Patient Care Assistant

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant provides direct patient care and performs tasks in support of registered nurses, including hands-on care, assistance with activities of daily living, and specified technical tasks for a group of patients under the supervision of the Team Leader. The role may also include serving as a sitter for patients who require full-time supervision in the hospital. This is a full-time, 72-hours-per-pay-period day-shift position in the Critical Care Unit at Parkwest Medical Center in West Knoxville. The assistant follows established care plans, safety and infection-control practices, documents care as appropriate, completes required annual education, and participates in quality-improvement activities as requested.

Requirements

CPR certification is required.
No minimum experience is specified.
Education is not specified as a strict minimum; candidates may demonstrate the required knowledge, skills, and abilities through any combination of formal education and/or prior work experience, typically equivalent to a high school diploma or GED.

Nice To Haves

A high school diploma or GED may be preferred.

Responsibilities

Measure and record temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, weight, height, and intake and output.
Encourage patients to turn, cough, breathe deeply, and use incentive spirometry as specified in the plan of care.
Ambulate patients and assist them with transfers to and from bed and wheelchairs, including transport when needed.
Support patients’ nutritional needs by distributing meal trays, feeding patients, and filling and distributing water pitchers.
Provide morning or evening care, which may include bed baths, oral hygiene, hair care, back care, dressing, linen changes, cleaning bedside surfaces, and other supportive care.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment, report malfunctioning equipment, handle linen appropriately, and store supplies.
Position, lift, and turn patients; assist with bedpans, urinals, and commodes; provide preoperative supportive care; and apply or remove 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 the plan of care.
Perform phlebotomy after additional training, including labeling with two patient identifiers and maintaining, rotating, and restocking lab-draw supplies.
Perform EKGs after special training.
Answer patient call lights promptly 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 connections, placement, and equipment function at the bedside; ambulate patients with oxygen.
Set up suction equipment and check that it functions properly.
Provide age-specific care for the population served and demonstrate competency in skills on the Nursing Assistant checklist.
Follow policies, procedures, and safety standards; complete required annual education; work toward goals and objectives; and participate in quality-improvement initiatives as requested.
Complete sitter training and be willing to provide full-time supervision for patients who need it.
Perform other duties as assigned.