Personal and Home Care Aides Onet SOC Code 39-9021.00 Career Description: Assist elderly or disabled adults with daily living activities at the person's home or in a daytime non-residential facility. Duties performed at a place of residence may include keeping house (making beds, doing laundry, washing dishes) and preparing meals. May provide meals and supervised activities at non-residential care facilities. May advise families, the elderly, and disabled on such things as nutrition, cleanliness, and household utilities. Related Clusters: Health Science Hospitality and Tourism Programs of Study Personal and Home Care Aides

Career Summary:

• Experience- Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty.
• Education- These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.
• Job Training- Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees.
• Examples- These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers.

• Transport clients to locations outside the home, such as to physicians' offices or on outings, using a motor vehicle.
• Train family members to provide bedside care.
• Provide clients with communication assistance, typing their correspondence and obtaining information for them.
• Perform health care related tasks, such as monitoring vital signs and medication, under the direction of registered nurses and physiotherapists.
• Administer bedside and personal care, such as ambulation and 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 and dishes, and running errands.
• Care for individuals and families during periods of incapacitation, family disruption or convalescence, providing companionship, personal care and help in adjusting to new lifestyles.
• Instruct and advise clients on issues such as household cleanliness, utilities, hygiene, nutrition and infant care.
• Plan, shop for, and prepare nutritious meals, or assist families in planning, shopping for, and preparing nutritious meals.
• Participate in case reviews, consulting with the team caring for the client, to evaluate the client's needs and plan for continuing services.

• 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.
• 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.

• This occupation is open to individuals with no formal training in some instances; however, most home care agencies require aides to have a high school diploma. Some nursing homes and technical centers offer certification courses in this field. The average course may be completed in 120 hours. Specialized training consists of courses in basic nutrition, meal planning and preparation, patient care, and alleviating fear and anxiety in the elderly. Other requirements of the job may include having a valid Tennessee driver's license and access to an automobile, passing a physical examination, and interest in caring for ill patients in their home. For related information and recommended courses to prepare for this occupation, Tennessee high school students may visit the Health Science Education Curriculum Standards online.

• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• 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.

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Problem Sensitivity - 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.

• Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
• Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
• Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
• Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
• Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
• Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
• Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
• Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
• 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.

• Social Service - Workers on this job have work where they do things for other people.
• Relationships-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
• Moral Values - Workers on this job are never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
• Independence - Workers on this job do their work alone.
• Security - Workers on this job have steady employment.
• Company Policies and Practices - Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.
• Autonomy - Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.
• Achievement - Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.
• Variety - Workers on this job have something different to do every day.
• Supervision, Human Relations - Workers on this job have supervisors who back up their workers with management.
• Support-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Wage and salary data provided by:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tennessee Department of Labor website
• TN Department of Labor & Workforce Development website
• Bureau of Economic Analysis website