PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

7d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant in the Float Pool functions as a direct patient caregiver, performing 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 serve as a sitter for patients requiring full-time hospital supervision. The position is full-time, 72 hours per pay period, on the night shift, at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

Requirements

CPR is required.
No minimum experience is specified.
No specific minimum education is specified; qualifying formal education and/or prior work experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skill, and ability needed for the essential tasks. A high school diploma or GED may be preferred.
Must be trained and willing to function as a sitter for patients requiring full-time supervision.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Measure and record patients’ temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, weight, height, and intake and output.
Encourage patients to turn, cough, take deep breaths, 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.
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, hair care, 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, and 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 patients’ plans 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 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, 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 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 serve as a sitter for patients requiring full-time hospital supervision.
Perform other duties as assigned.