Healthcare
Psychiatric Aides
Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. May assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. May restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.
Median salary
$41,590
Typical range
$31k – $59k
Job outlook
See national outlook
AI exposure
Plan a path to Psychiatric Aides
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Psychiatric Aides
Entry / Junior
$30,920
~2 yrs to advance
Psychiatric Aides
Established
$41,590
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Psychiatric Aides
Senior
$50,060
Key skills
A typical day
- •Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients.
- •Provide patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
- •Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
- •Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.
- •Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Healthcare
Explore all- Johns Hopkins University7% admit · $93,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
- Duke University6% admit · $105,000 grad pay
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.