Psychiatric Aides
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.
Sample of reported job titles:
Mental Health Aide (MHA), Mental Health Worker (MHW), Psychiatric Aide, Psychiatric Nursing Aide, Psychiatric Nursing Assistant, Resident Care Technician, Therapeutic Program Worker (TPW)
Occupation-Specific Information
Tasks
- Provide mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
- Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
- 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.
Technology Skills
- Electronic mail software:Email software
- Operating system software:Microsoft Windows
- Spreadsheet software:Microsoft Excel
- Word processing software:Microsoft Word
Occupational Requirements
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.
Detailed Work Activities
- Accompany patients or clients on outings to provide assistance.
- Assess physical conditions of patients to aid in diagnosis or treatment.
- Assist patients with daily activities.
- Care for patients with mental illnesses.
- Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms.
Work Context
- Face-to-Face Discussions:86% responded"Every day"
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled:78% responded"Every day"
- Exposed to Disease or Infections:78% responded"Every day"
- Responsible for Others' Health and Safety:73% responded"Very high responsibility"
- Contact With Others:72% responded"Constant contact with others"
Worker Requirements
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Education
How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:
- 63%High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
- 16%Some College Courses
- 12%Bachelor's Degree
Worker Characteristics
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 that 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).
- Deductive Reasoning:The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Interests
- Social:Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to 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.
- 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.
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.
Work Styles
- Self-Control:Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
- Concern for Others:Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
- Stress Tolerance:Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
- Integrity:Job requires being honest and ethical.
- Dependability:Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
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