Patient Care Assistant

Covenant Health • Knoxville, TN

7d • Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant provides direct patient care in the Intermediate Care Unit at Parkwest Medical Center. Under the supervision of the Team Leader, the role assists registered nurses by providing hands-on care, helping patients with activities of daily living, and performing specified technical tasks for a group of patients. The assistant may also serve as a sitter for patients who need full-time supervision in the hospital.

This is a PRN/OCC position with variable hours per pay period on the day shift. The assistant follows the patient’s plan of care and applicable policies, procedures, infection-control practices, and safety standards; documents care as appropriate; and participates in required education and quality-improvement activities.

Requirements

• No minimum education specified; qualifying formal education and/or prior work experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the job, typically equivalent to a high school diploma or GED.
• CPR required.
• Must be trained and willing to function as a sitter for patients who require full-time supervision.
• Must demonstrate ability to perform skills on the Nursing Assistant checklist.

Nice To Haves

• High school diploma or GED is preferred.
• Additional training for phlebotomy.
• Special training for EKG performance.

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 transfers to and from beds and wheelchairs; transport patients when necessary.
• Support patients’ nutritional needs, including distributing meal trays, feeding, and providing water pitchers.
• Provide morning or evening care, including bathing, oral hygiene, grooming, back care, dressing, linen changes, and tidying the patient’s room and 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 handling linen and supplies appropriately.
• 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 according to the patient’s 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 patient condition to the RN.
• Help maintain a clean and orderly patient-care 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 oxygen connections, placement, and equipment function; ambulate patients using oxygen.
• Set up suction equipment and check that it functions properly.
• Provide care appropriate to the age-specific needs of the population served and demonstrate competencies on the Nursing Assistant checklist.
• Follow policies, procedures, and safety standards; complete annual education assignments; work toward goals and objectives; and participate in quality-improvement initiatives as requested.
• Train and be willing to serve as a sitter for patients requiring full-time hospital supervision.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: No Education Listed