17 Key Attributes Psychiatric Aides Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Sophia Miller

Monday, January 4, 2016

Psychiatric aides assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. They may also assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. They may also restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.

The core tasks that psychiatric aides are likely to carry out include:

Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans.
Maintain patients' restrictions to assigned areas.
Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary.
Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment.

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 psychiatric 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%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 99.6%

Accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 99.6%

Being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 98.8%

Preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 98.6%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 96.8%

Being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 93.6%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 91%

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.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 91%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.8%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.4%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 84.4%

Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 83.4%

Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 82.2%

A willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 80.6%

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%