Patient Care Assistant (PCA), Surgical Med Surg, Full Time, Days

UC Health•West Chester Township, OH

12d•Onsite

About The Position

UC Health is hiring a full-time Patient Care Assistant (PCA) for the 4th-floor Surgical Med Surg unit at West Chester Hospital on the day shift. The PCA provides basic direct patient care as delegated by clinical professional personnel, in accordance with delegation law and rules and the PCA’s current education. The role also helps maintain an orderly, clean, and safe environment for patients and visitors. The unit has a supportive, collaborative team environment and provides opportunities for growth and development while caring for medically complex patients. Its patients undergo a wide variety of surgeries, including orthopedic, bariatric, general, trauma, GI, and GU procedures. UC Health is an integrated academic health system serving Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, combining clinical care with research and teaching.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Zero to six months of experience required.
Training and maintained proficiency in AHA CPR and patient-care skills, and completion of unit-specific hospital safety education.
Meet one of the required training or education criteria: State Tested Nursing Aide training, acute medical-surgical training, or hospital-specific training; alternatively, be a student in an accredited RN program who has successfully completed a medical-surgical or another acute-care rotation.
Candidates who do not have either of the initial two training requirements must successfully complete UC Health PCA competency training and additional orientation before caring for patients.
No license or certification is required.

Nice To Haves

One to two years of equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

Communicate with patients and families in a manner appropriate to the patient population; provide clear instructions and involve family or guardians in assessment, treatment, and ongoing care.
Recognize patient growth and development needs, physical limitations, behavioral health concerns, cultural or religious needs, and signs or symptoms of abuse or neglect, and respond appropriately.
Provide culturally based, age-specific patient care and safely perform treatments, administer medication, or operate equipment as authorized.
Measure and record vital signs, skin integrity observations, intake and output, height, and weight; report changes, including changes in mental status.
Collect routine urine, clean-catch urine, 24-hour urine, and self-expectorated sputum specimens.
Assist with activities of daily living, skin care, tube and catheter care, turning, positioning, transfers, ambulation, range-of-motion exercises, and hot or cold compresses.
Provide hygiene and comfort measures, including bathing, showering, and perineal care; change linens as needed.
Empty drainage bags, record output, and dispose of bodily fluids and waste.
Use patient-care equipment such as manual, hydraulic, or electronic lifts, Hoyer lifts, and bed scales.
Remove and reapply splints, braces, cervical collars, skin and skeletal traction, and anti-embolic stockings.
Perform post-mortem care.
Distribute and remove food trays; set up meals, position and prepare patients for meals, assist with feeding and menu selection, record calorie counts, provide snacks and fluids, and monitor head-of-bed position for patients receiving tube feedings.
Assist with turning, coughing, and deep breathing; follow up on incentive spirometry; reapply oxygen cannulas or masks; and provide portable oxygen tanks for transport.
May perform EKGs, mobile care phlebotomy, and blood glucose testing.
Communicate patient observations to the RN promptly and appropriately; orient patients and visitors to the room and unit and update whiteboards.
Record measurements and patient data, document treatments and procedures, respond to and use the nurse-call system, perform reception and phone duties as directed, and retrieve information from the computer.
Maintain a clean, safe, and organized environment; move equipment to the appropriate area for cleaning, reorder and stock materials, and report maintenance issues.
Participate in patient admission, transfer, and discharge and cooperate respectfully with team members in pursuit of patient care.
Keep call lights within patients’ reach, answer call lights promptly, ensure patient identification bands are in place, and ensure side rails and restraints are applied according to policy.
Use proper body mechanics and universal precautions and perform other duties as delegated.