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Personal care assistant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Marina Orobinskaia,

Marina Orobinskaia

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical personal care assistant skills. We ranked the top skills for personal care assistants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 16.9% of personal care assistant resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a personal care assistant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 personal care assistant skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how personal care assistants use patients:

Facilitated activities of daily living for dementia- diagnosed caseload of geriatric patients in a residential long-term health care community.
Provide patients and families with emotional support through light conversation music and provide recommendations for social assistance.

2. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how personal care assistants use cpr:

Assisted Residents with -Dressing/ Undressing -Showers-Toileting-Transferring-Feeding-Activities Assistant * CPR Certified/ First Aid
Trained in CPR, First aid, Medication Administration, OSHA standards and Vulnerable Adult Law and reporting.

3. Home Health

Here's how personal care assistants use home health:

Organized schedules and activities of PCA/sitters, occupational therapist, speech therapist, registered nurse (all home health personnel).
Provided personal care assistance with home health needs, medication management, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and transportation assistance.

4. RUN Errands

Running errands means to go out on a short trip to buy, collect, or deliver something normally for a particular person or reason.

Here's how personal care assistants use run errands:

Assist clients with personal needs.medication.meals.run errands.cleaning.
Take care of patients in their home, check vital signs, chart, prepare meals, run errands for patients.

5. Companionship

Companionship refers to the condition of creating time for somebody or having a person with whom to socialize.

Here's how personal care assistants use companionship:

Provided compassionate and reassuring care and companionship to client with physical and developmental disabilities; encouraged social engagement and interactions
Performed light house work, attended/scheduled doctors appointments, passed medication, companionship, helped with financial budgeting

6. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how personal care assistants use patient care:

Highly-motivated, compassionate nursing aide professional with a natural talent of providing positive bedside patient care services.
Work collaboratively and communicates effectively with other patient care team members and support roles of all coworkers.

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7. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how personal care assistants use vital signs:

Monitor vital signs and scheduled medication intake under the direction of registered nurses and physiotherapists.
Administered medication, fulfilled doctor orders, recorded vital signs for forty-six patient facility.

8. Medical Appointments

A medical appointment is a scheduled / specific day and time for a person to be examined or treated by a physician, nurse, or other licensed healthcare professional. The aim of the medical appointment is for the physician to be able to identify health problems or illnesses at an early stage.

Here's how personal care assistants use medical appointments:

Provide transportation for/accompany to medical appointments
Administered daily medications, assisted with basic domestic duties, and transported family member to/from medical appointments, and recreational activities.

9. Meal Prep

Meal prepping refers to the practice of preparing healthy meals long before the timing of its consumption. This practice is widely popular among working individuals who have very little free time on their hands. Prepping for future meals has some great health benefits apart from saving one's time as it enforces the idea of healthy eating and discourages the temptation of fast foods and takeouts.

Here's how personal care assistants use meal prep:

Coordinated all aspects of their care, including meal preparation, personal hygiene assistance, medication support/administration and housekeeping.
Fostered healthy environment for diabetic patients through meal preparation, medication dispensing, and glucose and blood pressure monitoring

10. Medication Reminders

A medication reminder can refer to any device that is used to remind patients or caregivers to take medications. Pill reminders can come as simple devices with a pre-installed adjustable timer that uses an alarm to remind about medication. They can be made from sophisticated technology that can senses if the lid has been opened with sound and light alarms that may help the hearing-impaired users too.

Here's how personal care assistants use medication reminders:

Provide in home care to elderly clients-Personal care-Companion care-Light Housekeeping-Meal Preparation-Transportation -Medication Reminders-Laundry
Provided care for the physically incapacitated, helped accomplish daily tasks including medication reminders, food preparation, and miscellaneous errands.

11. ADL

ADL is a clinical shorthand for "activities of daily living." It includes tasks such as feeding, dressing, bathing, and caring for one's self and personal hygiene.

Here's how personal care assistants use adl:

Supervised residents taking medications ADL'S Prepped meals Housekeeping Gave showers to residents as needed
Assist client with ADL such feeding bathing grooming medication light housekeeping cooking charting setting up doctor appointments and transportation to and from

12. Direct Care

Direct care is the act of identifying people with special needs and offering the necessary care for them.

Here's how personal care assistants use direct care:

Provided Direct care to individuals with mental handicaps ensuring their ability to lead productive lives and handled consumer finances
Provide direct care assistance to individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities while promoting independence and growth.

13. Oral Hygiene

Oral hygiene is the terminology used to describe the state and measurement of cleanliness and health in one's mouth and, sometimes, the surrounding areas. The most basic way of ensuring and improving a good oral hygiene is the regular brushing of one's teeth, but trips to the dentist and other healthcare professionals are a common need, even if it is just for check-ups.

Here's how personal care assistants use oral hygiene:

Perform personal care tasks including but not limited to bathing, hair care, oral hygiene, nail or skin care.
Care for client in his home assisting with baths oral hygiene toileting catheter care range of motion passing medication housekeeping and laundry

14. Hair Care

Hair care is an umbrella term for the parts of hygiene and cosmetics, including hair that grows on the human head and, to a lesser extent, facial, pubic, and other body hair. Hair care varies depending on the type of hair and is not only important for our appearance but also our general hygiene.

Here's how personal care assistants use hair care:

Provide in-home personal care for disable patients: feeding, bathing, hair care, nail care, and personal hygiene.
Provided assistance with bathing, dressing, hair care, mouth care, toileting, and feeding to clients.

15. Physical Therapy

Here's how personal care assistants use physical therapy:

Assisted with daily physical therapy/rehabilitation schedule
Completed necessary documentation of seizure activity, medical issues, behaviors, dietary intake, and physical therapy exercises.

5 Personal Care Assistant resume examples

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What skills help Personal Care Assistants find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on personal care assistant resumes?

Marina Orobinskaia

Program Coordinator, Bellevue College

Experience, good program attended.

What soft skills should all personal care assistants possess?

Marina Orobinskaia

Program Coordinator, Bellevue College

Friendliness, positive energy, leadership.

What hard/technical skills are most important for personal care assistants?

Marina Orobinskaia

Program Coordinator, Bellevue College

There are no more or less important skills. You need to learn all of them to excellence and what is most important - use your critical thinking when you do them.

What personal care assistant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Penny Ridenour

Dean of School of Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City

To differentiate yourself from the other new professionals entering healthcare after graduation, pay attention to the soft skills employers are looking for. Listening, empathy, and communication skills polish professional persona. Also, developing skills in resiliency will equip new professionals for a growing career in healthcare.

Do you want to know more?

List of personal care assistant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a personal care assistant resume and required skills for a personal care assistant to have include:

Patients
CPR
Home Health
RUN Errands
Companionship
Patient Care
Vital Signs
Medical Appointments
Meal Prep
Medication Reminders
ADL
Direct Care
Oral Hygiene
Hair Care
Physical Therapy
Blood Pressure

Bed Linens
Home Management
Emotional Support
Catheter
Medication Administration
DR
Urinals
Senior Care
Support Services
Skin Care
Alzheimer
Developmental Disabilities
Tuberculosis
Applied Behavior Analysis
Hoyer
Motion Exercises

Nutritious Meals
Bedpans
Oral Care
Motor Vehicle
Food Preparation
ROM
Wheel Chair
Cerebral Palsy
Doctor Appointments
Hippa
Light Housework
Medication Management
Physical Disabilities
Household Chores

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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