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Other Assisting Occupations in Support of Health Services  (NOC 3414)
Centre-du-Québec Region
Description |  Titles |  Duties |   Related Occupations

This unit group includes workers who provide services and assistance to health care professionals and other health care staff. They are employed in hospitals, medical clinics, offices of health care professionals, nursing homes, optical retail stores and laboratories, pharmacies and medical pathology laboratories.

autopsy assistant, blood donor clinic assistant, cast room technician, central supply aide, chiropractic assistant, clinical laboratory helper, lens grinder, ophthalmic, morgue attendant, occupational therapy assistant, ophthalmic laboratory technician – retail, optical laboratory assistant, optometrist assistant, orthopedic technologist, pharmacy assistant, physiotherapy assistant, rehabilitation assistant, therapy assistant.

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The following is a summary of main duties for some occupations in this unit group:
  • Orthopedic technologists assist orthopedic surgeons in the treatment of orthopedic diseases and injuries by applying and adjusting casts, splints, bandages and other orthopedic devices; assisting in the application, maintenance and adjustment of traction equipment; cleaning and dressing wounds; and removing casts, sutures, staples and pins. They also instruct patients and their families and other health care professionals with respect to orthopedic matters.
  • Therapy assistants prepare and maintain equipment and supplies, assist patients as directed by health care professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and chiropractors and may perform routine office functions.
  • Optical/ophthalmic laboratory technicians and assistants operate laboratory equipment to grind, cut, polish and edge lenses for eyeglasses according to prescriptions received and fit lenses into frames; make minor repairs for customers such as replacing frame screws or straightening frames; and maintain and repair optical laboratory equipment or machinery.
  • Pharmacy assistants assist pharmacists by compounding, packaging and labelling pharmaceutical products and by maintaining prescription records and inventories of medications and pharmaceutical products.
  • Central supply aides collect and sort soiled supplies and instruments from hospital departments; operate machines such as instrument washers, sonic sinks, cart washers and steam autoclaves to clean, reprocess and sterilize these supplies for re-use; and assemble packs of sterile supplies and instruments for delivery to hospital departments.
  • Blood donor clinic assistants set up and dismantle equipment; prepare and maintain cleanliness of collection areas; maintain supplies; record information on donors; monitor donors throughout procedure and assist with post-donation care and donor reaction care as assigned under supervision of a registered nurse; and label and process donated blood.
  • Morgue attendants assist pathologists at autopsies by laying out surgical instruments; preparing solutions for preservation of specimens; transferring bodies from morgue to examining table; removing organs and tissue specimens, as instructed by attending pathologist, and placing them in preservative solutions; and cleaning and sewing up bodies for release to funeral home.
Included Cities in Region | Service Canada Offices

Drummondville, Victoriaville, Warwick, Nicolet, Plessisville, Princeville, Gentilly, Les Éboulis, Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover

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View a list of Service Canada offices in this area.

Outlook & Prospects for Other Assisting Occupations in Support of Health Services in Centre-du-Québec Region

The future forecast and current conditions for an occupation can vary based on location or due to changes in the economy, technology, or demand for a product or service.

Local Employment Potential Information

Table on the employment potential for Other Assisting Occupations in Support of Health Services in Centre-du-Québec Region as well as in the rest of the Québec.
Location Employment Potential Release Date
Centre-du-Québec Region Good 2013-01-24

For the 2012-2014 period, job opportunities in the Centre-du-Québec region are expected to be good for this occupation.

There are approximately 520 jobs in these occupations in the Centre-du-Québec region. They are mainly in retail trade and to a lesser extent in the health care and social assistance sector. Most of the jobs are in stores carrying health and personal care products, especially drug stores and retail outlets carrying optical products (opticians). There are also jobs in hospitals and the offices of optometrists, chiropractors, physiotherapists and other healthcare practitioners.

Although the labour pool is fairly large, the number of jobs in the region is relatively low. Strong employment growth is forecast in the period up to 2014. Job opportunities will result primarily from this employment growth. A large part of this growth will result from increased consumption of prescription drugs and the growing demand for health care services. Unemployment is low in this occupation.

In the Centre-du-Québec region, workers in the 55+ age group make up just under 4% of the workforce in these occupations, compared with 9% of the workforce in these occupations across the province and 15% of the workforce in all occupations combined in the region. This number, which is very low for the region, suggests that fewer workers remain in these occupations until retirement.

There are few independent workers in these occupations. They account just under4% of the workforce, compared approximately 1% in all of the region's occupations combined. A large majority of the jobs, 91%, are held by women.

[ Source: Labour Market Information - HRSDC ]
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