PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT

Covenant Health•Lenoir City, TN

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant works in the Medical Surgical Unit as a direct patient caregiver, performing hands-on care, assisting with activities of daily living, and completing specified technical tasks for a group of patients under the supervision of the Team Leader. The role may also include serving as a sitter for patients who require full-time hospital supervision. The position is full-time, 72 hours per pay period, on the night shift. Fort Loudoun Medical Center is part of Covenant Health and serves Loudon County and surrounding communities from its Lenoir City, Tennessee location. The 87,000-square-foot hospital has more than 200 physicians across 29 specialties and provides services including emergency care, surgery, specialized treatments, and diagnostic imaging.

Requirements

No minimum education specified; an appropriate combination of formal education and/or prior work experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the job.
CPR required.
Must be trained and willing to function as a sitter for patients requiring full-time supervision.

Nice To Haves

A high school diploma or GED is preferred.

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 in the Plan of Care.
Ambulate patients and assist them with getting in and out of bed, moving into wheelchairs, and transportation when 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, grooming, back care, dressing, changing bed linen, cleaning bedside surfaces, and other supportive care.
Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans, and emesis basins, and record intake and output.
Help maintain a safe environment, report malfunctioning equipment, handle linen appropriately, and store supplies.
Provide general care, including positioning, lifting, or 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 as specified in the patient’s Plan 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 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 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 ability to perform skills on the Nursing Assistant checklist.
Follow policies, procedures, and safety standards; complete required annual education assignments; 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 require full-time supervision in the hospital.
Perform other duties as assigned.