Psychiatric Aide Career

Job Description: Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. May assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. May restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.


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Psychiatric Aide Career

What skills are required for Psychiatric Aides?

Importance Skills
  Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  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.
  Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
  Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.

What knowledge is needed to be a Psychiatric Aide?

Importance Knowledge
  Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Work Styles

Importance Styles
  Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
  Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
  Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
  Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
  Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.