Auxiliary nurses, also known as health care assistants, support physicians and registered nurses at hospitals, doctor’s offices, nursing homes, and medical clinics. An auxiliary nurse’s responsibilities include dressing and bathing patients, preparing meals, assisting with daily hygiene, making the bed, and doing the laundry. According to JobDescriptions.org, they also perform hourly temperature checks, blood pressure tests, and weight monitoring to assess the general health of patients.
Auxiliary nurses are sometimes the last person a patient speaks with before retiring for the night. As an auxiliary nurse’s duties include bathing, feeding, and calming patients, a calm and patient disposition is essential in addition to training and education. Additionally, auxiliary nurses must have excellent communication skills and a charming bedside manner.
Auxiliary nurses perform both full-time and part-time work. They may choose to work evenings, weekends, overnight shifts, or daytime shifts, and the scheduling is extremely flexible. A level 2 QCF is necessary for auxiliaries, which must be obtained either prior to employment or while on the job. Auxiliary nurses can enhance their careers through the attainment of extra credentials and on-the-job training.
