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Chapter 5: Direct Patient Care

Healthcare professional sitting with elderly holding his hand smiling

Overview

Melissa has been working part-time while caring for her elderly father for the past 2 years. During this time, she realized that she enjoys the hands-on care that caregiving involves. Now, she is interested in working directly with elderly patients in a hospital setting. She is considering enrolling in a CNA program or exploring other healthcare professions where direct patient care is a primary focus.

If you know you want to work directly with patients but are not sure where to begin, this chapter is a good starting point. It focuses on careers that involve direct patient care. While many people associate these roles with hospital settings, it is important to note that many of these careers are also found in doctors’ offices, schools, assisted living facilities, and even patients’ homes. In this chapter, we will specifically discuss the roles of medical assistants, nurses, physical therapist assistants, surgical technicians, and respiratory therapists.

Objectives

Upon completion of this chapter, the learner will be able to:

  • Identify the characteristics an employee in direct patient care should demonstrate
  • Differentiate between certification, degree, and licensure requirements for direct patient care careers
  • Describe the various employment settings for direct patient care careers
  • Explain the differences between in education and scope of practice for CNAs, LPNs, and RNs
  • Describe the role and job requirements of a respiratory therapist

Key Terms

  • Activities of daily living
  • Ambulatory care centers
  • Bloodborne pathogen
  • Diagnostic testing
  • Direct patient care
  • Empathy
  • Hand hygiene
  • Personal protective equipment
  • Phlebotomy
  • Physical therapy
  • Chief (presenting) complaint
  • Primary care provider
  • Respiratory droplets
  • Respiratory therapy
  • Standard precautions
  • Symptoms
  • Telemedicine (Telehealth)
  • Vital signs

Attributions

  1. Chapter opening image: Checking in with a Patient by myfuture.com is released under CC BY-ND 2.0

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Introduction to Healthcare Professions Copyright © by SBCTC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.