Job description Health Care Assistant in the South Coast–Burin Peninsula Region

Find out what work is like for a health care assistant in Canada. This work description is applicable to all Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (NOC 33102).

Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

Description

Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates assist nurses, hospital staff and physicians in the basic care of patients. They are employed in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted care facilities for the elderly and other health care establishments. Emergency medical care attendant are employed by private ambulance services, urgent care centers or other health facilities.

Work week duration

Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates usually work between 35 to 40 hours per week.
Between 35 to 40 hours

Job duties

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

Physical demands

Physical demands are the physical activities that the job requires the worker to do. Physical demands are selected according to the likeliness that workers will have to perform them for at least half of the time they spend at work.

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

Work environment

The work environment refers to the physical setting in which people work. The characteristics and conditions of the work environment are selected according to the likeliness that workers will be exposed to them at least once a week.

Physical proximity from others

Physical proximity from others refers to the physical distance between individuals in the workplace. The likeliness that the job requires to perform tasks while being physically close to other people is rated on a scale with 3 levels: "Somewhat close", "Close" and "Very close".

Related job titles

Here are some other related job titles that are found in the same occupational category (NOC 33102), and a list of similar occupations:

  • health care aide
  • hospital attendant
  • long term care aide
  • nurse aide
  • nursing attendant
  • orderly
  • patient care aide
  • patient service associate
  • personal care attendant - medical
  • psychiatric aide
  • resident care aide - medical

Similar occupations Help - Similar occupations

Similar occupations

This section lists other occupations that are part of the same broad occupational category as Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates in the National Occupational Classification (NOC). These occupations involve similar core qualifications but involve different responsibilities. To see more similar occupations, use the Job Transition Tool.

Sources Occupational and Skills Information System & National Occupational Classification

Labour Market Information Survey
Date modified: