Nursing Assistant and Orderly

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A nurse assistant and orderly could...

Overview Listen to this section

Nursing assistants and orderlies are real-life helpers who work in hospitals and care homes. They help people eat, get dressed, take baths, and move around safely—like helping a friend who isn’t feeling well. You might help someone sit up for the first time or make them smile when they’re scared. This job lets you make a big difference in people’s lives every day.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Nursing Assistant and Orderly?

1. Service Orientation: ? Actively looking for ways to help people.
2. Social Perceptiveness: ? Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
3. 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.
4. Monitoring: ? Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
5. Coordination: ? Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

6. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.
7. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
8. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Nursing Assistant and Orderly might do:

• Turn or reposition bedridden patients.
• Answer patient call signals, signal lights, bells, or intercom systems to determine patients' needs.
• Feed patients or assist patients to eat or drink.
• Measure and record food and liquid intake or urinary and fecal output, reporting changes to medical or nursing staff.
• Document or otherwise report observations of patient behavior, complaints, or physical symptoms to nurses.
• Provide physical support to assist patients to perform daily living activities, such as getting out of bed, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, standing, walking, or exercising.
• Remind patients to take medications or nutritional supplements.
• Review patients' dietary restrictions, food allergies, and preferences to ensure patient receives appropriate diet.
• Undress, wash, and dress patients who are unable to do so for themselves.
• Observe or examine patients to detect symptoms that may require medical attention, such as bruises, open wounds, or blood in urine.
• Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.
• Supply, collect, or empty bedpans.
• Communicate with patients to ascertain feelings or need for assistance or social and emotional support.
• Record vital signs, such as temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration rate, as directed by medical or nursing staff.
• Gather information from caregivers, nurses, or physicians about patient condition, treatment plans, or appropriate activities.
• Prepare or serve food trays.
• Wash, groom, shave, or drape patients to prepare them for surgery, treatment, or examination.
• Change bed linens or make beds.
• Exercise patients who are comatose, paralyzed, or have restricted mobility.
• Restock patient rooms with personal hygiene items, such as towels, washcloths, soap, or toilet paper.
• Clean and sanitize patient rooms, bathrooms, examination rooms, or other patient areas.
• Assist nurses or physicians in the operation of medical equipment or provision of patient care.
• Record height or weight of patients.
• Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds.
• Collect specimens, such as urine, feces, or sputum.
• Provide information, such as directions, visiting hours, or patient status information to visitors or callers.