Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

Overview

Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates assist nurses, hospital staff and physicians in the basic care of patients. They are employed in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted care facilities for the elderly and other health care establishments. Emergency medical care attendant are employed by private ambulance services, urgent care centers or other health facilities.

Also known as:

anesthetic attendant - hospital
continuing care assistant
emergency medical care assistant
emergency medical care attendant (non-paramedical)
emergency medical responder (non-paramedical)
personal support worker - nursing care

Median salary

The median salary for this job across Ontario is $49,900

Average hourly wage

Low $19.49

Medium $24.00

High $30.00

Low
The low wage, in most cases, corresponds to the 10th percentile. For example, if the low wage is $12.00/hour, this means that 10% of the workers in the occupation earn $12.00/hour or less.

Medium
The median wage is the indicator of the prevailing wage for each occupation. The median wage is the middle point of the wage distribution, when wages are arranged in numerical order.

High
The high wage, in most cases, corresponds to the 90th percentile. For example, if the high wage is $40.00/hour, this means that 90% of the workers in the occupation earn $40.00/hour or less.

Education and training pathways

To be qualified for this job, some secondary school education and on-the-job training or relevant postsecondary program is required. Learn how you can become a Personal Support Worker.

Secondary school or equivalency

An Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent is required. If you haven’t completed the required credits, you can earn them through Adult learning programs.

College or university programs

Some secondary school education and on-the-job training or a personal support worker, nursing aide or health care aide college or private institutional program, or a college nursing orderly program and supervised practical training are required. Completion of specialized courses such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid is usually required.

Educational pathways are provided for informational purposes only. Links are included for programs at publicly assisted postsecondary institutions. They may not be inclusive of all relevant programs available in Ontario.

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Indigenous Institute programs

Indigenous Institutes offer programs related to this in-demand career.

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Other education or certifications

Required registration

An appropriate class of driver's licence may be required for medical attendants.

Micro-credentials

Consider obtaining micro-credentials to gain skills and knowledge relevant to your career. Micro-credentials are rapid training programs that can help you get the skills that employers need.

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Relevant organizations

Career data by region

See median salary and historical job postings of this career profile based on Economic Region.

Totals for economic regions may be less than total online job postings for the province due to exclusion of postings without reliable information.

Economic Region	Median salary ($)	Historical job postings
Ottawa	50,600	184
Kingston-Pembroke	52,700	30
Muskoka-Kawarthas	53,500	28
Toronto	47,800	482
Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie	49,400	126
Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula	49,900	140
London	49,900	43
Windsor-Sarnia	50,300	21
Stratford-Bruce Peninsula	47,800	33
Northeast	52,000	26
Northwest	52,000	27

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About the data

Information on this page is sourced from the National Occupational Classification (NOC), which is Canada’s national system for describing occupations.

NOC Code: NOC 33102

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Ontario’s labour market information website is developed for use as a resource to help people explore career options. The job outlooks for each occupation use projections of future job openings and should be interpreted with caution. Shifts in the rate of economic growth, technological developments, business restructuring, or changes in government policies can all affect the future growth prospects or skill requirements of the labour market.

Job outlooks have been developed for Ontario as a whole, and may not reflect the situation in each local labour market. The number and type of employers, the occupational make-up of the workforce, and other local economic conditions all contribute to the employment prospects for an occupation in a given community.

The accuracy of the information presented for in-demand skills and knowledge and other sections based on job posting data depends, in part, on whether jobs are categorized into the correct occupational groups. In some cases, job postings may be incorrectly attributed to an occupational grouping and the data should be interpreted with caution

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