Other Heath Services Assistants

(NOC 3414)

in All Health

People in these jobs provide specialized services and support to healthcare professionals and other health care staff. This group includes pharmacy aides, orthopedic technologists, optical/ophthalmic laboratory technicians, rehabilitation assistants, sterile processing technicians, blood donor clinic assistants, and morgue attendants. They work in hospitals, medical clinics, offices of health care professionals, nursing homes, optical retail stores and laboratories, pharmacies, and medical pathology laboratories.

Job Outlook

Good

Read more

  • Estimate Strong growth employment change, 2021-2023
  • Estimate 120 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
  • Estimate Low rate of unemployment in 2022

Compared to: All Health

  • Estimate 3550 employment change, 2021-2023
  • Estimate 6335 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
  • Estimate rate of unemployment not available for these occupation.

Hourly Pay

$14.50

Minimum

$21.00

Median

$26.00

Maximum

Annual Pay

$5,546

Minimum

$29,124

Median

$46,950

Maximum

Compared to: All Health

Hourly Pay

$16.70

Minimum

$26.60

Median

$43.30

Maximum

Annual Pay

$10,740

Minimum

$43,853

Median

$88,944

Maximum

About the job

Nature of work

People in these jobs provide specialized services and support to healthcare professionals and other health care staff. This group includes pharmacy aides, orthopedic technologists, optical/ophthalmic laboratory technicians, rehabilitation assistants, sterile processing technicians, blood donor clinic assistants, and morgue attendants. They work in hospitals, medical clinics, offices of health care professionals, nursing homes, optical retail stores and laboratories, pharmacies, and medical pathology laboratories.

Job duties

Orthopedic technologists:

  • Help orthopedic surgeons treat orthopedic diseases and injuries by applying and adjusting casts, splints, bandages, and other orthopedic devices.
  • Help apply, maintain, and adjust traction equipment.
  • Clean and dress wounds.
  • Remove casts, sutures, staples, and pins.
  • Instruct patients and their families and other health care professionals about orthopedic matters.

Rehabilitation assistants:

  • Prepare and maintain equipment and supplies.
  • Help with rehabilitation activities of patients as directed by health care professionals.
  • May perform routine office functions.

Optical/ophthalmic laboratory technicians and assistants:

  • Use 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 like replacing frame screws or straightening frames.
  • Maintain and repair optical laboratory equipment or machinery.

Pharmacy aides:

  • 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:

  • Use and maintain sterilization equipment like 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:

  • Set up and dismantle equipment.
  • Prepare and maintain cleanliness of collection areas.
  • Maintain supplies.
  • Monitor donors throughout procedure and help 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:

  • Help 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.

Sample job titles

  • central supply aide - medical
  • clinical laboratory helper
  • emergency room attendant
  • morgue attendant
  • occupational therapy aide
  • optical technician
  • pharmacy aide
  • recreation therapy assistant
  • rehabilitation assistant
  • surgical assistant

Skills

  • You should have good interpersonal skills and a desire to help others. Patience and the ability to handle stressful situations may be needed. You must be efficient and accurate, yet sensitive to the needs of clients. Hand-eye coordination and an aptitude for detailed and precise work are necessary.

Job requirements

  • Orthopedic technologists usually require completion of high school and several months of on-the-job training or a college orthopedic technologist program.
  • Registration with the Canadian Society of Orthopedic 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 like recreational therapy programs, are available and may be required by employers.
  • Pharmacy aides require completion of high school and several months of on-the-job training.
  • Sterile processing technicians require completion of high school and a six- to nine-month sterile processing college program.
  • Completion of high school and several months of on-the-job training are usually required for other assisting jobs in this group.

Other considerations

  • Working conditions vary with the type of role in this group. Some positions work regular office hours while others may work shift-work.

By the numbers

Quick look

945

employed in 2016

73.0%

employed full-time

1.6%

self employed

82.0%
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18%
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41.1

median age

Compared to: All Health

36,515

employed in 2016

75.7%

employed full-time

9.6%

self employed

83.6%
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16.4%
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43.5

median age

Where will I likely work?

45.5%

Halifax

$29,202 median annual income
16.9%

North Shore

$32,772 median annual income
13.2%

Southern

$26,978 median annual income
12.7%

Annapolis Valley

$25,510 median annual income
11.6%

Cape Breton

$31,760 median annual income

Compared to: All NS Occupations

47.0%

Halifax

15.6%

North Shore

12.9%

Annapolis Valley

12.7%

Cape Breton

11.8%

Southern

Top Industries of Employment

73.3%

Health care and social assistance

21.2%

Retail trade

2.4%

Educational services

1.8%

Public administration

1.2%

Wholesale trade

What is the age of Employment?

28.0%

45-54

20.0%

15-24

18.0%

35-44

18.0%

25-34

12.0%

55-64

3.0%

65+

Compared to: All Health

24.0%

25-34

23.9%

45-54

21.9%

35-44

18.4%

55-64

7.7%

15-24

Top levels of education

41.3%

College Diploma

$34,187 median annual income
29.1%

High school

$19,234 median annual income
11.6%

Bachelor

$29,107 median annual income
6.9%

Trade Certification

$42,580 median annual income
4.8%

Diploma Below Bachelor

$10,987 median annual income

Compared to: All Health

38.4%

College Diploma

$40,033 median annual income
27.1%

Bachelor

$61,668 median annual income
8.7%

Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary, Optometry

$81,191 median annual income
6.8%

High school

$24,829 median annual income
5.1%

Master

$69,296 median annual income

Education & training

Health and Wellness

College, Trades, or University Program

These programs prepare students to assume roles as health/wellness professionals in private business and industry, community organizations, and health care settings. They include courses in personal health, community health and welfare, nutrition, epidemiology, disease prevention, fitness and exercise, and health behaviours.

Institutions providing this program

Saint Mary's University

Halifax, NS

Pharmacy Technician/Assistant

College or Trades Program

These programs prepare students, under the supervision of pharmacists, to prepare medications, provide medications and related assistance to patients, and manage pharmacy clinical and business operations. They include courses in medical and pharmaceutical terminology, principles of pharmacology and pharmaceutics, drug identification, pharmacy laboratory procedures, prescription interpretation, patient communication and education, safety procedures, record-keeping, measurement and testing techniques, pharmacy business operations, prescription preparation, logistics and dispensing operations, and applicable standards and regulations.

Institutions providing this program

CBBC Career College Inc. - Sydney Campus

Sydney, NS

Eastern College - Halifax

Halifax, NS

Nova Scotia Community College

Various, NS

CBBC Career College Inc. - Dartmouth Campus

Dartmouth, NS

Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy

College or University Program

These programs prepare students to plan, organize, and direct recreational activities designed to promote health and well-being for patients who are physically, mentally, or emotionally disabled. They include courses in the foundations of therapeutic recreation, leisure education and counselling, program planning, therapeutic recreational modalities, basic anatomy and physiology, psychology, medical terminology, human growth and development, patient observation and evaluation, special needs populations, and professional standards and ethics.

Institutions providing this program

Nova Scotia Community College

Various, NS

Employment requirements & contacts

No regulating bodies were found under this occupation profile

Contacts

Canadian Society of Orthopaedic Technologists
North York, ON
Canadian Association of Pharmacy Technicians
Hamilton, ON