PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant provides direct patient care in the Critical Care Unit, assisting registered nurses with 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 need full-time hospital supervision. The position is full time, 72 hours per pay period, on the day shift at Parkwest Medical Center.

Requirements

CPR is required.
No minimum experience is specified.
Education is not specified; a combination of formal education and/or prior work experience sufficient to demonstrate the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is accepted, typically equivalent to a high school diploma or GED.

Nice To Haves

A high school diploma or GED may be preferred.
Additional training is required to perform phlebotomy.
Special training is required to perform EKGs.

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 by the Plan of Care.
Ambulate patients and assist them with transfers to and from beds and wheelchairs, including transport when needed.
Support patients’ nutritional needs, including distributing meal trays, feeding patients, and filling and distributing water pitchers.
Provide morning or evening care, including bathing, oral hygiene, grooming, back care, dressing, changing bed linens, and maintaining bedside areas.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment by reporting malfunctioning equipment and properly handling linen and storing supplies.
Position, lift, and turn patients; assist with bedpans, urinals, or commodes; provide preoperative support; 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 patient’s 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.
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 who are using oxygen.
Set up suction equipment and check that it functions properly.
Demonstrate knowledge and competency in meeting 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.
Be trained and willing to function as a sitter for patients who need full-time hospital supervision.
Perform other duties as assigned.