Job description Direct Support Professional in the Halifax Region

Find out what work is like for a Direct support professional in Canada. This work description is applicable to all Home support workers, housekeepers and related occupations (NOC 44101).

Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations

Description

Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations, provide personal care and companionship for seniors, persons with disabilities and convalescent clients. They provide care in the client's residence, where they may also reside. They are employed by home care and support agencies, private households, or they may be self-employed.

Work week duration

Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations usually work between 35 to 40 hours per week.
Between 35 to 40 hours

Job duties

Here are some of the main activities and tasks that Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations have to perform, and some of the physical demands they involve:

  • Provide care and companionship for individuals and families during periods of incapacitation, convalescence or family disruption
  • Administer bedside and personal care to clients such as aid in ambulation, bathing, personal hygiene, and dressing and undressing
  • Plan and prepare meals and special diets, and feed or assist in feeding clients
  • May perform routine health-related duties such as changing non-sterile dressings, assisting in the administration of medications and collecting specimens under the general direction of home care agency supervisor or nurse
  • May perform routine housekeeping duties such as laundry, washing dishes and making beds.

Physical demands Help - Physical Demands

  • Bending or twisting the body
  • Standing
  • Making repetitive motions
  • Handling material manually
  • Walking and running

Physical demands

Physical demands are the physical activities that the job requires the worker to do. Physical demands are selected according to the likeliness that workers will have to perform them for at least half of the time they spend at work.

Workplaces and employers

Here are the typical workplaces where Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations are employed and some of their main characteristics:

  • Self-employment
  • Private households
  • Home-care agencies

Work environment Help - Physical Work Environment

  • Indoors, environmentally controlled
  • Biological agents
  • In an enclosed vehicle or equipment
  • Standard safety equipment

Physical proximity from others Help - Physical proximity from others

  • Close (at arm’s length)

Work environment

The work environment refers to the physical setting in which people work. The characteristics and conditions of the work environment are selected according to the likeliness that workers will be exposed to them at least once a week.

Physical proximity from others

Physical proximity from others refers to the physical distance between individuals in the workplace. The likeliness that the job requires to perform tasks while being physically close to other people is rated on a scale with 3 levels: "Somewhat close", "Close" and "Very close".

Related job titles

Here are some other related job titles that are found in the same occupational category (NOC 44101), and a list of similar occupations:

  • attendant for persons with disabilities - home care
  • family caregiver
  • home support worker
  • live-in caregiver - seniors
  • personal aide - home support
  • personal care attendant - home care
  • respite worker - home support

Similar occupations Help - Similar occupations

Similar occupations

This section lists other occupations that are part of the same broad occupational category as Home support workers, caregivers and related occupations in the National Occupational Classification (NOC). These occupations involve similar core qualifications but involve different responsibilities. To see more similar occupations, use the Job Transition Tool.

Sources Occupational and Skills Information System & National Occupational Classification

Labour Market Information Survey
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