Resident vs resident care associate

The differences between residents and resident care associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a resident has an average salary of $60,589, which is higher than the $30,497 average annual salary of a resident care associate.

The top three skills for a resident include home health, patients and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a resident care associate are resident care, administer medications, and RCA.

Resident vs resident care associate overview

	Resident	Resident Care Associate
Yearly salary	$60,589	$30,497
Hourly rate	$29.13	$14.66
Growth rate	12%	36%
Number of jobs	14,186	130,625
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 26%
Average age	43	48
Years of experience	12	-

What does a resident do?

A resident, often known as a resident physician, is a medical doctor who just graduated from medical school and pursued the residency program for further training. Residents work with health care team members to provide direct medical care by diagnosing medical problems and devising appropriate treatment plans. Depending on their medical specialty and training, residents may assist in performing surgeries to patients but are supervised by senior residents and physicians. Residents must also have an in-depth understanding of ethical, socioeconomic, and medical-legal issues surrounding patient care.

What does a resident care associate do?

Resident Care Associates are responsible for providing support and care to individuals living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Their duties include assisting residents with daily tasks such as eating, bathing, and dressing, audit care records, as well as making sure patients take their prescribed medications. They implement daily group activities, attend to medical or safety issues, and communicates any concerns to a resident's family members as required.

Resident vs resident care associate salary

Residents and resident care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Resident	Resident Care Associate
Average salary	$60,589	$30,497
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $83,000	Between $24,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Salem, OR
Highest paying state	North Dakota	Oregon
Best paying company	Meta	The Philadelphia Coalition
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Media

Differences between resident and resident care associate education

There are a few differences between a resident and a resident care associate in terms of educational background:

	Resident	Resident Care Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 26%
Most common major	Medicine	Nursing
Most common college	University of Virginia	-

Resident vs resident care associate demographics

Here are the differences between residents' and resident care associates' demographics:

	Resident	Resident Care Associate
Average age	43	48
Gender ratio	Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0%	Male, 14.6% Female, 85.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 7.1% White, 51.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.6%	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.7% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	11%	7%

Differences between resident and resident care associate duties and responsibilities

Resident example responsibilities.

Manage pediatrics emergencies, indoor & outdoor patients, neonatal & intensive care units.
Document daily reports, administer medication, experience with first aid, CPR, and strategies for crisis intervention.
Perform full mouth surgical dental rehabilitation for mentally and physically disable patients (children and adults) under general anesthesia.
Work up surgical patient for surgery, under supervision.
Assist in LINAC and TPS commissioning with LandauerMP commissioning team.
Involve in commissioning of new skin HDR program using Valencia applicators.

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Resident care associate example responsibilities.

Assist Alzheimer patients with daily activities including personal care, administering medications and communicating with their families.
Assist in rehabilitation to transfer home.
Have been train to administer medication, CPR train, and mechanical lift train.
Maintain cleanliness throughout med pass, and practice aseptic technique when pouring and assisting with medication.
Assist with ADL's, medication assistance, dinning room service, answering the telephones and front desk monitoring.
Care for residents with diagnosis such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and arthritis.

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Resident vs resident care associate skills

Common resident skills

Home Health, 20%
Patients, 15%
Rehabilitation, 13%
Customer Service, 6%
CPR, 4%
Residency Program, 3%

Common resident care associate skills

Resident Care, 24%
Administer Medications, 13%
RCA, 12%
Assist Residents, 7%
Emergency Situations, 6%
Pathogens, 5%

Resident vs. similar jobs

Resident related careers

Resident related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

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