Health care aides

Health care aides

NOC
33102

- Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

assist health professionals in the basic care of patients. Employers include hospitals, nursing homes and assisted care facilities for the elderly.

Quick facts

3-Year Outlook

Good
Good

3-Year Job Openings

1,645
 

Median Hourly Wage

$17.00
$14.00
Low
$22.71
High

Average Salary

$37,560
 

Typically Required

College or apprenticeship

Employed

8,730
 
Job details

Full NOC Description

Nurse aides, orderlies and 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. Emergency medical care attendant are employed by private ambulance services, urgent care centers or other health facilities.

Main Duties

This group performs some or all of the following 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; 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
  • Administer, in emergency situations, first aid to injured or ill individuals within the scope of competencies
  • 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.

Also Known As

  • health care aide
  • hospital attendant
  • long term care aide
  • nurse aide
  • nursing attendant
  • Personal support worker – nursing care
  • patient care aide
  • patient service associate
  • personal care attendant - medical
  • psychiatric aide
  • resident care aide - medical
Requirements

Employment Requirements

  • Some secondary school education and on-the-job training or a personal support worker, 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.

Provincial Regulation

Not Provincially Regulated

Employment by Sex

The following graph shows the percentage of men and women working in this occupation in New Brunswick.

Data legend

86.2%
Female
13.8%
Male
Employment by age

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by age group.

Data legend

14.1%
15-24
19.3%
25-34
18.8%
35-44
23.2%
45-54
20.6%
55-64
4.1%
65+
Employment by highest level of education

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by highest level of education achieved.

Data legend

8.3%
No Certificate, Diploma or Degree
30.0%
High School, Diploma or Equivalent
8.2%
Apprenticeship or Trades Certificate or Diploma
43.2%
College or University Below Bachelor Level
10.2%
University - Bachelor Level or Above
Employment by Industry

The following graph shows the industry groups in which the largest shares of persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick are employed. Small percentages for all top three industry groups may suggest employment for this occupation is widely distributed amongst many industry groups.

Data legend

94.1%
Health care and social assistance
2.5%
Other services (except public administration)
0.5%
Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services
2.8%
All Other Industries
Employment by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons employed in this occupation in New Brunswick by which economic region they reside in.

Data legend

24.70%
Northeast
27.80%
Southeast
20.30%
Southwest
16.80%
Central
10.50%
Northwest
Province of New Brunswick Economic Regions

Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Annual Average Salary by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the average salary of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Data legend

$36,900
Northeast
$37,200
Southeast
$36,900
Southwest
$39,900
Central
$37,600
Northwest
Province of New Brunswick Economic Regions

Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Hourly Median Wages by Economic Regions

The following represents the median hourly wage of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Northeast

$16.00
$14.00
Low
$22.87
High

Southeast

$16.60
$14.00
Low
$22.00
High

Southwest

$18.57
$14.00
Low
$22.00
High

Central

$17.00
$14.00
Low
$22.71
High

Northwest

$17.00
$14.00
Low
$22.71
High
Salary

The following shows the average salary of everyone who worked full-time and year-round in this occupation across each of the Atlantic Provinces and nationally.

New Brunswick

$37,560

Newfoundland

$41,200

Prince Edward Island

$38,600

Nova Scotia

$41,160

Canada

$48,000
Employment Outlook

The following represents the number of job openings that are expected to occur in this occupation over the next three and ten years respectively, broken down by openings expected to result from growth (“new jobs”) and openings expected to result from attrition (death and retirements).

Three Year Outlook

Total Openings: 3-Year

1,645
 

New Jobs: 3-Year

1,042
 

Retirements/Deaths: 3-Year

601
 

Ten Year Outlook

Total Openings: 10-Year

3,938
 

New Jobs: 10-Year

1,968
 

Retirements/Deaths: 10-Year

1,970