PATIENT CARE ASSISTANT

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Patient Care Assistant provides direct patient care and assists 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 position may also serve as a sitter for patients who require full-time supervision in the hospital. The role is in the Intermediate Care Unit at Parkwest Medical Center and is listed as PRN/OCC with variable hours per pay period on the day shift.

Requirements

CPR certification is required.
No minimum experience is specified.
No specific minimum education is required; candidates must have a combination of formal education and/or prior work experience sufficient to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the essential job tasks.
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.
Additional training for phlebotomy is required to perform phlebotomy tasks.
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 directed by the plan of care.
Ambulate patients and assist them with getting in and out of bed, moving to wheelchairs, and transportation as needed.
Support patients’ nutritional needs, including distributing meal trays, feeding, and filling and distributing water pitchers.
Provide morning or evening care, including bathing, oral hygiene, grooming, back care, dressing, changing linens, 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, including reporting malfunctioning equipment and properly handling linen and 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 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.
Answer patient call lights promptly 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 and perform skills 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.
Complete training and be willing to serve as a sitter for patients who need full-time hospital supervision.
Perform other duties as assigned.