Patient Service Associate

Patient Service Associate

Patient service associates assist nurses, hospital staff and physicians in the basic care of patients. They are employed in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted care facilities for the elderly and other health care establishments.

Main duties

• Answer call signals; supply and empty bed pans; bathe, dress and groom patients; serve meal trays, feed or assist in feeding of patients and assist patients with menu selection; weigh, lift, turn, and position patients; shave patients prior to operations; supervise patients' exercise routines, set up and provide leisure activities for patients, accompany patients on outside recreational activities and perform other duties related to patient care and comfort
• Take patients' blood pressure, temperature and pulse; report or record fluid intake and output; observe or monitor patients' status and document patient care on charts; administer first aid in emergency situations; collect specimens such as urine, faeces or sputum; administer suppositories, colonic irrigations and enemas and perform other procedures as directed by nursing and hospital staff
• Transport patients by wheelchair or stretcher for treatment or surgery
• Carry messages, reports, requisitions and specimens between departments
• Make beds and maintain patients' rooms
• Maintain inventory of supplies
• May perform maintenance tasks such as assisting with the set-up and maintenance of traction equipment, cleaning or sterilizing equipment, maintaining and repairing equipment, and assembling, setting-up and operating job-related equipment
• May transport patients between care facilities.

Employment requirements

• Some secondary school education and on-the-job training or a nursing aide or health care aide college or private institutional program, or a college nursing orderly program and supervised practical training are required.
• Completion of specialized courses such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid is usually required.
• An appropriate class of driver's licence may be required for medical attendants.