Personal care aides provide personalized assistance to individuals with disabilities or illness who require help with personal care and activities of daily living support (e.g., feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and ambulation). May also provide help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry. Work is performed in various settings depending on the needs of the care recipient and may include locations such as their home, place of work, out in the community, or at a daytime non-residential facility.
Administer bedside or personal care, such as ambulation or personal hygiene assistance.
Prepare and maintain records of client progress and services performed, reporting changes in client condition to manager or supervisor.
Perform healthcare-related tasks, such as monitoring vital signs and medication, under the direction of registered nurses or physiotherapists.
Participate in case reviews, consulting with the team caring for the client, to evaluate the client's needs and plan for continuing services.
Care for individuals or families during periods of incapacitation, family disruption, or convalescence, providing companionship, personal care, or help in adjusting to new lifestyles.
Perform housekeeping duties, such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes or dishes, or running errands.
Instruct or advise clients on issues, such as household cleanliness, utilities, hygiene, nutrition, or infant care.
Plan, shop for, or prepare nutritious meals or assist families in planning, shopping for, or preparing nutritious meals.
Transport clients to locations outside the home, such as to physicians' offices or on outings, using a motor vehicle.
Provide clients with communication assistance, typing their correspondence or obtaining information for them.
Train family members to provide bedside care.
Work Context
Physical Proximity — 69% responded "Very close (near touching)".
Contact With Others — 70% responded "Constant contact with others".
Work With Work Group or Team — 68% responded "Extremely important".
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 52% responded "Extremely important".
Spend Time Standing — 48% responded "Continually or almost continually".
Structured versus Unstructured Work — 43% responded "A lot of freedom".
Telephone — 44% responded "Every day".
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 61% responded "Very important results".
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 66% responded "Every day".
Frequency of Decision Making — 60% responded "Every day".
Spend Time Walking and Running — 43% responded "More than half the time".
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — 53% responded "Very high responsibility".
Freedom to Make Decisions — 33% responded "A lot of freedom".
Time Pressure — 40% responded "Every day".
Coordinate or Lead Others — 35% responded "Extremely important".
Spend Time Bending or Twisting the Body — 37% responded "More than half the time".
Exposed to Disease or Infections — 54% responded "Every day".
Consequence of Error — 38% responded "Extremely serious".
Letters and Memos — 36% responded "Once a month or more but not every week".
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 30% responded "Important".
Responsibility for Outcomes and Results — 48% responded "High responsibility".
Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People — 27% responded "Once a week or more but not every day".
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.
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.
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.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
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.
Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
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.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
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.
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.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
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.
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.
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.