Nursing Assistant Occupational Outlook

What Nursing Assistants  Do

Nursing assistants, sometimes called nursing aides, provide basic care and help patients with activities of daily living.

Duties

Nursing assistants and orderlies work as part of a healthcare team under the supervision of licensed practical or licensed vocational nurses and registered nurses.

Nursing assistants provide basic care and help with activities of daily living. They typically do the following:

• Clean and bathe patients
• Help patients use the toilet and dress
• Turn, reposition, and transfer patients between beds and wheelchairs
• Listen to and record patients’ health concerns and report that information to nurses
• Measure patients’ vital signs, such as blood pressure and temperature
• Serve meals and help patients eat

Depending on their training level and the state in which they work, nursing assistants also may dispense medication.

Nursing assistants are often the principal caregivers in nursing and residential care facilities. Nursing assistants often develop relationships with their patients because some patients stay in these facilities for months or years.

Orderlies typically do the following:

• Help patients to move around the facility, such as by pushing their wheelchairs
• Clean equipment and facilities
• Change linens
• Stock supplies

For the latest occupational outlook visit  Nursing Assisting Occupational Outlook.