what is a personal care assistant?
Working as a personal care assistant is a great way to enter the healthcare field and begin caring for patients or clients. The job positions include being self-employed, working for an agency or working for a care facility. Your primary responsibility is to help clients stay safe and comfortable and assist with their overall well-being. Generally, you step in during a time of need due to an illness or patients becoming unable to manage their daily tasks. Your duties vary widely, from helping your clients bathe to preparing meals.
where does a personal care assistant work?
Aging people often need assistance with their daily activities to live independently. As a personal care assistant, you also meet the needs of people with physical or mental disabilities. You assist in their homes, care facilities or a hospital setting. Your job involves working closely with health professionals and the client to complete daily tasks and assist doctors with implementing treatment plans.
Aside from monitoring and recording your client's progress, you help them with simple medical tasks and do rehabilitation exercises. You also provide emotional support and companionship to help them maintain their dignity and self-worth.
Would working as a personal care assistant suit your interest in healthcare? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a personal care assistant role.
view jobs near youaverage personal care assistant salary
Typically, personal care assistants are paid hourly, and hourly pay can range greatly from $14 to $26. Annually, most personal care assistants in the U.S. will make $30,900. For more experienced care assistants, this salary may be closer to $38,000.
factors affecting personal care assistant salary
While you can work as a personal care assistant without a college degree, most employers require their personal care assistants to have a special certification. This certification may be obtained through a college-level course, and becoming a certified nursing assistant (CNA) or qualified medication aid (QMA) can help you get a well-paying job as a personal care assistant. Some employers may also not require a certification, but they will require you to complete on-the-job training immediately after hire.
Your experience also influences your earnings. That's why entry-level personal care assistants earn less compared to experienced professionals in the field. Experience improves your expertise and competency and means you can handle complex duties and tasks.
Your area of specialization also determines your earnings. For instance, if you work in a hospital setting, your responsibilities will differ from working in a nursing home. The complexity of your duties and patient conditions may also improve your salary expectations.
Wondering what you can earn as a personal care assistant? Find out immediately with the Randstad salary checker! You can quickly and easily see what the average salary of a personal care assistant is.
types of personal care assistants
Personal care assistants differ based on the clients they work for and the type of personal support they provide. Some types of personal care assistants include:
- personal care assistants (PCAs): Personal care assistants are the health workers who provide the most basic care for their clients, and they typically do not need prior certification to obtain a job as a PCA. These aides provide companionship to clients, and they also can perform tasks such as help with bathing, toileting and room service, whether in a hospital, nursing home or at a client's own home.
- certified nursing assistants (CNAs): Certified nursing assistants are care aides who have a certification, and therefore they may perform more tasks than PCAs. CNAs typically work in a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility, and they can do anything a PCA may do plus offer some medical assistance, such as blood pressure checks.
- home health aides (HHAs): Home health aides are certified nursing assistants with the specialization of working in a client's home. Typically, home health aides are required to hold a CNA certification plus a certification for home health aide work. Home health aides can do the same tasks as both PCAs and CNAs, and they may need to provide extra in-home care, like cooking and cleaning.
- qualified medication aides (QMAs): Qualified medication aides, or QMAs, are the highest level of personal care assistant recognized in most U.S. states. QMAs are typically CNAs who take an extra certification course to gain the ability to handle medicine. This makes QMAs the only type of personal care assistants that are permitted to give medication to patients and clients.
working as a personal care assistant
Working as a personal care assistant involves caring for patients with limited mobility, various health conditions or disabilities. Here's a breakdown of the role's duties, work environments and career outlook.
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personal care assistant job description
The daily tasks of a personal care assistant depend on the clients they work for and their needs. Some of the common responsibilities include:
- assisting with personal hygiene: As a personal care assistant, you help your client improve their wellbeing. That involves assisting them with personal hygiene tasks like showering. You also help them dress, brush their teeth and use the toilet.
- managing household tasks: As a personal care assistant, you may wash dishes and do laundry. Sometimes, you cook for your clients or help them perform other household tasks, such as cleaning.
- running errands for clients: When you work at a client's home, your job involves running errands for the client. That involves grocery shopping and helping them perform chores like walking their dogs or attending community events. Sometimes, you do minor bookkeeping tasks for your clients, such as creating a budget or preparing meal plans and ensuring the ingredients are available in the house.
- helping clients with medical tasks: As a personal care assistant, you may be trained to perform minor medical tasks. For instance, you may change bandages and clean wounds for your clients. You may also set a schedule for your clients to take medication, but you are not permitted to handle medication yourself unless you are certified as a QMA. You can also assist them with rehabilitation exercises to help them regain their fitness.
