Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Healthcare / 31-1133.00

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.

US jobs
35,520
Median wage
$44,910 a year
Job family
Healthcare

Can agents do the work of psychiatric aides?

We read the evidence for the whole job family, Healthcare: Some tasks (no change in 12 months)

Agents complete 20% or more of the tasks (or projects) on a direct benchmark.

Evidence: MedAgentBench, 69.7% of tasks completed.

0% of this occupation's work, by O*NET work activities, is measured by a direct benchmark.

  • 17%Assist individuals with special needsNot measured
  • 14%Provide support or encouragement to othersNot measured
  • 10%Maintain health or medical recordsNot measured
  • 6%Assist healthcare practitioners during medical proceduresNot measured
  • 6%Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseasesNot measured
  • 6%Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient careNot measured
  • 6%Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areasNot measured
  • 6%Train others on health or medical topicsNot measured

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in healthcare, not always this occupation's tasks.

Direct evidence

Work benchmarks mapped primary to this family. They set the step when they report how many tasks agents complete.

Also relevant

These benchmarks cover part of this family's work, or have no result yet. They do not set its step.

  • OSWorld 2.0by HKU and Snorkel AIProject level · Binary completion rate (full set, 500 steps)
    44.3%Claude Opus 5 (max, batch tool) · 17 Sep 2026
    Emerging
  • SOP-Benchby AmazonTask level · Task success rate
    72.4%Claude 4 Opus (ReAct agent) · 23 Feb 2026
    Strong

Context only

These benchmarks span many occupations, or they test how agents behave. They give context but do not set the step.

  • GDPvalby OpenAIProject level · Wins plus ties against experts
    84.9%GPT-5.5 · Apr 2026
    Strong
  • GDPval-AAby Artificial AnalysisProject level · GDPval-AA Elo
    1846 EloClaude Opus 5.5 (Adaptive Reasoning, Max Effort, Default Fallback) · 23 Sep 2026
    Unrated

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • 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.
  • Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans.
  • Maintain patients' restrictions to assigned areas.
  • Organize, supervise, or encourage patient participation in social, educational, or recreational activities.
  • Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary.
  • Aid patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routines.
  • Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion.
  • Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment.
Other job titles for this occupation (32)

Developmental Aide · Mental Health Aide (MHA) · Mental Health Worker (MHW) · Psychiatric Aide · Psychiatric Assistant · Psychiatric Nursing Aide · Qualified Medication Aide (QMA) · Resident Care Technician (Resident Care Tech) · Residential Care Tech (Residential Care Technician) · Therapeutic Program Worker (TPW) · Behavior Aide · Behavior Assistant · Behavior Intervention Assistant · Behavior Support Assistant · Behavioral Aide · Behavioral Assistant · Behavioral Health Assistant · BHA (Behavioral Health Aide) · BHA (Behavioral Health Associate) · Charge Aide · Charge Attendant · Clinical Assistant · Direct Care Worker · Health Service Worker · Mental Health Assistant · Mental Health Associate · Mental Health Orderly · Mental Health Program Assistant · Neuropsychiatric Aide · Psychiatric Attendant · Psychiatric Orderly · Psychiatric Technician Assistant (Psychiatric Tech Assistant)