National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016 Version 1.1

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3 - Health occupations

Occupations in this category are concerned with providing health care services directly to patients and occupations that provide technical support to medical staff. To progress from medical and dental technical occupations to professional occupations, completion of additional formal education is required. Progression to supervisory positions requires experience in the occupations supervised. Support occupations in health are usually supplied from short training programs specific to the support area.

34 - Assisting occupations in support of health services

This major group comprises occupations in health that require secondary school education, either partial or complete, and additional specific training. It includes dental assistants, nurse aides, orderlies and other assisting occupations in support of health services.

341 - Assisting occupations in support of health services

This minor group includes dental assistants, nurse aides, orderlies, patient service associates, and other assisting occupations in support of health services. They are employed by hospitals, clinics, community health centres, nursing homes, assisted care facilities, and other health care establishments; dentists' offices, and the offices of other health care professionals; pharmacies, and optical retail stores; optical and medical pathology laboratories; and educational institutions.

3411 - Dental assistants

Dental assistants assist dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists during the examination and treatment of patients and perform clerical functions. Dental assistants work in dentists' offices, community health centres, clinics and in educational institutions.

  • Illustrative example(s)

    • certified dental assistant
    • certified intra-oral dental assistant
    • dental assistant
    • registered dental assistant

    All examples

  • Inclusion(s)

    • dental aide
  • Exclusion(s)

    • Dental hygienists and dental therapists (See 3222 Dental hygienists and dental therapists)
    • Dental technologists, technicians and laboratory assistants (See 3223 Dental technologists, technicians and laboratory assistants)
  • Main duties

    Dental assistants perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Prepare patients for dental examination and assist the dentist during examinations and dental treatments
    • Sterilize and maintain instruments and equipment
    • Prepare dental instruments and filling materials
    • Take and develop X-rays
    • Polish teeth and clinical crowns and apply fluoride and sealant
    • Take preliminary impressions for diagnostic casts
    • Fabricate and place temporary crowns and restorations
    • Educate patients concerning oral hygiene
    • Invoice patients for dental services
    • Schedule patient appointments and record dental procedures performed
    • Order dental and office supplies
    • May perform intra-oral duties such as remove sutures, take and record vital signs, apply desensitizing agents, topical anaesthetic, anticariogenic agents, coronal whitening and apply and remove rubber dams.
  • Employment requirements

    • Completion of an eight-month to one-year college or other program in dental assistance
      or
      Completion of secondary school with on-the-job training is required.
    • Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces except Quebec and Ontario.
    • Certification by the National Dental Assisting Examination Board is required to perform intra-oral duties in all provinces except in Quebec, where intra-oral duties are not performed by dental assistants.
  • Additional information

    • In some provinces there are two levels of dental assistants: Level I - chair-side assistant and Level II - intra-oral assistant. Progression from Level I to Level II is possible with education, training and licensure.
3413 - Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates assist nurses, hospital staff and physicians in the basic care of patients. They are employed in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted care facilities for the elderly and other health care establishments.

  • Illustrative example(s)

    • health care aide
    • hospital attendant
    • long term care aide
    • nurse aide
    • nursing attendant
    • orderly
    • patient care aide
    • patient service associate
    • personal care attendant - medical
    • psychiatric aide
    • resident care aide - medical

    All examples

  • Inclusion(s)

    • emergency medical care attendant (EMCA)
    • emergency medical responder
    • first aid attendant
    • medical attendant - patient transfer
  • Exclusion(s)

    • Licensed practical nurses (See 3233 Licensed practical nurses)
    • Other assisting occupations in support of health services (See 3414 Other assisting occupations in support of health services)
    • Personal care attendants - home care (See 4412 Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations)
  • Main duties

    Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Answer call signals; supply and empty bed pans; bathe, dress and groom patients; serve meal trays, feed or assist in feeding of patients and assist patients with menu selection; weigh, lift, turn, and position patients; shave patients prior to operations; supervise patients' exercise routines, set up and provide leisure activities for patients, accompany patients on outside recreational activities and perform other duties related to patient care and comfort
    • Take patients' blood pressure, temperature and pulse; report or record fluid intake and output; observe or monitor patients' status and document patient care on charts; administer first aid in emergency situations; collect specimens such as urine, faeces or sputum; administer suppositories, colonic irrigations and enemas and perform other procedures as directed by nursing and hospital staff
    • Transport patients by wheelchair or stretcher for treatment or surgery
    • Carry messages, reports, requisitions and specimens between departments
    • Make beds and maintain patients' rooms
    • Maintain inventory of supplies
    • May perform maintenance tasks such as assisting with the set-up and maintenance of traction equipment, cleaning or sterilizing equipment, maintaining and repairing equipment, and assembling, setting-up and operating job-related equipment
    • May transport patients between care facilities.
  • Employment requirements

