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Job Definition
View MovieProvide basic patient care under direction of nursing staff. Perform duties, such as feed, bathe, dress, groom, or move patients, or change linens.
Job Zone

Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.

Interests
Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Knowledge
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Skills
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Tasks
Work as part of a medical team that examines and treats clinic outpatients.
Administer medications and treatments, such as catheterizations, suppositories, irrigations, enemas, massages, and douches, as directed by a physician or nurse.
Restrain patients if necessary.
Maintain inventory by storing, preparing, sterilizing, and issuing supplies such as dressing packs and treatment trays.
Explain medical instructions to patients and family members.
Perform clerical duties such as processing documents and scheduling appointments.
Set up equipment such as oxygen tents, portable x-ray machines, and overhead irrigation bottles.
Turn and reposition bedridden patients, alone or with assistance, to prevent bedsores.
Answer patients' call signals.
Feed patients who are unable to feed themselves.
Observe patients' conditions, measuring and recording food and liquid intake and output and vital signs, and report changes to professional staff.
Provide patient care by supplying and emptying bed pans, applying dressings and supervising exercise routines.
Provide patients with help walking, exercising, and moving in and out of bed.
Bathe, groom, shave, dress, or drape patients to prepare them for surgery, treatment, or examination.
Collect specimens such as urine, feces, or sputum.
Wages

In 2008, the California average annual wage was $27,180.00.

Most people employed in this occupation were paid between $19,350.00 and $37,460.00.

Outlook

During 2006, there were approximately 100,400 people employed in this field in California. It is projected that there will be 122,200 employed in 2016. This occupation will have about 2,180 openings due to growth and about 900 replacement openings for approximately 3,080 total annual openings. This occupation .

Colleges and Training
Below are college programs that are generally associated with this occupation. To view colleges that offer these programs, click on the titles below.
Nurse/Nursing Assistant/Aide and Patient Care Assistant - A program that prepares individuals to perform routine nursing-related services to patients in hospitals or long-term care facilities, under the training and supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse.
Similar Occupations
Physical Therapists - Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and decrease or prevent deformity of patients suffering from disease or injury.
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics - Assess injuries, administer emergency medical care, and extricate trapped individuals. Transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities.
Athletic Trainers - Evaluate, advise, and treat athletes to assist recovery from injury, avoid injury, or maintain peak physical fitness.
Home Health Aides - Provide routine, personal healthcare, such as bathing, dressing, or grooming, to elderly, convalescent, or disabled persons in the home of patients or in a residential care facility.
Psychiatric Aides - Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff.
Medical Assistants - Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
Flight Attendants - Provide personal services to ensure the safety and comfort of airline passengers during flight. Greet passengers, verify tickets, explain use of safety equipment, and serve food or beverages.
Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians - Drive ambulance or assist ambulance driver in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons. Assist in lifting patients.
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Job Openings
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