PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant is a direct patient caregiver in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit who performs hands-on care, assists registered nurses, and carries out activities of daily living and specified technical tasks for a group of patients under the supervision of the Team Leader. The position may also function as a sitter for patients who need full-time supervision in the hospital. The role is full-time, 72 hours per pay period, on the night shift.

Requirements

No specific minimum education is required; an appropriate combination of formal education and/or prior work experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the job.
CPR is required.

Nice To Haves

A high school diploma or GED may be preferred.

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 help them move in and out of bed, into wheelchairs, and during transport as needed.
Attend to 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 linens, cleaning bedside surfaces, straightening rooms, and other supportive care.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment by reporting faulty equipment and properly handling linen and storing supplies.
Provide general care, including positioning, lifting, and turning patients; assisting with bedpans, urinals, or commodes; providing 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 as specified in patients’ plans of care.
Perform phlebotomy after additional training, including labeling samples 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 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 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 the age-specific needs of the population served.
Demonstrate ability to 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 requiring full-time hospital supervision.
Perform other duties as assigned.