What does a direct care aide do?

An attending, ambulatory care is responsible for providing patient care, supporting ongoing treatment of health issues, and managing recovery through coordinating with attending physicians or other medical professionals. They evaluate medical records, including history and consultation purposes, develop a necessary care plan, keep an accurate medical chart, and schedule laboratory tests and follow-up as needed. An attending, ambulatory care must have extensive knowledge of the medical principles and disciplines to monitor the patients' condition and observe medical measures.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, direct care aide responsibilities require skills like "home health," "foster care," "autism," and "direct patient care." Meanwhile a typical attending, ambulatory care has skills in areas such as "customer service," "patient care," "good judgment," and "direct care." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Direct support professionals are responsible for taking care of patients with physical or mental limitations. They do a variety of tasks for their patients, such as doing household chores, running errands for them, cooking for them, feeding them, bathing and dressing them, and helping them with their medication, among others. They also provide their patients with companionship, accompanying their patients to appointments, providing emotional support, and being with their patients for the most part of the day. They should be familiar with their patients' prescribed medicines, meal plans, therapy schedules, and other items related to the betterment of the patients' condition. Direct support professionals help the patients overcome their challenges and assist them in acclimating themselves with their current environment.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that direct care aide responsibilities requires skills like "cpr," "patients," "rehabilitation," and "direct patient care." But a direct support professional might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "direct support," "direct care," "dsp," and "mental health."

Aides are personal employees of their clients who commonly have health issues that render them unable to do certain tasks. They help out their clients with activities they may need assistance in. They may do personal errands such as grocery shopping, cleaning, and cooking. They also provide care for their clients by helping them bathe, dress, brush their teeth, and other personal hygiene activities. Aides also help their clients walk, sit, and eat if their clients' motor functions are compromised. Aides are expected to be patient, caring, and trustworthy.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a direct care aide is likely to be skilled in "foster care," "rehabilitation," "autism," and "direct patient care," while a typical aide is skilled in "patient care," "compassion," "customer service," and "behavioral issues."

A direct support specialist provides care and assistance to individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. They may work at nursing facilities, government institutions, or at the patients' homes. Their responsibilities usually revolve around helping patients with daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, going to the toilet, and attending appointments. They may also assist patients in taking medications, handle the laundry and dishes, cook and prepare meals according to nutrition plans, and run errands as necessary. Moreover, they are also responsible for coordinating with physicians, maintaining daily records, and processing documents.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between direct care aides and direct support specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a direct care aide might have more use for skills like "home health," "patients," "meal prep," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of direct support specialists require skills like "direct support," "mental health," "direct care," and "basic math. "