NOC 33102: Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates
What nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates do
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates assist nurses, hospital staff and physicians in the basic care of patients. They are employed in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted care facilities for the elderly and other health care establishments. Emergency medical care attendant are employed by private ambulance services, urgent care centers or other health facilities.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Answer call signals; supply and empty bed pans; bathe, dress and groom patients; serve meal trays, feed or assist in feeding of patients and assist patients with menu selection; weigh, lift, turn, and position patients; shave patients prior to operations; supervise patients' exercise routines, set up and provide leisure activities for patients, accompany patients on outside recreational activities and perform other duties related to patient care and comfort
- Take patients' blood pressure, temperature and pulse; report or record fluid intake and output; observe or monitor patients' status and document patient care on charts; collect specimens such as urine, faeces or sputum; administer suppositories, colonic irrigations and enemas and perform other procedures as directed by nursing and hospital staff
- Administer, in emergency situations, first aid to injured or ill individuals within the scope of competencies
- Transport patients by wheelchair or stretcher for treatment or surgery
- Carry messages, reports, requisitions and specimens between departments
- Make beds and maintain patients' rooms
- Maintain inventory of supplies
- May perform maintenance tasks such as assisting with the set-up and maintenance of traction equipment, cleaning or sterilizing equipment, maintaining and repairing equipment, and assembling, setting-up and operating job-related equipment
- May transport patients between care facilities.
Job titles under NOC 33102
67 job titles are classified here, including health care aide, hospital attendant, long term care aide.
- anesthetic attendant - hospital
- continuing care assistant
- emergency medical care assistant
- emergency medical care attendant (non-paramedical)
- emergency medical responder (non-paramedical)
- emergency room aide
- environmental assistant - medical
- environmental support person - medical
- escort - health services
- first aid attendant
- first aid attendant - emergency
- geriatric aide
- geriatric health care attendant
- health care aide
- health care assistant
- hospice worker
- hospital aide
- hospital attendant
- hospital orderly
- hospital porter
- hospital service aide - medical
- hospital ward aide
- institutional aide
- long term care aide
Employment requirements
- Some secondary school education and on-the-job training or a personal support worker, nursing aide or health care aide college or private institutional program, or a college nursing orderly program and supervised practical training are required.
- Completion of specialized courses such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid is usually required.
- An appropriate class of driver's licence may be required for medical attendants.
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $19.00/hr | $24.00/hr | $28.84/hr |
Toronto ON | $19.00/hr | $23.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
Montréal QC | $19.00/hr | $25.60/hr | $27.63/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $22.00/hr | $27.50/hr | $30.00/hr |
Calgary AB | $19.00/hr | $22.31/hr | $26.30/hr |
Edmonton AB | $18.00/hr | $22.50/hr | $27.00/hr |
Ottawa ON | $19.00/hr | $24.31/hr | $30.00/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $16.00/hr | $20.91/hr | $24.00/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $20.00/hr | $25.10/hr | $27.92/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $19.57/hr | $24.00/hr | $28.62/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $18.00/hr | $23.75/hr | $28.31/hr |
London ON | $20.00/hr | $24.00/hr | $28.00/hr |
Halifax NS | $17.00/hr | $22.00/hr | $25.36/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $23.00/hr | $28.00/hr | $29.85/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $15.35/hr | $23.08/hr | $25.00/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $17.52/hr | $23.50/hr | $26.00/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $16.00/hr | $18.00/hr | $25.00/hr |
Nova Scotia | $17.91/hr | $23.00/hr | $25.18/hr |
New Brunswick | $17.00/hr | $21.50/hr | $25.00/hr |
Quebec | $20.00/hr | $25.10/hr | $27.92/hr |
Ontario | $19.49/hr | $24.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
Manitoba | $16.00/hr | $20.50/hr | $24.00/hr |
Saskatchewan | $17.00/hr | $23.97/hr | $25.00/hr |
Alberta | $19.00/hr | $22.55/hr | $26.46/hr |
British Columbia | $22.37/hr | $27.89/hr | $29.83/hr |
Using NOC 33102 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 67 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Emergency medical assistant (NOC 32102)
- Emergency medical attendant (NOC 32102)
- Licensed practical nurses (NOC 32101)
- Other assisting occupations in support of health services (NOC 33109)
- Personal care attendant - home care (NOC 44101)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates?
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates are NOC 2021 unit group 33102. Example job titles in this group include health care aide, hospital attendant, long term care aide, nurse aide.
What TEER is NOC 33102?
NOC 33102 is TEER 3 (College or apprenticeship (under 2 years)). Usually requires a college program or apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than six months of on-the-job training. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $24.00/hr, about $47,000 a year full-time, with a range of $19.00/hr to $28.84/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.