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.
Job Titles
- 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
Main Duties
- 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.
Workplaces
- Assisted care facilities for the elderly
- Health care establishments
- Hospitals
- Nursing homes
Skills
- Management of Material Resources
- Oral Communication: Active Listening
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordinating
- Critical Thinking
Abilities
- Explosive Strength
- Static Strength
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Body Flexibility
- Dynamic Strength
Personal Attributes
- Concern for Others
- Adaptability
- Attention to Detail
- Collaboration
- Social Orientation
Similar Occupations
Source: OaSIS
Employment Outlook
The employment outlook will be very good for Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (33102) in Prince Edward Island for the 2022-2024 period.
The following factors contributed to this outlook:
- Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
- A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
- There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
The prospect for employment in this occupation is very good as there continues to be a shortage of workers and unfilled vacancies in the province. The provincial government introduced The Resident Care Worker support program in 2022 which provides free tuition for training to help address labour shortages. Further, this occupation falls under the provincial Occupations in Demand immigration stream, which is a program designed to help employers fill vacant positions that they are unable to fill locally.
Most employees in this occupation worked in nursing and residential care facilities. Population growth and a steadily aging demographic are the primary drivers behind the increased demand for nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates. This trend will lead to stable job openings in hospitals, while a heightened need may occur in nursing homes and within community health care centres as patients receive ongoing care. This is a large occupational group on P.E.I. As with most large occupational groups, there will be frequent job opportunities due to workers leaving the group, job switching or moving into other career paths. Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates who are able to accommodate long shifts and work flexible hours will find their employment prospects greatly improved as hospitals may need these health professionals to provide 24-hour patient care.
Here are some key facts about Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates in Prince Edward Island:
- Approximately 1,800 people work in this occupation.
- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates mainly work in the following sectors:
- Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623): 56%
- Hospitals (NAICS 622): 28%
- Social assistance (NAICS 624): 8%
- The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
- Full-time workers: 78% compared to 84% for all occupations
- Part-time workers: 22% compared to 16% for all occupations
- 67% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates work all year, while 33% work only part of the year, compared to 59% and 41% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 43 weeks compared to 41 weeks for all occupations.
- Less than 5% of nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates are self-employed compared to an average of 13% for all occupations.
- The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
- Men: 13% compared to 51% for all occupations
- Women: 88% compared to 49% for all occupations
- The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
- no high school diploma: 6% compared to 11% for all occupations
- high school diploma or equivalent: 27% compared to 28% for all occupations
- apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 28% compared to 11% for all occupations
- college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor’s: 28% compared to 25% for all occupations
- bachelor’s degree: 9% compared to 17% for all occupations
- university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 8% for all occupations
Source: Job Bank
Prevailing Wages
| AREA | LOW | MEDIAN | HIGH |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $16.00 | $20.74 | $25.00 |
| Canada | $16.98 | $22.00 | $26.00 |
Training
| TRAINING PROGRAM | INSTITUTION | CREDENTIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Resident Care Worker | Holland College | Certificate |