HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS

HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS

Who are healthcare assistants?

As well as doctors and nurses, healthcare assistants1 (Operatori Socio Sanitari or OSS) are involved in several routine tasks, which are essential for the correct functioning of the hospital.

Along with nurses, healthcare assistants work with doctors, midwives and other healthcare professionals. They have a lot of contact with patients.

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1 A career in the NHS (National Health Service) as a healthcare assistant posted by Health Careers

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Why did you choose to study to become a healthcare assistant?

Where do they work? What do they do?

They can work at private homes or in public institutions such as hospitals, hospices, nursing homes and prisons, or wherever assistance personnel is needed.

Their work varies depending on where they are based. In a hospital, for example, they are responsible for the well-being and autonomy of the patients, including:

  • washing and dressing patients
  • helping people to move around
  • toileting
  • making beds
  • talking to patients and making them comfortable
  • monitoring patients’ conditions by taking temperatures, pulse, respirations and weight.
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What personal characteristics are needed to work as a healthcare assistant?

As their job involves direct contact with people in need2, healthcare assistants need to be:

  • caring and kind
  • cheerful and friendly
  • willing to be empathetic with patients
  • able to follow instructions and procedures
  • willing to do personal care tasks (washing, toileting, etc)
  • able to work in a team but use their own initiative.

What skills are needed to work as a healthcare assistant?

They also need to have some good soft skills, such as:

  • communication skills (including listening)
  • organisational skills
  • observational skills
  • flexibility.

Education and training

In Italy, free or fee-paying Regional courses or vocational high schools provide the training necessary to become a healthcare assistant, which – with some differences among Regions – involves 1,000 hours of training (450 theory, 100 practice, 450 internship) and a final exam with a diploma that is valid throughout the national territory.1

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2 What personality traits are not good if you want to become a healthcare assistant? Think of some adjectives describing them.

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1 ln the UK, healthcare assistants usually work standard hours of a round 37.5 a week.