Ward assistant vs care associate

The differences between ward assistants and care associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a ward assistant and a care associate. Additionally, a ward assistant has an average salary of $47,580, which is higher than the $32,558 average annual salary of a care associate.

The top three skills for a ward assistant include patients, vital signs and IV. The most important skills for a care associate are patients, vital signs, and PCA.

Ward assistant vs care associate overview

	Ward Assistant	Care Associate
Yearly salary	$47,580	$32,558
Hourly rate	$22.88	$15.65
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	89,892	192,391
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	3	3

Ward assistant vs care associate salary

Ward assistants and care associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Ward Assistant	Care Associate
Average salary	$47,580	$32,558
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $71,000	Between $21,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	Hollister, CA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Analysis Group
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between ward assistant and care associate education

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

	Ward Assistant	Care Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Medical Assisting Services	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Ward assistant vs care associate demographics

Here are the differences between ward assistants' and care associates' demographics:

	Ward Assistant	Care Associate
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 28.4% Female, 71.6%	Male, 22.3% Female, 77.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between ward assistant and care associate duties and responsibilities

Ward assistant example responsibilities.

Transport patients in a large VA hospital, to and from their various medical and clinic appointments.
Read and score request for proposals (RFP) for city wide programming resulting in the distribution of critical grants.
Maintain an organize and healthy environment for patients under high-stress and fast-pace conditions.
Monitor animals' recovering from surgery and notify veterinarians of any unusual changes or symptoms.
Initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation in emergency situations.
Direct & answer visitors' questions.

Care associate example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

Ward assistant vs care associate skills

Common ward assistant skills

Patients, 78%
Vital Signs, 7%
IV, 6%
Patient Rooms, 5%
CNAs, 4%

Common care associate skills

Patients, 24%
Vital Signs, 11%
PCA, 7%
Phlebotomy, 7%
CPR, 7%
Customer Service, 5%