Psychiatric Aides

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

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

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 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.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 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.
• 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.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

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

  https://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

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

• Concern for Others
• Stress Tolerance
• Self Control
• Cooperation
• Dependability
• 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