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Exploring Trades and Occupations

Other Health Service Support Staff

On this page

  • Job description
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2021-2025
  • Sectors of activity
  • Training and requirements
  • Main skills and characteristics
  • Personality profiles (RIASEC)
  • Additional information

Job description

These individuals perform a variety of support duties. They assist several categories of health care professionals, including the following:

  • Orthopedic surgeons
  • Ophthalmologists
  • Optometrists
  • Pharmacists
  • Pathologists

Environment

  • Controlled ambient temperature
  • Hazardous chemical
  • Biological agents
  • Odours

Main tasks

Orthopedic Technologists

  • Assist orthopedic surgeons in the treatment of diseases and injuries.
  • Install and adjust orthopedic prostheses.
  • Assist in the assembly, maintenance, and adjustment of traction equipment.
  • Clean and dress wounds.
  • Remove plaster, stitches, staples, and pins.
  • Inform patients, families, and other health care professionals.

Rehabilitation Assistants

  • Prepare and maintain equipment and supplies.
  • Assist individuals with their rehabilitation activities.

Optical and Ophthalmology Laboratory Technicians and Assistants

  • Cut, polish, finish, and adjust lenses.
  • Perform minor repairs (e.g. replace frame screws).
  • Maintain and repair optical laboratory equipment or machinery.

Sterilization Process Technicians

  • Maintain and use the sterilization equipment.
  • Clean and disinfect the equipment according to current standards.
  • Assemble equipment and organize sterilized supply and instrument kits.
  • Distribute equipment and kits to hospital departments.

Blood Collection Clinic Aids

  • Assemble and disassemble the equipment.
  • Prepare the collection areas and ensure their cleanliness.
  • Maintain inventory of supplies.
  • Record donor information and monitor them during the procedure.
  • Provide post-donation care as directed and supervised by a nurse.
  • Label and process the blood collected.

Morgue Attendants

  • Assist pathologists during autopsies by arranging surgical instruments.
  • Prepare organ and tissue preservation solutions.
  • Transfer bodies from the morgue to the examination table.
  • Collect organs and tissue samples, as indicated by the pathologist, and place them in preservation solutions.
  • Clean and stitch up the bodies that will be given to the funeral home.

Hourly wage

The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2019 to 2021.
Minimum
$14.30
Median
$20.80
Maximum
$29.00

Job prospects for 2021-2025

sr.comparaison-region.titre

Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.

Job prospects for 2021-2025

Job prospects

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

Total jobs for 2020

All of Québec

8,000

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
78.5% Female
21.5% Male

Not available.
  • 78.5% Female
  • 21.5% Male

Job types

All of Québec

Not available.
Full time
Part time

Not available.
  • Full time
  • Part time

Yearly wage on 2015

All of Québec

$38,000

All of Québec

Other characteristics

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for men
  • None

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for men
  • None

Sectors of activity

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    71% of jobs
  2. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    16% of jobs
  3. Social Assistance
    NAICS 624
    4% of jobs
  4. Miscellaneous Manufacturing
    NAICS 339
    2% of jobs
  5. Management, Scientific and Technical Services and Scientific Research and Development Services
    NAICS 5416, 5417
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    6% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    71% of jobs
  2. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    16% of jobs
  3. Social Assistance
    NAICS 624
    4% of jobs
  4. Miscellaneous Manufacturing
    NAICS 339
    2% of jobs
  5. Management, Scientific and Technical Services and Scientific Research and Development Services
    NAICS 5416, 5417
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    6% of jobs

Training and requirements

Formation

Most training programs are offered in French only.

Secondary

DVS in retraitement des dispositifs médicaux (Nouveau programme) This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 5380

College

DCS in orthèses, prothèses et soins orthopédiques This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 144F0

Placement rate: 90%

6.7% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation

Sometimes required

  • Knowledge of the existing computerized system may be required or an asset.
  • Health care courses or college training related to the work of health care attendants (e.g. recreation training) may be required.

