EMERGENCY ROOM TECH

Covenant Health•Sevierville, TN

About The Position

Functions as a specialized direct patient caregiver in the Emergency Department, performing hands-on care and specified technical tasks to assist nurses and providers, while coordinating communications on the unit. The role includes documenting patient information, taking vital signs, supporting patient mobility and comfort, preparing and assisting with procedures, collecting specimens, and performing phlebotomy and EKGs. The Emergency Room Tech follows infection-control, safety, and age-specific care practices and helps maintain a clean, orderly care environment.

Requirements

One year of experience as an EMT, HUC, LPN, MA, or PCA/CNA, or meet the stated licensure requirement.
CPR is required.
If the applicant has less than one year of experience, they must have, at the time of hire or promotion, a current EMT registry or license, LPN, MA, or CNA certification, or be a student in an accredited nursing education program who has successfully completed the program’s fundamental clinical skills portion (first semester of clinicals).
Minimum education is not specified; education must be sufficient to meet the standards for any required license or certification.

Responsibilities

Enter and promptly update the ED tracking board to communicate with staff.
Document and maintain patient records as appropriate.
Take and record temperature, pulse, respiration rates, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, weight, height, and intake-output measurements.
Complete applicable items and activities on the TECH CHECKLIST of DAILY ACTIVITIES.
Order patient-care supplies and keep supplies stocked in rooms, carts, and other areas as appropriate.
Clean and wrap instruments for transport to sterile processing; correctly identify and replace surgical instruments on appropriate trays.
Help maintain a safe environment by checking equipment for proper function, reporting equipment that is out of order, and appropriately handling linen and storing supplies.
Gather equipment for oxygen setup and check oxygen connection and placement.
Set up suction equipment and check that it functions properly.
Promptly answer patient call lights and respond to patient requests.
Report observed changes in patient condition to a nurse or provider.
Assist with patient transportation to other areas of the facility.
Prepare wounds for providers as directed; clean and dress wounds appropriately.
Apply splints, immobilizers, and ace bandages, and fit patients for crutches.
Perform range-of-motion tasks and assist with ambulatory devices according to the patient’s plan of care.
Assist providers with pelvic exams.
Assist in triage with vital signs.
Ambulate patients and assist them in and out of bed, into wheelchairs, and onto transport, using oxygen when required.
Empty canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Provide general care, including positioning, lifting, or turning patients; assisting with bedpans, urinals, or commodes; preoperative supportive care; and applying anti-embolism stockings and sequential compression devices.
Collect urine, stool, and sputum specimens as ordered.
Perform phlebotomy, including correctly labeling specimens using two patient identifiers and maintaining, rotating, and restocking lab-draw supplies.
Remove INTs at the direction of nursing staff or an LIP.
Remove sutures or staples at the direction of a nurse or LIP.
Perform EKGs.
Follow established infection-control policies, including standard and transmission-based precautions, OSHA standards, safety measures, and proper body mechanics.
Demonstrate knowledge and competency in providing for the age-specific needs of the population served.
Help maintain a clean and orderly patient and work environment.
Follow policies, procedures, and safety standards; complete required annual education assignments; work toward goals and objectives; and participate in quality-improvement initiatives as requested.
Perform other duties as assigned.