Patient Care Assistant

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant is a direct patient caregiver who performs hands-on care, 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 functioning as a sitter for patients who require full-time supervision in the hospital. The position is full-time, 72 hours per pay period, on day shifts, in the Float Pool at Parkwest Medical Center.

Requirements

No minimum education level is specified. A combination of formal education and/or prior work experience sufficient to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the job is acceptable, typically equivalent to a high school diploma or GED.
CPR is required.
Must be trained and willing to function in a sitter capacity for patients who need full-time hospital supervision.

Nice To Haves

Preference may be given to individuals with a high school diploma or GED.

Responsibilities

Measure and record patients’ temperature, pulse, respirations, blood pressure, weight, height, and intake and output.
Encourage patients to turn, cough, and take deep breaths, and use incentive spirometry as specified by the plan of care.
Ambulate patients and assist them with moving in and out of bed, into wheelchairs, and during transport.
Support patients’ nutritional needs, including distributing meal trays, feeding patients, and providing water pitchers.
Provide morning or evening care, including bathing, oral hygiene, grooming, back care, dressing, changing bed linens, and maintaining the bedside area.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment by reporting malfunctioning equipment and appropriately handling linen and supplies.
Assist with positioning, lifting, and turning patients; use of bedpans, urinals, or commodes; preoperative supportive care; and application or removal of 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 specimens with two patient identifiers and maintaining, rotating, and restocking lab-draw supplies.
Perform EKGs after special training.
Promptly answer 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 oxygen setup equipment and check connections, placement, and proper functioning at the bedside; 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 perform 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.
Train and be willing to function as a sitter for patients who need full-time hospital supervision.
Perform other duties as assigned.