Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations, provide personal care and companionship for seniors, persons with disabilities and convalescent clients. They provide care in the client's residence, where they may also reside. They are employed by home care and support agencies, private households, or they may be self-employed.
JOB DUTIES:
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Here are some of the main activities and tasks that Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates have to perform, and some of the physical demands they involve:
Answer call signals; supply and empty bed pans; bathe, dress and groom patients; serve meal trays, feed or assist in feeding of patients and assist patients with menu selection; weigh, lift, turn, and position patients; shave patients prior to operations; supervise patients' exercise routines, set up and provide leisure activities for patients, accompany patients on outside recreational activities and perform other duties related to patient care and comfort
Take patients' blood pressure, temperature and pulse; report or record fluid intake and output; observe or monitor patients' status and document patient care on charts; collect specimens such as urine, faeces or sputum; administer suppositories, colonic irrigations and enemas and perform other procedures as directed by nursing and hospital staff
Administer, in emergency situations, first aid to injured or ill individuals within the scope of competencies
Transport patients by wheelchair or stretcher for treatment or surgery
Carry messages, reports, requisitions and specimens between departments
Make beds and maintain patients' rooms
Maintain inventory of supplies
May perform maintenance tasks such as assisting with the set-up and maintenance of traction equipment, cleaning or sterilizing equipment, maintaining and repairing equipment, and assembling, setting-up and operating job-related equipment
May transport patients between care facilities.
Physical demands Help - Physical Demands
Standing
Bending or twisting the body
Making repetitive motions
Handling material manually
Walking and running
Workplaces and employers
Here are the typical workplaces where Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates are employed and some of their main characteristics:
Nursing homes
Assisted care facilities for the elderly
Health care establishments
Hospitals
Work environment Help - Physical Work Environment
Indoors, environmentally controlled
Biological agents
Sound and noise
Standard safety equipment
Physical proximity from others Help - Physical proximity from others
Physically touching or very close
Requirements
This is what you typically need for the job.
Some secondary school education and on-the-job training or a personal support worker, nursing aide or health care aide college or private institutional program, or a college nursing orderly program and supervised practical training are required.
Completion of specialized courses such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid is usually required.
An appropriate class of driver's licence may be required for medical attendants.
Source National Occupational Classification
Professional certification and licensing
Ontario
If this occupation is regulated, you may need to get a professional license from a regulatory authority before you can start working. Licensing can be compulsory or voluntary, depending on the occupation.
If the licence is compulsory, you must be certified before you can practise the occupation and use the professional designation.
If the licence is voluntary, you don’t need to be certified to practise this occupation.
Personal Attributes Help - Personal Attributes
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| Importance
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Concern for Others
| 5 - Extremely important
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Social Orientation
| 4 - Highly important
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Stress Tolerance
| 4 - Highly important
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Collaboration
| 4 - Highly important
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Adaptability
| 4 - Highly important
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Attention to Detail
| 4 - Highly important
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Service Orientation
| 3 - Important
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Independence
| 3 - Important
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Leadership
| 3 - Important
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Active Learning
| 2 - Somewhat important
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