CNA

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

43d•Onsite

About The Position

The Certified Nursing Assistant, Float Pool, functions as a direct patient caregiver performing tasks that assist registered nurses. Under the supervision of the Team Leader, the CNA provides hands-on care, assistance with activities of daily living, and specified technical tasks for a group of patients. The role may also function as a sitter for patients who need full-time supervision in the hospital. This is a full-time, 72-hours-per-pay-period, day-shift position at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, a 444-bed hospital and part of Covenant Health. The CNA follows established policies, procedures, infection-control practices, and safety standards; documents patient care as appropriate; completes required annual education; and participates in quality-improvement initiatives as requested.

Requirements

Tennessee CNA licensure is required upon hire. Out-of-state hires must have their Tennessee CNA license in process, as reflected on the state website, upon hire.
CPR certification is required.
Must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the essential tasks, which may be established through any combination of formal education and/or prior work experience.
Must be able to operate a computer.
Must have excellent interpersonal skills.
Must be able to read with comprehension, write legibly, and perform basic arithmetic computations.
Must understand patient care that may appropriately be delegated to nursing assistants.
Must be trained and willing to function as a sitter for patients who need full-time supervision in the hospital.

Nice To Haves

Hospital experience is preferred.
Knowledge of medical terminology is a plus.
A high school diploma or GED is preferred.

Responsibilities

Take and record patients’ temperature, pulse, respiration rates, blood pressures, weights, heights, and intake-output measurements.
Encourage patients to turn, cough, breathe deeply, and use incentive spirometry as specified by the Plan of Care.
Ambulate patients and assist them in and out of bed, into wheelchairs, and with transport when necessary.
Attend to patients’ nutritional needs, including distributing meal trays, feeding patients, and filling and distributing water pitchers.
Provide morning or evening care, including bed baths, oral hygiene, hair care, back care, dressing, changing bed linen, cleaning bedside surfaces, straightening rooms, and other supportive care as needed.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment, including reporting malfunctioning equipment and appropriately handling linen and storing supplies.
Provide general care, including positioning, lifting, and turning patients; assisting with bedpans, urinals, or commodes; providing preoperative supportive care; and applying or removing abdominal binders, anti-embolism stockings, and sequential compression devices.
Empty and clean ostomy bags according to procedure.
Collect urine, stool, and sputum specimens as ordered.
Perform range-of-motion tasks and assist with ambulatory devices as specified in patients’ plans of care.
Perform phlebotomy after additional training, including correctly labeling samples using two patient identifiers and maintaining, rotating, and restocking lab-draw supplies.
Perform EKGs after special training.
Promptly answer patient call lights and respond to patient requests.
Report significant changes in patients’ conditions to the RN.
Help maintain clean and orderly patient and work environments.
Follow infection-control policies, including standard and transmission-based precautions, OSHA standards, safety measures, and proper body mechanics.
Document and maintain patient records as appropriate.
Gather equipment for oxygen setup and check oxygen connections and placement.
Check that equipment at the patient bedside is functioning properly.
Ambulate patients who are receiving oxygen.
Set up suction equipment and check that it functions properly.
Demonstrate knowledge and competency in meeting the age-specific needs of the population served and perform skills on the Nursing Assistant checklist.
Follow policies, procedures, and safety standards; complete required annual education assignments; work toward goals and objectives; and participate in quality-improvement initiatives as requested.
Complete training and be willing to function as a sitter for patients who need full-time hospital supervision.
Perform other duties as assigned.