Psychiatric aides assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under the 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.

  • Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans.
  • Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients.
  • Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
  • Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.
  • Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion.
  • Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
  • Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment.
  • Provide mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
  • Maintain patients' restrictions to assigned areas.
  • Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary.
  • Aid patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routine.
  • Organize, supervise, or encourage patient participation in social, educational, or recreational activities.
  • Perform nursing duties, such as administering medications, measuring vital signs, collecting specimens, or drawing blood samples.
  • 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.
  • 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.
Work Context
  • Face-to-Face Discussions — 86% responded "Every day".
  • Exposed to Disease or Infections — 78% responded "Every day".
  • Physical Proximity — 58% responded "Very close (near touching)".
  • Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — 73% responded "Very high responsibility".
  • Contact With Others — 72% responded "Constant contact with others".
  • Work With Work Group or Team — 67% responded "Extremely important".
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 78% responded "Every day".
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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.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • 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.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • 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.
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Detailed Work Activities
  • Monitor patients to detect health problems.
  • Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
  • Record vital statistics or other health information.
  • Maintain medical records.
  • Maintain medical records.
  • Perform clerical work in medical settings.
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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.
English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
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Skills

Social Perceptiveness
  • Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
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.
Speaking
  • Talking to others to convey information effectively.
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Abilities

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.
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.
Inductive Reasoning
  • The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Data base user interface and query software
  • Data entry software Hot Technology
Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel Hot Technology
Operating system software
  • Microsoft Windows Hot Technology
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