Occupations in Seniors Care and Living

Clinical roles 

Health care assistant (Coming soon): Health care assistants (HCAs) are responsible for assisting seniors with their mobility, personal care, and daily living routines, such as getting dressed, eating, or taking a bath. When working with seniors, HCAs help with maintaining their health, safety, independence, comfort, and overall well-being. They are supervised at work by other healthcare professionals, such as nurses and physicians. 

When searching for a health care assistant job in Canada, you will see many job titles, including personal support worker, personal care attendant, health care aide, continuing care assistant, resident care worker, community health worker, home support worker, and others. 

Practical nurse and registered nurse (Coming soon): Nurses provide direct care to residents and clients in the seniors' care sector, including administering medication and treatments. They are leaders on the floor, providing direction to other health care workers, with practical nurses often taking direction from registered nurses. 

Dietitian and nutritionist: Dietitians and Nutritionists in the seniors’ care sector specialize in nutrition services for older adults. They develop personalized nutrition interventions to improve seniors’ quality of life and health outcomes. 

*Actively Recruiting* Recreation therapy assistant: Recreation therapy assistants support older adults to enjoy full, independent lives through leisure and recreation activities. When working with seniors, recreation therapy assistants help them to enjoy and remember leisure activities from their past, while also learning new ones. Recreation therapy assistants are supervised at work by recreation therapists or recreation managers. 

Physiotherapist: Physiotherapists in seniors’ care implement interventions aimed at slowing down physical deterioration or restoring function and activity levels in older adults. They provide clinical treatments to clients/residents – which includes making assessments, identifying problems, setting treatment goals, and re-evaluation – to help them maintain their independence and quality of life. 

Occupational therapist: Occupational therapists help seniors who wish to “age in place” by assessing their mobility and home environment, and adapting it so that they can maintain their functioning and independence. Through home modifications/renovations, adaptations, and assistive devices, OTs help to improve safety and quality of life for their elderly clients, allowing them to remain independent in their own homes and socialize with their loved ones. 

In addition to clinical roles, the following support services jobs are also in demand in the seniors’ care and living sector:

*Actively Recruiting* Cook/chef: Chefs and cooks in long-term care, assisted living, and retirement homes are responsible for the preparation/delivery of food for residents, clients, guests, and employees. They oversee daily meal preparation, often for prescribed diets, and ensure effective operation of the kitchen, and that the food quality and presentation meet an organization’s standards.

*Actively Recruiting* Dietary aide: Dietary aides are responsible for inspecting, serving, and delivering food. They ensure that food is served in accordance with the dietary requirements of residents/clients.

*Actively Recruiting* Food service worker: These workers are responsible for the daily preparation and delivery of meals, inventory control, maintaining a sanitary workplace for staff, and maintaining safe and clean dining facilities for residents/clients. 

Housekeeping, laundry, and janitorial worker (Coming soon): A clean, safe place to live in and fresh clothing to wear is crucial in giving seniors in care a sense of self and a sense of dignity. Care homes and retirement communities need workers who can perform daily housekeeping functions such as cleaning residents’ rooms and common areas; using infection control practices to maintain a sanitary environment for residents and staff; waste management; laundry duties like handling laundry loads, folding, ironing, and delivering fresh laundry to residents; etc.

*Actively Recruiting* Home Health Companion: Home health companions help clients with daily tasks and routines that are non-medical in nature. They keep seniors company, prepare meals, perform light housekeeping duties, and help with other day-to-day tasks. Support workers often work independently, with supervision from a regulated healthcare professional, such as a nurse. 

In Canada, home health companions are known by many job titles, including caregivers, and other titles. 

Support worker (Coming soon): Support workers help residents with daily tasks and routines that are non-medical in nature. They keep seniors company, prepare meals, perform light housekeeping duties, and help with other day-to-day tasks. Support workers are valued members of the interdisciplinary care team.

Support worker positions are low-barrier roles suitable for people who want to try working in the healthcare sector before training to become health care assistants or nurses. 

In Canada, support workers are known by many job titles, such as health care support worker, supportive care assistant, multi-skilled worker, seniors’ hospitality worker, and more. 

Receptionist and office worker (Coming soon): Seniors’ living and care organizations need office workers such as receptionists and administrative assistants to handle day-to-day administrative and clerical functions. They support the work of management and other staff. 

Launch your career in B.C.’s seniors’ care and living sector – Register for FAST Seniors Care now!