week Nights

Albany Medical Center•Albany, NY

8d•$43,599 - $56,679

About The Position

The Patient Care Associate (PCA) assists the caregiving team in delivering competent, compassionate care to assigned patients, working under the direction of a Registered Nurse. The role involves collecting patient data, providing personal care, performing point-of-care testing, and helping patients with mobility and other care needs, with attention to progress toward discharge and transitions during an acute care stay. The PCA is trained to perform technical procedures such as blood draws and electrocardiography, and collaborates with Materiel’s Coordinators to support the use, stocking, and storage of supplies. The PCA also helps maintain a clean, orderly, and safe care environment and may serve as an activity companion for patients requiring 1:1 observation. The role may involve access to sensitive patient and organizational information; access and disclosure must follow minimum-necessary and applicable privacy and security requirements.

Responsibilities

Collect patient health information, including vital signs, height and weight, and food and fluid intake and output.
Report abnormal findings to the RN and patient care team.
Participate in care planning and the nursing report process.
Respect patient and family rights to participate in care decisions and use standardized techniques to keep them informed.
Provide personal care, including bathing, oral care, and skin care.
Assist patients with eating, hydration, grooming, dressing, and toileting.
Support safe patient handling and basic restorative care, including ambulation, range of motion, and use of assistive and prosthetic devices.
Perform point-of-care testing, such as whole blood glucose, and technical procedures such as blood draws and electrocardiography.
Turn, position, or mobilize patients and assist with their care needs, including during transitions within the acute care stay.
Collaborate with Materiel’s Coordinators to support the use, stocking, and storage of supplies.
Promote a clean, orderly, and safe environment and demonstrate standard and transmission-based precautions and infection-control techniques.
Provide the RN with details about patient progress toward goals and outcomes.
Document all care in the patient record.
Provide activity companionship for patients requiring 1:1 observation when asked.
Protect sensitive information by following need-to-know and minimum-necessary access and disclosure practices and applicable policies and standards.