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Healthcare Support Workers, All Other

SOC 31-9099.00Job Zone 3 · Medium PreparationSibling-inferredv.26.05

Context coveredThis framework covers direct personal care, patient documentation, mobility assistance, and care environment management delivered by healthcare support workers in clinical, long-term care, and home health settings.

Sources:O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.SkillsCrosswalkSkillsCrosswalk — O*NET enrichment + adjacency index. Opens in new tab.
Emerging
Entry / Apprentice
  1. Patient mobility assistance — perform basic transfers in and out of beds and wheelchairs under direct supervision in a clinical or home care setting.
  2. Bathing procedures — complete supervised bed baths and personal hygiene tasks following established facility protocols.
  3. Bed linen and laundry tasks — change bed linens and assist with basic room cleaning under the guidance of a senior care worker.
  4. Patient care records — document routine observations of patient condition using standardized forms under supervisor review.
  5. Active listening skills — receive and repeat back verbal instructions from clinical supervisors during patient care activities.
  6. Personal care assistance — help patients with dressing and grooming following step-by-step guidance from a care plan.
  7. Safety awareness — recognize and report potential hazards during patient transfers and daily care routines to a supervising clinician.
  8. Basic software navigation — enter patient data into a healthcare database using office suite or electronic health record software with trainer support.
  9. Service orientation — respond to patient requests for comfort or assistance promptly and courteously in a supervised care environment.
  10. Vocabulary comprehension — read and follow written care instructions, short procedure guides, and facility policies under supervisor clarification.
Developing
Mid-level / Established
  1. Patient transfer routines — assist patients in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, and automobiles with minimal oversight, applying safe body-mechanics techniques.
  2. Comprehensive bathing support — independently conduct patient bathing procedures while monitoring skin condition and noting changes for reporting.
  3. Care environment maintenance — manage laundry, ironing, and room cleaning tasks on a scheduled basis in a home health or long-term care setting.
  4. Progress documentation — record patient care activities, observations, and changes in condition in electronic health records using database or office suite software.
  5. Interpersonal communication — convey patient status updates clearly and accurately to nursing staff during shift transitions in a healthcare facility.
  6. Behavioral monitoring — observe and track patterns in patient mood, mobility, or hygiene needs across consecutive care visits and flag concerns appropriately.
  7. Dressing and grooming assistance — support patients with varying levels of physical limitation in personal care tasks, adapting techniques to individual needs.
  8. Problem sensitivity — identify early signs of patient discomfort, skin breakdown, or behavioral change and initiate reporting procedures without prompting.
  9. Electronic mail coordination — use email software to communicate scheduling changes, supply needs, and patient updates to supervisors and care team members.
  10. Empathetic care delivery — apply knowledge of patient psychology to provide emotionally supportive assistance during difficult or uncomfortable personal care procedures.
Proficient
Senior / Expert IC
  1. Complex mobility management — execute advanced patient transfers and repositioning techniques independently for patients with significant physical limitations across diverse care environments.
  2. Holistic personal care — plan and deliver individualized bathing, grooming, and dressing routines that account for dignity, cultural preferences, and clinical contraindications.
  3. Multi-patient record management — maintain accurate, detailed care records for a full patient caseload using electronic health record and spreadsheet software, ensuring regulatory compliance.
  4. Non-routine situation response — assess and respond autonomously to unexpected changes in patient condition, applying critical thinking to determine when escalation to clinical staff is required.
  5. Care plan interpretation — read and implement complex written care plans, translating clinical terminology into actionable daily support tasks.
  6. Environmental safety oversight — proactively evaluate home or facility environments for fall risks, sanitation deficiencies, and equipment hazards and implement corrective measures.
  7. Cross-functional communication — collaborate with nurses, therapists, and social workers by contributing structured written and verbal patient observations to interdisciplinary care discussions.
  8. Patient advocacy — identify unmet patient needs related to comfort, nutrition, or emotional well-being and independently initiate appropriate referrals or care adjustments.
  9. Technology proficiency — generate spreadsheet-based tracking reports on patient ADL performance and care frequency for quality review meetings.
  10. Public safety and security compliance — apply knowledge of infection control, emergency procedures, and mandatory reporting requirements consistently across all patient interactions.
Advanced
Lead / Principal / Executive
  1. Competency framework leadership — design and deliver orientation and ongoing training programs for new healthcare support workers across a facility or home care agency.
  2. Quality improvement oversight — analyze aggregated patient care records and outcome data to identify systemic gaps and lead evidence-based process improvement initiatives.
  3. Policy and protocol development — author or revise departmental care standards, documentation procedures, and safety protocols in alignment with regulatory and accreditation requirements.
  4. Mentorship and supervision — provide day-to-day coaching, performance feedback, and professional development guidance to a team of developing and emerging healthcare support workers.
  5. Strategic staffing coordination — oversee scheduling, caseload distribution, and resource allocation across a large support team to ensure continuity and quality of patient care.
  6. Organizational technology adoption — lead the implementation and staff training of new electronic health record modules, database tools, or office suite upgrades across a care unit.
  7. Interdisciplinary liaison role — represent the healthcare support workforce in clinical governance meetings, translating frontline observations into actionable recommendations for clinical leadership.
  8. Compliance and audit leadership — conduct internal audits of care documentation, patient handling practices, and hygiene standards, reporting findings and remediation plans to administration.
  9. Cultural competency advancement — develop and champion programs that integrate patient psychology, diversity, and equity principles into standard personal care and communication practices.
  10. Community and sector representation — present workforce capability data and best-practice care models to external stakeholders, regulatory bodies, or professional associations on behalf of the organization.

AI-at-Work Competency Framework

Sources:Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab.Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab.WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab.

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  1. Emerging
  2. Developing
  3. Proficient
  4. Advanced
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Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework

Sources:Pathsmith™ Durable SkillsPathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
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Show O*NET source anchors38 anchors · skillscrosswalk.com

O*NET enrichment · skillscrosswalk.com

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Source anchors that ground each statement

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RAPIDS apprenticeships
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O*NET skills
Active ListeningSocial PerceptivenessService OrientationSpeakingReading ComprehensionMonitoringCritical ThinkingWriting
Knowledge domains
Customer and Personal ServiceEnglish LanguageAdministrativeMedicine and DentistryPsychologyEducation and TrainingComputers and ElectronicsPublic Safety and Security
Abilities
Oral ComprehensionOral ExpressionProblem SensitivityNear VisionSpeech RecognitionWritten Comprehension
Work styles
DependabilityAttention to DetailCooperationEmpathyIntegrityCautiousness
Technology
Operating system softwareData base user interface and query softwareSpreadsheet softwareOffice suite softwareElectronic mail softwarePresentation software
Tasks · seed anchors for statements
  1. Maintain records of patient care, condition, progress, or problems to report and discuss observations with sup
  2. Provide patients with help moving in and out of beds, baths, wheelchairs, or automobiles and with dressing and
  3. Bathe patients.
  4. Care for patients by changing bed linens, washing and ironing laundry, cleaning, or assisting with their perso
CIP education codes
51.070351.071151.071451.071751.079951.081451.081551.081651.089951.260351.2604

Sources: O*NET v30.2 (CC BY 4.0), SkillsCrosswalk.com, LER.me®, Anthropic Economic Index, SAFI (Jadhav & Danve, 2026), WEF Skills Taxonomy 2021, Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework. © 2026 EBSCOed.