Emergency Dept Technician - Empath

Lexington Medical Center • West Columbia, SC

3d • Onsite

About The Position

The Emergency Dept Technician performs patient care and related services in the assigned Emergency Department, supporting patients’ personal needs and comfort. The role also performs order-entry and clerical functions, stocks supplies, maintains patient rooms, and serves as a liaison among nursing staff, physicians, hospital personnel, patients, and visitors. The technician performs assigned patient-care tasks under the direction and supervision of a Registered Nurse and adapts duties as needed.

After completing specialized training, the technician may perform a range of clinical tasks, including oxygen and cardiac-monitor setup, vital-sign collection, specimen collection, assistance with procedures, catheterization, patient transport, and one-to-one observation. The position may also function as a Unit Secretary, supporting patient flow, documentation, scheduling, communications, and admission processes.

The technician helps maintain a safe, clean, and well-stocked environment; prepares rooms and equipment; assists with patient hygiene, mobility, meals, and transfers; reports changes in patient condition and abnormal results; documents care; and participates in safety, performance-improvement, and staff-training activities. The role includes required hazardous-waste training and management responsibilities.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• One year of patient-care experience in an acute-care setting. The experience requirement may be substituted for those who are a Certified Nursing Assistant, have EMT certification, or have completed a Fundamentals of Nursing course.
• Basic Life Support certification and Crisis Prevention Institute training are required within 90 days of hire.
• Basic computer skills and knowledge of medical terminology.
• Working knowledge of computer systems to support patient-centered care, including order entry and chart documentation.

Responsibilities

• Perform assigned patient-care tasks under the direction and supervision of a Registered Nurse, and perform clerical functions that support timely, effective patient care.
• After specialized training, place patients on oxygen therapy and pulse oximetry as directed; place patients on cardiac monitors and obtain Lead II strips; take and record vital signs and weights; and report abnormal findings to the designated RN.
• Collect blood specimens by venipuncture and deliver them to the laboratory as directed.
• Set up sterile trays and assist physicians with suture repair; apply orthopedic splints and appliances; assist with casting and other orthopedic interventions; and provide crutch-walking instruction.
• Set up water-seal drainage for chest tubes and obtain accurate 12-lead EKG tracings for delivery to a physician.
• Insert Foley catheters and provide Foley care; perform straight intermittent urinary catheterization as directed; and serve as a Mayday team member by performing CPR and obtaining supplies, blood products, and equipment during codes.
• Transport monitored and unmonitored patients within the department and throughout the hospital as directed, and provide one-to-one observation for patients under Immediate Treatment Certification.
• When functioning as a Unit Secretary, answer zone phone calls and nurse-call requests, make patient rounds as directed, ensure charts and forms are complete, verify chart information, schedule procedures and appointments, request medical-record copies when indicated, arrange transportation, and monitor admission bed assignments and delays.
• Facilitate patient flow within the zone, notify the Clinical Coordinator about ready rooms and process delays, and troubleshoot delays in obtaining specimens and results.
• Clean and prepare rooms after discharge and update the EPIC tracker.
• Round on patients, keep patients and families informed, and ensure patients have a call light within reach.
• Assist with admissions, orient patients to the environment, and help patients prepare appropriately for examinations.
• Recognize safety needs and take appropriate action to prevent injury.
• Assist with personal hygiene; empty and clean bedpans, urinals, and bedside commodes; and record output as directed.
• Change linens, make stretchers, organize patient environments, and provide other personalized services within scope of practice.
• Pick up and return meal trays and feed patients who require assistance.
• Assist patients with ambulation, positioning, turning, transfers to stretchers and wheelchairs, and transport or escort to tests, treatments, transfers, or discharge.
• Change sterile and unsterile dressings as directed and maintain oxygen tanks.
• Provide post-mortem care and transport patients to the morgue.
• Assist nurses and physicians with treatments and examinations; place ordered supplies, specialty trays, or carts in rooms; and prepare rooms and equipment for patients.
• Maintain clean and soiled utility rooms and ensure designated instruments are returned to the Sterile Processing Department.
• Mark QA check sheets and check and refill ED specialty carts and boxes.
• Anticipate admissions, discharges, and transfers and obtain wheelchairs or other equipment in preparation.
• Report changes in patient condition and other relevant observations to the RN, and promptly inform the nurse when STAT or abnormal results become available.
• Participate in performance-improvement and patient-safety initiatives and attend at least 50% of staff and/or process-improvement meetings; obtain information from missed meetings as needed.
• Assist with unfinished work from the previous shift, contribute to orderly shift changes, and report off to the relief ED Technician.
• Assist with orientation and training of new employees as requested.
• Use and account for supplies and equipment conservatively; maintain a safe and clean environment; follow infection-control policies and documentation procedures; and report malfunctioning or unsafe equipment.
• Maintain knowledge of ED supplies and document pertinent information accurately, legibly, completely, concisely, and promptly in the appropriate medical-record section.
• Ensure hazardous waste and hazardous-waste pharmaceuticals are discarded, stored, and managed with compatible waste streams in properly labeled and closed containers before offsite disposal; complete initial RCRA training within six months of hire and annual continuing training.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Day-one medical, dental, and life insurance benefits for benefit-eligible employees and their families.
• Health-care and dependent-care flexible spending accounts.
• 403(b) match plan enrollment eligibility from day one; Lexington Health matches dollar for dollar up to 6%.
• Employer-paid life insurance equal to one times salary.
• Optional supplemental life insurance with low-cost premiums, up to three times salary.
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability coverage for full-time employees after 90 days of eligible employment.
• Adoption assistance.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Student loan forgiveness.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED