Nurse Assistant Non-Cert

Covenant Health•Oak Ridge, TN

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Nurse Assistant Non-Cert provides direct patient care and assists registered nurses with hands-on care, activities of daily living, and specified technical tasks for a group of patients under the supervision of an RN or Team Leader. The role is in the Heart Lung Vascular department at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, part of Covenant Health. It is listed as full time, 72 hours per pay period, on the day shift. The assistant supports patient comfort, mobility, nutrition, hygiene, safety, and the care environment; collects and documents patient measurements and specimens; and assists with oxygen and suction equipment. The position requires following care plans, infection-control policies, safety standards, and documentation procedures, while providing care appropriate to the age-specific needs of the assigned patient population. Phlebotomy and EKG duties may be performed after the required additional or special training. Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is a regional hospital serving East Tennessee. It provides care across more than 30 specialties and is supported by over 1,000 healthcare professionals and 250 physicians. The hospital describes its approach as combining advanced medical expertise and technology with compassionate, personal care.

Requirements

Certification is not required for the Nurse Assistant Non-Cert role.
CPR is required; applicants who are not currently certified must become certified or recertified during the orientation period.
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 and know which patient-care tasks may appropriately be delegated to nursing assistants.
Must demonstrate competency in unit-specific functions described in the performance continuum, skills lists, and/or standards.
Must provide safe, efficient, and competent care to the assigned patient population.

Nice To Haves

A high school diploma or equivalent certificate (GED) may be given preference; no minimum education is specified.
Hospital experience is preferred.
Knowledge of medical terminology is a plus.

Responsibilities

Take and record temperature, pulse, respiration rates, blood pressure, weight, height, and intake-output measurements.
Encourage patients to turn, cough, breathe deeply, and use incentive spirometry as specified by the plan of care.
Ambulate patients; assist them in and out of bed and into wheelchairs; and transport them when necessary.
Attend to patients’ nutritional needs, including distributing meal trays, feeding, and filling and distributing water pitchers.
Provide morning or evening care, including bed baths, oral hygiene, grooming, back care, dressing, changing bed linen, cleaning bedside surfaces, straightening rooms, and other supportive care.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment by reporting malfunctioning equipment and handling linen and supplies appropriately.
Provide general care, including positioning, lifting, and turning patients; assisting with bedpans, urinals, or commodes; 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.
May perform phlebotomy after additional training, including correctly labeling samples using two patient identifiers and maintaining, rotating, and restocking lab-draw supplies.
May 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, placement, and equipment function; ambulate patients with 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 in performing position-required skills.
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.
Provide safe, efficient, and competent care to the assigned customer or patient population and avoid posing a direct threat to the health or safety of self or others.