    • Some secondary school education and on-the-job training
      or
      A nursing aide or health care aide college or private institutional program, or a college nursing orderly program and supervised practical training are required.
    • Completion of specialized courses such as CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and first aid is usually required.
    • An appropriate class of driver's licence may be required for medical attendants.
3414 - Other assisting occupations in support of health services

This unit group includes workers who provide services and assistance to health care professionals and other health care staff. They are employed in hospitals, medical clinics, offices of health care professionals, nursing homes, optical retail stores and laboratories, pharmacies and medical pathology laboratories.

  • Illustrative example(s)

    • autopsy assistant
    • blood donor clinic assistant
    • cast room technician
    • chiropractic assistant
    • clinical laboratory helper
    • morgue attendant
    • ophthalmic laboratory technician - retail
    • ophthalmic lens grinder
    • optical laboratory assistant
    • optometrist assistant
    • orthopedic technologist
    • rehabilitation assistant
    • sterile processing technician
    • therapist assistant - medical

    All examples

  • Exclusion(s)

    • Medical technologists and technicians (See 321 Medical technologists and technicians (except dental health))
    • Operating room technicians (See 3233 Licensed practical nurses)
    • Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment (See 3237 Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment)
    • Pathologists' assistants (See 3212 Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists' assistants)
    • Pharmacy clerks (See 6421 Retail salespersons)
    • Pharmacy technicians (See 3219 Other medical technologists and technicians (except dental health))
  • Main duties

    Orthopedic technologists perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Assist orthopedic surgeons in the treatment of orthopedic diseases and injuries by applying and adjusting casts, splints, bandages and other orthopedic devices
    • Assist in the application, maintenance and adjustment of traction equipment
    • Clean and dress wounds
    • Remove casts, sutures, staples and pins
    • Instruct patients and their families and other health care professionals with respect to orthopedic matters.

    Rehabilitation assistants perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Prepare and maintain equipment and supplies
    • Assist in activities for the rehabilitation of patients as directed by health care professionals
    • May perform routine office functions.

    Optical/ophthalmic laboratory technicians and assistants perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Operate laboratory equipment to grind, cut, polish and edge lenses for eyeglasses according to prescriptions received and fit lenses into frames
    • Make minor repairs for customers such as replacing frame screws or straightening frames
    • Maintain and repair optical laboratory equipment or machinery.

    Pharmacy aides perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Help pharmacists and other pharmacy staff with packaging and labelling of pharmaceutical products
    • May help in maintaining prescription records and inventories of medications and pharmaceutical products.

    Sterile processing technicians perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Operate and maintain sterilization equipment such as instrument washers, sonic sinks, cart washers and steam autoclaves to clean and disinfect trays, carts, linens, supplies, instrumentation and equipment for re-use according to standardized safety practices
    • Reassemble equipment and assemble packs of sterile supplies and instruments for delivery to hospital departments.

    Blood donor clinic assistants perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Set up and dismantle equipment
    • Prepare and maintain cleanliness of collection areas
    • Maintain supplies
    • Monitor donors throughout procedure and assist with post-donation care and donor reaction care as assigned under the supervision of a registered nurse
    • Record information on donors
    • Label and process donated blood.

    Morgue attendants perform some or all of the following duties:

    • Assist pathologists at autopsies by laying out surgical instruments
    • Prepare solutions for preservation of specimens
    • Transfer bodies from morgue to examining table
    • Remove organs and tissue specimens, as instructed by attending pathologist, and placing them in preservative solutions
    • Clean and sew up bodies for release to funeral home.
  • Employment requirements

    • Orthopedic technologists usually require completion of secondary school
      and
      Several months of on-the-job training
      or
      A college orthopedic technologist program.
    • Registration with the Canadian Society of Orthopaedic Technologists is available and may be required by employers.
    • Health care courses or short-term college programs related to the work of medical therapy assistants, such as recreational therapy programs, are available and may be required by employers.
    • Pharmacy aides require completion of secondary school
      and
      Several months of on-the-job training.
    • Sterile processing technicians require completion of secondary school
      and
      A six- to nine-month sterile processing college program.
    • Completion of secondary school and several months of on-the-job training are usually required for other assisting occupations in this unit group.
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