Psychiatric Aides

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

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

Skills

• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

Abilities

• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Knowledge

• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• 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.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • 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.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• 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.
• Administration and Management
  • 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.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• 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.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

×

Education and Training Opportunities

• Edmonds College
  20000 68th Ave W, Lynnwood WA 98036
  School Type

  Public, 4-year or above

  Admissions
  School Size

  5,000 - 9,999

  Financial Aid 425-640-1459
  Other Degrees Offered

  Undergraduate degree or certificate offering,No graduate offering
  Website

  http://www.edmonds.edu/
  Program Name
  Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician
  Length
  Certificates of at least 12 weeks but less than 1 year
  Award Level
  Certificates of at least 12 weeks but less than 1 year
  Save

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• Pierce College District
  9401 Farwest Dr SW, Lakewood WA 98498-1999
  School Type

  Public, 4-year or above

  Admissions
  School Size

  5,000 - 9,999

  Financial Aid 253-964-6500
  Other Degrees Offered

  Undergraduate degree or certificate offering,No graduate offering
  Website

  http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/
  Program Name
  Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician
  Length
  Certificates of at least 12 weeks but less than 1 year
  Award Level
  Certificates of at least 12 weeks but less than 1 year, Associate's degree
  Save

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

51080/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

24.56/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

470

Yearly Projected Openings

80

Personality

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

• Sincerity
• Optimism
• Empathy
• Stress Tolerance
• Self-Control
• Social Orientation

Tools

• Bedpans
• Blood collection syringes
• Clinical hydraulic lifts
• Desktop computers
• Electronic blood pressure units
• Electronic medical thermometers
• Enema kits
• Medical or surgical suction or vacuum appliances
• Medical oxygen masks or parts
• Patient stabilization or fall prevention devices
• Personal computers
• Razors
• Special purpose telephones
• Specimen collection container
• Two way radios
• Urinalysis test strips
• Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
• Wheelchairs

Technology

• Electronic mail software
• Medical software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software