Main skills and characteristics

Skills

  • Data collection
  • Active listening
  • Information processing
  • Reading comprehension
  • Oral expression
  • Service oriented
  • Social perception
  • Coordination
  • Teaching
  • Result evaluation
  • Critical thought
  • Solving complex problems
  • Written expression
  • Time management
  • Learning strategies
  • Active learning
More Less skills

Abilities

  • Speech recognition
  • Oral comprehension
  • Verbal skills
  • Written comprehension
  • Speech clarity
  • Written expression
  • Deductive reasoning
  • Information organization
  • Near vision
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Awareness of issues
  • Classification
  • Time sharing
More Less abilities

Knowledge and attributes

  • Capacity to establish and maintain interpersonal relations
  • Leadership
  • Autonomy
  • Knowledge of customer and personalized services
  • Capacity to work in a team
  • Rigour
  • Vitality
  • Respect standards and regulations
  • Availability
  • Timeliness

Interests

  • Make, build, install
  • Work manually
  • Collect, verify, sort, and classify data or information
  • Assist or care for people

Personality profiles (RIASEC)

Realistic
People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Conventional
People with this profile prefer specific, well-defined tasks. They like to respect the order of things and follow established rules.
Investigative
People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
Additional information

Official name of the NOC 3414

Other assisting occupations in support of health services

Job titles

  • Optometrist assistant
  • Blood donor clinic assistant
  • Chiropractic health assistant
  • Physiotherapy attendant
  • Sterile processing worker
  • Adjuvant
  • Blood donor clinic helper
  • Plaster room aide
  • Supply, processing and distribution aide - medical
  • Central supply aide
  • Medical clinic assistant
  • Clinical laboratory helper
  • Acupuncture assistant
  • Chiropractic aide
  • Occupational therapy aide
  • Phytotherapy assistant
  • Pharmacy aide
  • Physiotherapy helper
  • Radiology aide
  • Rehabilitation aide
  • Recreation therapy assistant
  • Health aide
  • Therapy assistant - medical
  • Chiropractor aide
  • Orthopedist aide
  • Therapist assistant - medical
  • Surgical assistant
  • Autopsy assistant
  • Pharmacy supply assistant
  • Chiropractic office assistant
  • Optical laboratory assistant
  • Surgical assistant - non-nursing
  • Orthopedic assistant
  • Rehabilitation assistant
  • Optometric assistant
  • Ophthalmic goods lens tinter
  • Dispensary assistant
  • Optical lens inspector
  • Ophthalmic lens inspector
  • Activity leader - seniors
  • Medical material handler
  • Lens marker - health support services
  • Lens marker - ophthalmic
  • Ophthalmic lens marker
  • Optical lab mechanic - retail
  • Optical mechanic
  • Ophthalmic lens edge grinder
  • Ophthalmic lens grinder
  • Optical lens grinder and polisher
  • Ophthalmic lens grinder and polisher
  • Polishing pad mounter
  • Optical and ophthalmic goods lens picker
  • Blood donor clinic attendant
  • Morgue attendant
  • Plaster room attendant
  • Emergency room attendant
  • Acupuncture attendant
  • Emergency-entry attendant - hospital
  • Pharmacy side room attendant
  • Activity worker - health support services
  • Autopsy attendant
  • Post-mortem attendant
  • Blood sampling attendant
  • Sterile supply room attendant
  • Senior adjuvant
  • Lens grinder-polisher setter
  • Ophthalmic lens grinder-polisher setter
  • Medical instrument sterilizer
  • Central supply room supervisor - hospital
  • Orthopedic supervisor
  • Ophthalmic goods lens cutter
  • Ophthalmic lens cutter
  • Registered central service technician - medical
  • Morgue technician
  • Cast room technician
  • Ophthalmic goods lens coating technician
  • Autopsy technician
  • Central supply room technician - hospital
  • Ophthalmic goods antireflection (ar) coating technician
  • Ophthalmic laboratory technician - retail
  • Optical laboratory technician
  • Optical laboratory technician - retail
  • Surgical technician - non-nursing
  • Optical technician
  • Optometric technician
  • Orthopedic technician
  • Sterile processing technician
  • Registered orthopedic technologist
  • Orthopedic technologist
  • Ophthalmic goods bench worker
  • Ophthalmic lens bench worker
  • Central service room worker - hospital
  • Optical goods inspector
More Less job titles

Skill type

Health

Related occupations

  • Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians
  • Cardiology technologists and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists, n.e.c.
  • Licensed practical nurses
  • Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists' assistants
  • Medical laboratory technologists
  • Medical radiation technologists
  • Medical sonographers
  • Other medical technologists and technicians (except dental health)
  • Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment
  • Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
  • Retail salespersons

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi This hyperlink will open in a new window.

Last update: December 22, 2022

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