Summary Report for:
31-1012.00 - Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants
Provide basic patient care under direction of nursing staff. Perform duties, such as feed, bathe, dress, groom, or move patients, or change linens.
Sample of reported job titles:
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Certified Nurse Aide (CNA), Nursing Assistant, Psychiatric Attendant, Nurse's Aide, Nursing Aid, Patient Care Technician, Resident Assistant, Caregiver, Patient Care Assistant (PCA)
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
Tasks
- 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.
- Prepare, serve, and collect food trays.
- Clean rooms and change linens.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Enema kits or accessories — Enema equipment |
| Specimen collectors — Specimen collection containers |
| Surgical gloves |
| Therapeutic heating or cooling blankets or drapes — Hyper/hypothermia blankets |
| Therapeutic heating or cooling pads or compresses or packs — Cold packs |
| Urinalysis test strips — Urine testing strips |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Calendar and scheduling software — Scheduling software |
| Data base user interface and query software — Database software |
| Medical software — Medical records software |
| Word processing software |
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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. |
| Medicine and Dentistry — Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
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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. |
| Instructing — Teaching others how to do something. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
| 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. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
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Abilities
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Static Strength — The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
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Work Activities
| Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients. |
| Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials. |
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. |
| Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
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Work Context
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Physical Proximity — To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people? |
| Exposed to Disease or Infections — How often does this job require exposure to disease/infections? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Spend Time Walking and Running — How much does this job require walking and running? |
| Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
| Spend Time Standing — How much does this job require standing? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers. |
| SVP Range |
(4.0 to < 6.0) |
| Education |
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. |
There is 1 recognized apprenticeable specialty associated with this occupation:
Nurse Assistant
To learn about specific apprenticeship opportunities, please consult the U.S. Department of Labor State Apprenticeship Information
website.
For general information about apprenticeships, training, and partnerships with
business, visit the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship
website.
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Interests
Interest code: SR
| 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. |
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Work Styles
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Social Orientation — Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
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Work Values
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2006) |
$10.67 hourly, $22,180 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
1,447,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Faster than average (14% to 20%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
393,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
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