | $14.66 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 199,892 | 157,723 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 28% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| 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 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.
Resident care assistants and nurses' aides have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Resident Care Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Average salary | $30,930 | $30,496 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | Between $23,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chelsea, MA | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a resident care assistant and a nurses' aide in terms of educational background:
| Resident Care Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 28% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between resident care assistants' and nurses' aides' demographics:
| Resident Care Assistant | Nurses' Aide | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% | Male, 13.2% Female, 86.8% |
| 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, 8.8% 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% |