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The differences between resident care assistants 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 a resident care assistant and a patient care assistant. Additionally, a patient care assistant has an average salary of $32,799, 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 patient care assistant are patients, vital signs, and PCA.
| Resident Care Assistant | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $30,930 | $32,799 |
| Hourly rate | $14.87 | $15.77 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 199,892 | 261,345 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 28% | High School Diploma, 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 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.
Resident care assistants and patient care assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Resident Care Assistant | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average salary | $30,930 | $32,799 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $39,000 | Between $23,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Chelsea, MA | San Diego, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Government | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a resident care assistant and a patient care assistant in terms of educational background:
| Resident Care Assistant | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 28% | High School Diploma, 26% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Nursing |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between resident care assistants' and patient care assistants' demographics:
| Resident Care Assistant | Patient Care Assistant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 12.4% Female, 87.6% | Male, 14.4% Female, 85.6% |
| 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, 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% |