What does a direct care worker do?
A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule. Furthermore, it is also the duty of a Direct Care Worker to empathize and build rapport with clients to make them feel more at ease.
Direct care worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real direct care worker resumes:
- Provide caring companionship to elderly and developmentally disable patients with or without chronic health diagnosis.
- Assist individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities with ADL's.
- Conduct socialization groups to aid individuals in development of ADL and socialization skills.
- Prepare daily documents administer medications handle patients hygiene house cleaning and provide transportation to and from appointment
- Provide caring and companionship to elderly and developmentally disable consumers and provide primary resident care and assistance with daily living activities.
- Provide day to day services that include transport, nutrition, hygiene, housekeeping and activities to MRDD clients.
- Provide full assists to individuals requiring total care, including lifting and transferring via wheelchairs, merry walkers, or hoyers.
- Certify to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to children and adults.
- Implement behavioral plans for children with autism to teach communication, social, self-help, and play skills
- Take care of individuals with DD.
- Facilitate exercise, vocational, arts-n-crafts, and daily living skills groups for consumers with DD.
Direct care worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Direct Care Workers are proficient in Direct Care, Patients, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Integrity, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Direct Care Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Direct Care, 22%
Direct Care Worker/Program Coordinator- Directly provided care to adults with physical and mental disabilities in their home environment.
- Patients, 11%
Cared for six elderly residents Made and prepared meals Maintained household Passed medications to patients Obtained vital signs Documented client information
- CPR, 7%
Certified in CPR and Medication administration.
- Developmental Disabilities, 4%
Assisted 10 Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) clients daily with exercising plans and documented their extra-curricular activities.
- Crisis Intervention, 4%
Provide behavior management/crisis intervention utilizing authorized aggression.
- Vital Signs, 4%
Job Responsibilities: Medication administration, vital signs, emergency protocols, progress/incident reports, paperwork for administration personnel.
"direct care," "patients," and "cpr" are among the most common skills that direct care workers use at work. You can find even more direct care worker responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a direct care worker to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "home health aides and personal care aides must adhere to specific rules and protocols and carefully follow instructions to help take care of clients." Direct care workers often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "maintain accurate, detailed reports and record regarding patient condition and patient care. "
Integrity. Another essential skill to perform direct care worker duties is integrity. Direct care workers responsibilities require that "home health aides and personal care aides should make clients feel comfortable when they tend to personal activities, such as helping a client bathe." Direct care workers also use integrity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "rule enforcement, crisis intervention, program integrity assurance, created and facilitated weekly life skills groups. "
Interpersonal skills. direct care workers are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to direct care worker responsibilities, because "home health aides and personal care aides must work closely with clients." A direct care worker resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "used interpersonal skill to provide respite care for adults with cognitive and physical disabilities. "
Physical stamina. A big part of what direct care workers do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to direct care worker responsibilities because "home health aides and personal care aides should be comfortable performing physical tasks." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical direct care worker tasks: "assisted mentally and physically challenged individuals with activities of daily living, administering medication and providing companionship. "
The three companies that hire the most direct care workers are:
- BAYADA Home Health Care37 direct care workers jobs
- Baptist Child & Family Service17 direct care workers jobs
- National Mentor Holdings Inc.
15 direct care workers jobs
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Compare different direct care workers
Direct care worker vs. Aide
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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a direct care worker are more likely to require skills like "companionship," "mental health," "motor vehicle," and "intellectual disabilities." On the other hand, a job as an aide requires skills like "compassion," "home health," "customer service," and "behavioral issues." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Aides earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $27,848. On the other hand, direct care workers are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $29,581.The education levels that aides earn slightly differ from direct care workers. In particular, aides are 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a direct care worker. Additionally, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Direct care worker vs. Provider
Health care providers are health professionals and health organizations offering health care treatment and diagnosis services. These professionals play significant roles with patients through consultation, treatment, and advice. The health care they provide is of different variations. They even perform other procedures depending on the needs of the patients. Their responsibilities include comprehensive care and specialist work. Also, they help in duties, medication, and housekeeping. They transport clients to and from errands, activities, and appointments.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, direct care worker responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "crisis intervention," "intellectual disabilities," "alertness," and "direct support." Meanwhile, a provider has duties that require skills in areas such as "healthcare," "customer service," "social work," and "excellent interpersonal." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Providers earn a higher average salary than direct care workers. But providers earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $55,214. Additionally, direct care workers earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $29,581 annually.In general, providers achieve similar levels of education than direct care workers. They're 4.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Direct care worker vs. Residential instructor
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.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, direct care workers are more likely to have skills like "patients," "cpr," "companionship," and "medication reminders." But a residential instructor is more likely to have skills like "autism," "data collection," "direct supervision," and "role model."
Residential instructors earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $31,699. Comparatively, direct care workers have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $29,581.When it comes to education, residential instructors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to direct care workers. In fact, they're 2.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Direct care worker vs. Attending, ambulatory care
Types of direct care worker
Updated January 8, 2025
