Skills
Orderly Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in orderlies, and how to build and show them.
What skills do orderlies need?
Orderlies need technical skills such as safe patient handling, wheelchair and stretcher use, and infection control, plus people skills like reliability and kindness. They also use tools such as Wheelchairs and Stretchers.
Technical (hard) skills
- Safe patient handling
- Wheelchair and stretcher use
- Infection control
- Basic patient care
- Specimen handling
- Communication systems
People (soft) skills
- Reliability
- Kindness
- Teamwork
- Stamina
Tools, equipment and technology
- Wheelchairs
- Stretchers
- Patient lifts
- Transport tracking systems
- Cleaning supplies
- Radios and phones
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how orderlies put their skills to work:
- How to transport a patient by wheelchair
- How to help reposition a patient
- How to enter an isolation room
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Safe patient handling” and “Wheelchair and stretcher use.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “reliability,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as BLS CPR near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our orderly glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Orderly training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.