- providing emotional support: As a personal care assistant, you support your client's physical needs, but you also provide emotional support to the client and their family. You offer companionship and encourage them to talk about their condition. You answer any medical questions they have and ensure the family understands the patient's condition. When you observe changes in a client's behavior, you ensure they receive the help they require.
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personal care assistant work environment
Personal support workers perform their duties in various environments. You can work in patients' homes if you are self-employed or employed by an agency. This is increasingly more common as many older adults are choosing to age in place. You work with the same client daily, a couple of different clients a day, or with different clients on different days of the week. Your work environment depends on the patients you take on and what kind of needs they have hired you to help with. When you work for a care facility or hospital, you work indoors. Expect to be active in either environment, as many of your tasks include physical activity. The tasks include helping patients move about and performing some household chores.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on your employer and the industry you work in, your colleagues might include other personal care assistants, CNAs, HHAs or QMAs. Typically, you also work under the supervision of a nurse, either a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse. You might also be working in close proximity to psychologists, medical doctors or physical and occupational therapists
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work schedule
Your work schedule as a personal care assistant is not predictable. Ill or older adults need care at all hours of the day, so you work any shift where you're needed. If you're self-employed, you can decide which jobs you pick up based on the hours and the shifts the client needs. You would likely work daytime, evening or overnight shifts in a care facility. There are opportunities to work full-time or part-time hours as a personal care assistant.
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job outlook for personal care assistant
The career outlook is promising for personal care assistants, with job growth of over 22% in the U.S. in the next five years. As a personal care assistant, your career path depends on your interests. You may become a CNA, HHA or QMA with certification courses, or you can choose to become a licensed practical nurse by obtaining an associate's degree or a registered nurse by obtaining a bachelor's degree.
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benefits of working for randstad as a personal care assistant
Working through Randstad offers you a range of benefits:
- being paid weekly
- flexibility
- always a contact person you can fall back on and ask for help from
- many training opportunities
- a range of jobs in your area
Want a permanent contract? But you wonder why it would be interesting for you to work with a staffing company? A temporary job as a personal care assistant is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too!
personal care assistant skills and education
Some of the qualifications that a personal care assistant requires may include the following:
- on-job training that may or may not involve traditional educational courses, including lectures and tests, plus hands-on learning
- certification as a certified nursing assistant, which can be obtained by a place of higher education through a course that may last from nine weeks to four months
- certification as a home health aide or qualified medication aide, which typically involves gaining a CNA certification before taking an extra course at an educational institution
skills and competencies
Some of the skills and qualities of a personal care assistant include:
- empathy: As a personal care assistant, you require empathy to make clients feel cared for and safe. When you understand their situation, you can provide better care and attention.
- observant: As a personal care assistant, it is important to be observant to identify any changes in a client's condition. Some clients may be unable to articulate what is troubling them, and being observant helps you identify their issues.
- communication skills: You require good communication skills to communicate with clients and other health care providers. Good communication helps your clients feel safe and in control.
FAQs about working as a personal care assistant
Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about personal care assistants.
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what does a personal care assistant do?
Personal care assistants give basic personal and medical help to others who may or may not be elderly. Generally, some tasks that all personal care assistants do include helping a client bathe or shower, go to the bathroom, get dressed, eat and groom themselves. Some personal care assistants who work in a client's home may also need to get groceries, cook and clean.
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what is the difference between a personal care assistant and a certified nursing assistant?
Typically, personal care assistants are not required to have any prior certification to obtain a job. In contrast, certified nursing assistants are required to have a CNA licensure before getting a job as a certified nursing assistant. Certified nursing assistants can also perform more tasks than personal care assistants can, such as taking a client's vital signs.
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is a personal care assistant a good career?
Becoming a personal care assistant is a good choice for those who are interested in joining the medical field but who do not want to go through extra schooling to do so. Personal care assistants also make a relatively high salary without a college degree. However, there are few ways to advance your healthcare career as a personal care assistant without going back to school.
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what is the difference between a caregiver and a personal care assistant?
Caregiver is a term that can apply to any person, either a healthcare professional or not, who offers care to another person. Personal care assistants are a type of caregiver who are employed to help others. Other types of caregivers may include nurses, home health aides and even a family member of a person who needs help with daily tasks.
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who supervises personal care assistants?
Personal care assistants are typically supervised by nurses, either licensed practical nurses (LPNs) or registered nurses (RNs), whether they work in a hospital, a nursing home, another care facility or in a client's home. However, this does not necessarily mean that the nurse would always be present while you work. For example, many personal care assistants who visit the homes of clients will visit alone and call their nurse supervisor as needed.
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how do I find a job as a personal care assistant?
Applying for a personal care assistant job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our personal care assistant jobs for vacancies in your area. Then simply send us your CV. If you do not have a resume, no worries. Just check out our resume builder. This state of the art tool will help you to create your own resume. Need help with your application? Check out all our job-hunting tips!
