ALS Technician - Emergency Department

Independence Health System Careers•Latrobe, PA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The ALS Technician - Emergency Department demonstrates clinical assessment skills by actively participating in the patient care plan. They complete and document direct patient care without supervision, including vital signs, intake and output, point of care testing, specimen collection, weights, venipunctures, and specified procedures. The technician collaborates routinely with nurses and physicians regarding patient care needs and brings issues affecting quality of care to the attention of management. They perform basic triage functions, document findings, and serve as a role model and coach to new staff. The role involves participating in individualized care plans, anticipating patient needs, and assisting with clerical and transport duties. The technician implements physician orders and departmental guidelines promptly and accurately, functioning as a unit resource and patient advocate. They independently provide treatments such as IV initiation, venipuncture, urinary catheter care, and suctioning. A key responsibility is monitoring cardiac monitors, interpreting rhythm strips, and notifying nursing staff of abnormal findings. The technician also ensures the department is operationally ready by managing supplies, equipment, and participating in quality improvement initiatives. They act as a department liaison for EMS, ensuring smooth patient transitions and proper care of EMS equipment. Specialty functions include transporting patients requiring cardiac monitoring, central monitoring of telemetry patients, interpreting rhythm strips, monitoring IV sites, transporting stable patients with drug infusions, and recognizing and reporting changes in patient condition that require activation of the Rapid Response Team or Code Blue, initiating basic resuscitative measures until the teams arrive. Post-cardiac catheterization groin checks, IV insertion, venipuncture, and EKG monitoring and interpretation are also performed.

Requirements

High School Diploma, GED, or Higher Level of Education
Strong leadership ability, good organizational skills, independent and critical thinking skills, sound judgment, and knowledge of legal aspects and liability of nursing practice.
Strong ability to communicate complex and/or controversial topics and concepts to a wide and diverse audience.
Ability to work with multidisciplinary team.
Current Basic Life Support (BLS) approved curriculum of the American Heart Association (CPR and AED) program.
Act 33 with renewal
Act 34 with renewal
Act 73 FBI Clearance

Nice To Haves

One (1) to Two (2) years pre-hospital experience.
National Registry and/or State Certification.
Completion of Paramedic Program (providing paramedic course document or current paramedic card) under national standard curriculum

Responsibilities

Demonstrates clinical assessment skills by active participation in plan of patient care.
Completes and documents direct patient care without supervision as it relates, but not limited to vital signs, intake and output, point of care testing, specimen collection, weights, venipunctures and specified procedures.
Collaborates routinely with the nurse and physician regarding patient care needs.
Brings issues that could affect quality of care to the attention of the Clinical Nurse Coordinator or other management staff.
Routinely and accurately performs basic triage functions documenting appropriate findings on the triage form.
Serves as a role model to new staff.
Assists others in completing triage functions.
Participates in an individualized plan of care complying with established guidelines and standards that identify problems, establish priorities and indicate measurable outcomes as measured by chart review and colleague feedback.
Demonstrates skills to assist others in active participation in an individualized plan of care.
Complies with established guidelines and standards that identify problems, establish priorities and indicate measurable outcomes including patient and patient family involvement, as measured by chart review and colleague feedback.
Anticipates the special personal needs of any patient in the department as the need is identified.
Demonstrates leadership (coaching) and mentoring skills to assist others to develop an interdisciplinary plan of care and assist others with the identification of patient needs.
Assists with clerical and transport duties of stable patients to appropriate nursing units, ancillary departments and other activities to facilitate patient care.
Takes independent action to provide smooth, continuous care of the Emergency Department patient.
Consistently and as appropriate, implements physician orders, directive from the nurse or departmental guidelines promptly, accurately and with knowledge of the purpose of each order.
Verifies prior to implementation the appropriateness of orders or guidelines.
Functions as a unit resource/preceptor/patient advocate to other staff members and assists others in implementing necessary orders or guidelines.
Independently, within scope, provides treatment such as IV initiation, venipuncture, urinary catheter care including foley catheter insertion and removal, and straight catheterizations, suctioning, and application of splints.
Watches cardiac monitors and interprets rhythm strips and documents interpretation of rhythm.
Notifies nursing staff for abnormal findings.
Functions as a unit resource (preceptor or coach) to other staff members and assists other staff members in maintenance of the highest standard of care.
Actively participates in departmental operations.
Participates in department operations as evidenced by utilization of voice and email to remain current on operational issues.
Acts as a coach or mentor by updating colleagues on operational issues.
Develops plans for management's review to improve operational efficiencies.
Ensures that the department is in an operational state of readiness.
Routinely ensures that restocking and checking of supplies and equipment is completed each shift, ensures proper functioning of equipment, verifies all patient care equipment is present, clean and properly functioning.
Intervenes and corrects deficiencies when discrepancy is apparent.
Participates in formal quality improvement initiatives, education of new staff and other areas of improvement within the department.
Routinely engages in activities that lead to department improvement such as volunteering and precepting new staff members.
Demonstrates coaching (mentoring and customer feedback) and leadership in improving first impressions by positive attitude, team spirit, active participation, keeping the environment safe, clean, orderly, and quiet and promotion of a professional appearance.
Serves as a department liaison for EMS, both air and ground.
Assures that patients transition from pre-hospital care to the in-hospital setting by assuring proper transfer and monitoring of the patient to the ER treatment area occur.
EMS equipment is properly taken care of including logging in, retrieval and cleaning.
Routinely asks services if they are in need of restocking and assists with such.
Transports patients who require cardiac monitoring.
Monitors patient cardiac rhythm and reports any changes in condition, symptoms to responsible care giver promptly.
Performs central monitoring of telemetry patients.
Interprets rhythm strips and documents according to policy requirements (Cardiac Monitoring Standard of Care Protocol for Patient Management).
Monitors patency of peripheral intravenous sites.
Reports any infusion site complications to the responsible care giver promptly.
Transports stable patients with drug infusions of medications such as nitroglycerin, cardizem, heparin or amiodarone.
Reports any side effects, complications, reportable conditions or acute changes in patient condition immediately to the responsible care giver.
Recognizes and reports any changes in patient condition that requires activation of Rapid Response Team.
Initiates basic resuscitative measures, as appropriate, until the Rapid Response Team arrives.
Recognizes and reports any changes in patient condition that requires activation of Code Blue.
Initiates basic resuscitative measures, as appropriate until the Code Team arrives.
Performs post cardiac catheterization groin checks as assigned.
IV insertion and venipuncture.
EKG monitoring and interpretation.
Reports and documents all findings to appropriate care giver.
Other duties as assigned.