7W Clinical Associate

WVU Medicine

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Performs direct and indirect patient care activities under the supervision of a registered professional nurse. Assists in providing high-quality, cost-effective care by performing delegated tasks. Proactively interacts with patients, families, and other customers to ensure a family-centered experience. The Clinical Associate provides basic physical care to promote patient comfort, assists with activities of daily living, transports patients and specimens, performs assigned tests and routine phlebotomy where authorized, and obtains and records patient measurements and observations. The role also supports respiratory care, examinations, procedures, basic rehabilitation activities, and patient safety. Additional duties include maintaining a clean environment and equipment, supporting routine unit operations, communicating messages, answering calls, completing errands, and removing expired items. Work is performed under the supervision of a registered professional nurse and within the employee’s scope of practice.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Obtain certification in Basic Life Support or HeartSaver First Aid within 30 days of hire.
Demonstrated competency in the use of Safe Patient Handling equipment.
Excellent communication skills and a strong customer-service orientation.
Ability to manage multiple demands simultaneously.
Good time-management skills.
Ability to meet physical demands that include lifting, moving, stooping, reaching, standing, and walking; handling materials and equipment weighing up to 50 pounds; and pushing or pulling carts weighing up to 200 pounds.
Ability to sit, walk, or stand for prolonged periods.
Use lift equipment and/or other patient-handling aids for transfers, lifts, and repositioning as indicated by the patient’s profile and appropriate algorithms.

Nice To Haves

Prior patient care experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Assist with direct patient care by providing basic physical care for patient comfort as directed by the Registered Nurse.
Help assigned patients with activities of daily living in a timely manner, including making assigned beds.
Transport patients safely according to WVUH’s Safe Patient Handling Policy to tests and procedures, and escort patients for discharge.
Transport specimens and other items throughout the facility.
Perform assigned tests, such as glucose monitoring and urine and stool testing, and maintain quality-control testing and logs according to department policy. CNAs on the Subacute Unit may not perform glucose monitoring.
Perform routine phlebotomy, excluding line draws, in departments designated by management.
Obtain and record assigned patient temperatures, pulse rates, respiratory rates, blood pressures, intake and output, weights, and abdominal girths according to departmental policy.
Set up equipment needed for oxygen administration and encourage use of the Incentive Spirometer according to Respiratory Care procedure.
Immediately report patient concerns or changes in condition to a registered nurse.
Prepare patients for examinations and diagnostic procedures according to departmental procedure.
Assist physicians and registered nurses with examinations and procedures.
Assist with basic rehabilitation and Physical Therapy activities, including active and passive range of motion and ambulation.
Communicate nutrition concerns to the RN, including poor appetite or a patient’s stated lack of understanding of diet changes.
Provide total care within scope of practice, including vital signs and activities of daily living, when assigned sitter or constant-visual responsibilities.
Maintain a clean and safe environment to help prevent or control infection and protect patients, visitors, and employees.
Clean assigned unit equipment according to departmental procedures and promptly report equipment repairs to appropriate personnel.
Assist with routine unit operations as directed or needed to support communication and unit functioning.
Answer the telephone courteously and promptly, identifying self and unit, and answer patient call bells and relay messages to appropriate personnel.
Relay accurate telephone, visitor, and patient messages to the appropriate persons in a timely manner.
Promptly complete errands as requested.
Handle limited medication access for unlicensed assistive personnel, including transporting non-controlled substances at the request of a licensed care provider.
Remove out-of-date items.