PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant provides direct patient care and performs tasks that assist registered nurses. Under the supervision of the Team Leader, the assistant provides hands-on care, supports activities of daily living, and performs specified technical tasks for a group of patients. The position may also serve as a sitter for patients who need full-time supervision in the hospital. The role is in Oncology at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, a 444-bed hospital and part of Covenant Health. The position is full-time, 72 hours per pay period, on the day shift.

Requirements

No minimum education is specified. Any combination of formal education and/or prior work experience sufficient to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the essential tasks is acceptable; this is typically equivalent to a high school diploma or GED.
Preference may be given to candidates with a high school diploma or GED.
No minimum experience is specified.
CPR is required.
Must be trained and willing to function as a sitter for patients who need full-time supervision in the hospital.

Responsibilities

Measure and record patients’ 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 in and out of bed, into wheelchairs, and with transport as needed.
Address patients’ nutritional needs, including distributing meal trays, feeding patients, and filling and distributing water pitchers.
Provide morning or evening care, including bathing, oral hygiene, hair care, back care, dressing, changing bed linen, cleaning bedside surfaces, straightening rooms, and other supportive care.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins; record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment, report malfunctioning equipment, handle linen appropriately, and store supplies.
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 according to the patient’s plan of care.
Perform phlebotomy after additional training, including labeling specimens with two patient identifiers and maintaining, rotating, and restocking lab-draw supplies.
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 a clean and orderly patient and work environment.
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 and placement.
Check that equipment at the patient bedside is functioning properly.
Ambulate patients receiving 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.
Demonstrate the skills listed on the Nursing Assistant checklist.
Follow policies, procedures, and safety standards; complete annual required education; work toward goals and objectives; and participate in quality-improvement initiatives as requested.
Be trained and willing to serve as a sitter for patients who need full-time hospital supervision.
Perform other duties as assigned.