What do they do?

Transport patients to areas such as operating rooms or x-ray rooms using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds. May maintain stocks of supplies or clean and transport equipment. Psychiatric orderlies are included in Psychiatric Aides.

Also known as:

Attendant, Operating Room Aide, Operating Room Assistant, Orderly, Patient Care Assistant (PCA), Patient Care Technician (PCT), Patient Escort, Patient Transport Aide, Patient Transporter, Radiology Transporter, Transporter

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Orderlies (SOC 2018) is projected to grow 2 percent from 2024 to 2034, more slowly than average compared to all occupations.

Projected Employment in OH

No Data Available
  • 2.3%

    Change

    Ranks #43 in job growth rate
    330

    Job Openings

    Ranks #7 in net job growth

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Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • High school diploma equivalent  (37%)
  • Some college, no degree  (27%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (14%)
  • Associate's degree  (11%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (6%)
  • Master's degree  (4%)
  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (1%)

People in this career often have these skills:

  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Trunk Strength - The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Static Strength - The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Adjust positions of patients on beds or tables.
  • Move patients to or from treatment areas.
  • Clean medical equipment.
  • Collaborate with law enforcement or security agencies to respond to incidents.
  • Respond to emergencies to provide assistance.
  • Clean patient rooms or patient treatment rooms.
  • Dispose of biomedical waste in accordance with standards.
  • Transport biological or other medical materials.
  • Assist patients with daily activities.
  • Hold patients to ensure proper positioning or safety.
  • Provide information to coworkers.
  • Relay information between personnel.
  • Stock medical or patient care supplies.
  • Provide basic information to guests, visitors, or clients.
  • Answer telephones to direct calls or provide information.
  • Feed patients.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 30.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

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