11 Key Attributes Personal And Home Care Aides Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Jacob Brown

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Personal and home care aides assist the elderly, convalescents, or persons with disabilities with daily living activities at the person's home or in a care facility. Duties performed at a place of residence may include keeping house (making beds, doing laundry, washing dishes) and preparing meals. They may also provide assistance at non-residential care facilities. They may also advise families, the elderly, convalescents, and persons with disabilities regarding such things as nutrition, cleanliness, and household activities.

The core tasks that personal and home care aides are likely to carry out include:

Administer bedside or personal care, such as ambulation or personal hygiene assistance.
Prepare and maintain records of client progress and services performed, reporting changes in client condition to manager or supervisor.
Perform housekeeping duties, such as cooking, cleaning, washing clothes or dishes, or running errands.
Care for individuals or families during periods of incapacitation, family disruption, or convalescence, providing companionship, personal care, or help in adjusting to new lifestyles.
Perform healthcare-related tasks, such as monitoring vital signs and medication, under the direction of registered nurses or physiotherapists.
Plan, shop for, or prepare nutritious meals or assist families in planning, shopping for, or preparing nutritious meals.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that personal and home care aides would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for social work environments. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 92.8%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.8%

Being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.2%

Accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 89%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 88.4%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.8%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.8%

Being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 85.8%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 85.4%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81%