Patient Care Technician - PCT

Fresenius Medical Care•Franklin, TN

About The Position

The Patient Care Technician (PCT) works as part of a dialysis health care team, providing safe and effective dialysis therapy under the direct supervision of a licensed nurse. The role includes setting up and operating hemodialysis machines, supporting a safe and clean work environment, and participating in Quality Enhancement Program and Continuous Quality Improvement activities that support patient satisfaction and quality goals. The PCT welcomes and monitors patients, evaluates vascular access, performs cannulation and delegated heparin administration where permitted, initiates and discontinues dialysis treatments, monitors treatment response, and records treatment data. The position also involves machine safety checks, prescribed laboratory specimen collection and preparation, infection-control practices, equipment and area disinfection, and documentation in clinical records. In the Transitional Care Unit, the PCT supports newly admitted patients during their first four weeks of dialysis, reinforces education, coordinates with care-team members, and helps patients understand treatment and modality options, including home dialysis. The position requires travel between assigned facilities and locations in the community and may require travel to regional, Business Unit, and Corporate meetings. The work takes place in a health care facility and may involve exposure to infectious materials, heavy lifting and moving of patients, prolonged standing, bending, and handling equipment and solutions.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Meet Center for Medicaid/Medicare Services-approved state and/or national certification requirements within the required state or CMS timeline.
Meet all applicable state licensure, education, and training requirements.
Demonstrate commitment to the organization's culture, values, and customer service standards.
Successfully complete the organization's dialysis training program; continued employment depends on successful completion.
Successfully complete CPR certification; continued employment depends on successful completion.
Pass the Ishihara Color Blindness test as a condition of employment; failure does not automatically preclude employment, and reasonable accommodations will be considered.
Ability to perform direct patient care involving frequent heavy lifting and moving of patients, assistance with ambulation, frequent prolonged standing, and bending.
Ability to occasionally push or pull equipment with up to 15 pounds of force, frequently lift and lower solutions weighing up to 30 pounds, and occasionally lift up to 40 pounds as high as five feet.

Nice To Haves

Previous patient care experience in a hospital setting or related facility.

Responsibilities

Assist health care team members with patient-specific education about adequacy measures, disease processes, and vascular access.
Welcome assigned patients and inquire about their wellbeing since their prior treatment.
Evaluate vascular access, perform cannulation, and administer heparin as delegated or permitted by state law.
Obtain and document pre-, intra-, and post-treatment vital signs and weights, and evaluate patients before, during, and after dialysis.
Initiate and discontinue dialysis treatment according to prescribed orders and established procedures.
Calculate and enter patient-specific dialysis machine programming, including ultrafiltration goals, treatment time, and ultrafiltration modeling as prescribed.
Ensure appropriate machine safety alarms are enabled and conduct machine safety checks and required pretreatment alarm testing.
Monitor patients' response to dialysis, assess intradialytic problems, provide prescribed or directed interventions, and document patient responses.
Monitor vascular access pressures during treatment, intervene as appropriate, and report unusual findings or patient-condition changes to the registered nurse or supervisor.
Complete accurate, timely treatment documentation, including treatment sheets, progress notes when applicable, and clinical application entries.
Obtain prescribed laboratory tests; collect, label, prepare, store, and arrange collection of specimens according to laboratory requirements.
Clean blood spills promptly using the appropriate disinfectant and clean and disinfect dialysis machines, chairs, equipment, and surrounding areas between treatments.
Prepare and efficiently use supplies and equipment to prevent waste.
Monitor patients performing self-care under RN supervision.
Assist with training applicable direct patient care staff on appropriate programs under nurse supervision.
Participate in Continuous Quality Improvement activities and assist with infection-control audits and education.
Follow organizational policies, procedures, systems, ethical business practices, and infection-control requirements.
Review treatment sheets for completeness, ensure required nursing signatures are documented, and arrange for omitted entries to be completed or corrected by appropriate staff.
Prepare initial patient charts and paperwork and prepare laboratory requisitions for prescribed or stat specimens.
Follow newly admitted patients through their first four weeks of dialysis and coordinate their transitional dialysis care.
Reinforce education and care information for new patients, coordinate care-team visits, and support patient understanding of home dialysis products and treatment options.
Set up and perform treatments on machines used in the Transitional Care Unit, demonstrate peritoneal dialysis setup as appropriate, and assist with coordinating transitions to patients' chosen modalities.
Assist with Transitional Care Unit supply ordering and inventory.