Nursing assistants in medical gowns help care for physically and mentally ill patients who are confined in hospitals, nursing care facilities, or mental health settings. The duties of home health aides are similar, but these nursing aides work in patients’ homes or in residential care facilities. They perform routine tasks under the direction of medical and nursing professionals. They answer patients’ call lights, make beds, serve meals, and help patients bathe, dress, and eat. Helpers may also take patients’ temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate; and provide skin care. They help patients get in and out of bed and walk, and may accompany patients to operating rooms and examination rooms. They also keep patient rooms tidy, stock supplies, set up equipment, and help with some types of procedures. Nursing assistants observe the physical, emotional, and mental conditions of patients and report changes to medical staff.
Nursing assistants who are employed in nursing care facilities are often the primary caregivers, with much more contact with residents than other staff members. Because residents may stay in a nursing facility for many months or years, assistants develop ongoing relationships with patients and interact with them in positive ways. Home health aides selling gowns help elderly, disabled or convalescent patients live in their homes instead of in health facilities. They provide health services, such as administering medications, as well as monitoring patients’ vital signs and keeping records under the direction of registered nurses, physical therapists, and social workers. They report progress and changes in patients’ conditions to their supervisors.
They also keep patient rooms tidy and help patients get out of bed, bathe, groom, and dress. They can also change bandages, rub and massage alcohol, and help with prosthetics and orthotics. Psychiatric assistants care for people with emotional disturbances or mental disabilities as part of a team that includes psychiatrists and psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and social workers. In addition to helping patients bathe, dress, groom, and eat, psychiatric assistants guide them in recreational and educational activities, and socialize with patients. They observe patients and report any behavioral or physical signs that may be important to professional staff.
Nursing assistants must spend many hours each day on their feet and walks in scrubs, and can have heavy workloads. They have unpleasant duties like changing dirty bedding and emptying chamber pots. Moving patients into bed and lifting them, and helping them to stand and walk, can cause back injuries. Patients may be disoriented, irritable, or uncooperative. People with AIDS can also face dangers from infections and illnesses. Home care nursing careers have modest entry requirements, but also tend to be low-paying with high emotional and physical demands and a lack of opportunities for advancement. On the other hand, there are numerous job offers, and it is expected that there will be excellent job opportunities in the future. Most full-time nursing assistants work 40 hours a week, but some work part-time, and because patients need 24-hour care, some assistants work nights, they may also work weekends and the holidays.