Psychiatric Aides

Description

Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. May assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. May restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.

Tasks

Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans.
Maintain patients' restrictions to assigned areas.
Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary.
Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment.
Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.
Provide mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion.
Organize, supervise, or encourage patient participation in social, educational, or recreational activities.
Aid patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routine.
Accompany patients to and from wards for medical or dental treatments, shopping trips, or religious or recreational events.
Participate in recreational activities with patients, including card games, sports, or television viewing.
Perform nursing duties, such as administering medications, measuring vital signs, collecting specimens, or drawing blood samples.
Complete administrative tasks, such as entering orders into computer, answering telephone calls, or maintaining medical or facility information.
Interview patients upon admission and record information.

Knowledge

Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Therapy and Counseling: Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
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.
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.
Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Sociology and Anthropology: Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
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.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

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.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Work Activities

Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
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.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Work Context

Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
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?
Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People: How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements?
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?
Physical Proximity: To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable: How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety: How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?

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.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
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.

Work Style

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.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Social Orientation: Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

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.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Related Occupations

Physical Therapists

Recreational Therapists

Psychiatric Technicians

Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses

Home Health Aides

Personal Care Aides

Residential Advisors

Lay Titles

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

Charge Aide

Charge Attendant

Developmental Aide

Health Service Worker

Mental Health Aide

Mental Health Assistant

Mental Health Technician

Mental Health Worker

Mental Retardation Aide

Neuropsychiatric Aide

Nursing Assistant

Psychiatric Aide

Psychiatric Assistant

Psychiatric Attendant

Psychiatric Nursing Aide

Psychiatric Orderly

Psychiatric Technician

Residential Counselor

Therapeutic Program Worker (TPW)

National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $11.82 hourly, $24,580 annual.

Employment (2008):: 77,880 employees