Psychiatric Aides
Overview
Salary
Demand
Core Tasks
Technology Skills
Tools Used
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Top 10 Skills
Top 10 Abilities
Top 10 Work Activities
Detailed Work Activities
Work Context
Education
Majors
Interests
Top 10 Work Styles
Work Values
Related Careers
Overview
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, and tellers.
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.
Salary Salary
Salary at 10th Percentile: $21K
Salary at 25th Percentile: $25K
Median Salary: $31K
Salary at 75th Percentile: $39K
Salary at 90th Percentile: $48K
Demand
Core Tasks
Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans.
Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients.
Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.
Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion.
Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment.
Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
Complete administrative tasks, such as entering orders into computer, answering telephone calls, or maintaining medical or facility information.
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.
Interview patients upon admission and record information.
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.
Technology Skills
Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Tools Used
Tool
Example
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Psychology
76%
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
72%
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
71%
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.
Therapy and Counseling
69%
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Public Safety and Security
67%
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.
Education and Training
63%
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Sociology and Anthropology
58%
Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Medicine and Dentistry
56%
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.
Administration and Management
50%
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Clerical
48%
Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Top 10 Skills
Social Perceptiveness
80%
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Service Orientation
78%
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Monitoring
75%
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking
75%
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening
73%
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.
Coordination
68%
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Active Learning
63%
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Critical Thinking
63%
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing
63%
Teaching others how to do something.
Negotiation
63%
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Top 10 Abilities
Oral Comprehension
80%
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
80%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity
78%
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
75%
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Deductive Reasoning
73%
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Written Comprehension
70%
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Speech Clarity
68%
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition
68%
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Near Vision
65%
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Written Expression
65%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Top 10 Work Activities
Assisting and Caring for Others
99%
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Getting Information
92%
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
91%
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Documenting/Recording Information
82%
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
81%
Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
81%
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
79%
Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
79%
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Performing General Physical Activities
79%
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.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
79%
Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Detailed Work Activities
Record vital statistics or other health information.
Maintain medical records.
Encourage patients during therapeutic activities.
Monitor patients to detect health problems.
Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
Hold patients to ensure proper positioning or safety.
Feed patients.
Confer with other professionals to plan patient care.
Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms.
Care for patients with mental illnesses.
Assist patients with daily activities.
Collect biological specimens from patients.
Give medications or immunizations.
Accompany patients or clients on outings to provide assistance.
Engage patients in exercises or activities.
Perform clerical work in medical settings.
Interview patients to gather medical information.
Work Context
Face-to-Face Discussions
How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
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?
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety
How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others 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?
Work With Work Group or Team
How important is it to work with others in a group or team 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?
Physical Proximity
To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
Time Pressure
How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
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?
Education
Majors
Major
Interests
Social
100%
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Conventional
67%
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.
Realistic
67%
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.
Artistic
34%
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.
Investigative
34%
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.
Enterprising
29%
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.
Top 10 Work Styles
Self Control
96%
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Concern for Others
95%
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Integrity
95%
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Stress Tolerance
95%
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Dependability
94%
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Social Orientation
91%
Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Attention to Detail
90%
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation
90%
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Adaptability/Flexibility
88%
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Persistence
88%
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Work Values
Relationships
86%
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
77%
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
72%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement
58%
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
58%
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
43%
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.
