In a hospital or medical center, a hospital attendant assists trained medical professionals. These positions are frequently entry-level, though some employees receive on-the-job basic medical training, while others may have previously trained as nurses. Attendants are also known as orderlies, and their job responsibilities differ from one employer to the next.
Patients are usually transported to wards and surgeries a hospital attendant, though critically injured patients are usually transported paramedics. Attendants assist housekeepers with changing bed linens and feeding patients in many hospitals. Some attendants are also responsible for cleaning the wards and distributing medication to patients. Rather than being assigned specific responsibilities, these employees are typically given daily assignments based on the hospital’s operational requirements.
While many people working in these jobs receive no job-specific training, others must have some medical knowledge. These people may have to change bandages, apply ointments, and monitor the patient’s vital signs. A hospital attendant must complete a series of training classes, which may be offered in-house or at a local community college or university, in order to perform these tasks. Many countries’ regulatory boards offer certification and licensing courses for orderlies and medical attendants, and many facilities require applicants to hold one of these licenses.
Patients who are critically ill must usually remain under the care of doctors or nurses, but a medical attendant may supervise other inpatients. These individuals usually stay in the wards at all times and notify physicians if a patient’s condition worsens. Because these individuals have often received little or no medical treatment, they rely on data from pulse monitoring machines and other devices to make decisions about the patient’s condition. Apart from alerting medical personnel to the patient’s condition, the attendant may take steps to make the patient more comfortable until a trained medic arrives. Extra pillows or blankets, as well as a glass of water, are examples of these measures.
The elderly and chronically ill are cared for in some medical facilities. Many of these patients require assistance with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. Individuals may require the assistance of a hospital attendant to complete these tasks. Before they can physically assist patients, attendants usually receive some basic on-the-job training. Many facilities also require both skilled and unskilled workers to attend first-aid training courses, which include demonstrations of techniques such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation.