Patient Care Technican - PCT

Fresenius Medical Care•Greensboro, NC

About The Position

The Patient Care Technician (PCT) works as part of a dialysis health care team to provide 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 improvement activities aimed at improving patient satisfaction and helping patients meet organizational quality goals. The PCT provides treatment-related patient care, including checking patients’ wellbeing, assessing vascular access, obtaining and recording vital signs and weights, initiating and discontinuing dialysis according to prescribed orders and established procedures, monitoring patients and equipment, responding to treatment issues as directed, and documenting care accurately. The position also involves collecting and preparing laboratory specimens, following infection-control procedures, maintaining equipment and supplies, and assisting with patient education and staff training under appropriate supervision. In the Transitional Care Unit, the PCT follows newly admitted patients through their first four weeks of dialysis, reinforces education, coordinates care with other staff, supports patients in understanding treatment options and home dialysis, performs treatments on unit machines, and assists with supply ordering and inventory. The role includes desk and computer work as well as direct patient care. It requires travel between assigned facilities and community locations, with possible travel to regional, Business Unit, and Corporate meetings. The work takes place in a health care facility with controlled air temperature and moderate noise, with possible exposure to infectious and contagious diseases or materials. Patient care regularly involves heavy lifting and moving patients and assisting with ambulation. The job also requires frequent, prolonged standing and bending, occasional pushing or pulling of equipment with up to 15 pounds of force, frequent lifting or lowering of solutions weighing up to 30 pounds, and occasional lifting up to 40 pounds as high as five feet. Assistance and material-handling devices are available for heavier items. Employees must take the Ishihara Color Blindness test as a condition of employment; failing the test does not preclude employment, and reasonable accommodations may be considered.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Meet CMS-approved state and/or national certification requirements within the applicable state or CMS timeline.
Hold any applicable state licensure and complete any required education and training.
Demonstrate commitment to the organization’s culture, values, and customer service standards.
Successfully complete the organization’s dialysis training program; continued employment is dependent on successful completion.
Successfully complete CPR certification; continued employment is dependent on successful completion.
Take the Ishihara Color Blindness test as a condition of employment; failure does not preclude employment, and reasonable accommodations may be considered.
Be able to perform the physical demands described, including patient lifting and movement, prolonged standing, bending, and lifting or lowering solutions and equipment, with assistance or devices available for heavier items.
Travel between assigned facilities and community locations; travel to regional, Business Unit, and Corporate meetings may be required.

Nice To Haves

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

Responsibilities

Assist health care team members in providing patient-specific education about adequacy measures, disease processes, and vascular access, as appropriate.
Welcome assigned patients and ask about their wellbeing since their last treatment.
Assess vascular access for patency, perform cannulation, and administer heparin as delegated or permitted by state law.
Obtain and document pre- and post-treatment vital signs and weights, including the required pre-treatment vascular access evaluation and patient identification.
Initiate dialysis according to prescribed orders, including blood flow and dialysate flow settings.
Calculate and enter prescribed dialysis-machine programming, including ultrafiltration goals, treatment time, and ultrafiltration modeling.
Ensure appropriate machine safety alarms are enabled, including Narrow Venous Limits, and conduct machine safety checks according to facility policy.
Monitor patients’ responses to dialysis and evaluate intradialytic problems, providing interventions as prescribed or directed.
Obtain vital signs before reinfusion and perform the tasks necessary to discontinue treatment; document treatment and evaluate the patient before termination, including standing and sitting blood pressure.
Achieve hemostasis and apply appropriate dressings; evaluate patients before discharge.
Document treatment parameters, vital signs, patient evaluations, interventions, and responses accurately and promptly in required records and clinical applications.
Report significant information, changes in condition, unusual findings, and vascular-access concerns to the registered nurse or supervisor.
Monitor arterial and venous pressures during treatment, intervene as appropriate, and document and report unusual findings.
Obtain prescribed laboratory tests; collect, label, prepare, store, and arrange courier pickup of specimens according to laboratory requirements.
Clean blood spills promptly with the appropriate disinfectant and follow facility infection-control policies and procedures.
Prepare, organize, and use supplies and equipment efficiently 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.
Follow organizational business policies, procedures, systems, ethical business practices, and customer service standards.
Maintain a safe, clean environment; clean and disinfect dialysis machine surfaces, chairs, equipment, and surrounding areas between treatments.
Prepare for dialysis treatments, document preparation as appropriate, complete required pretreatment machine alarm testing including Pressure Holding (PHT), and initiate the Solution Delivery System (SDS).
Participate in and document ongoing Continuous Quality Improvement activities.
Review treatment sheets for completeness, confirm nursing signatures, and ensure omissions are completed or corrected by appropriate staff.
Prepare initial patient charts for admission and compile paperwork for filing in the chart.
Prepare and print laboratory requisitions for prescribed or stat specimens according to laboratory destination.
Assist with infection-control audits and reinforce infection-control practices and education for staff, patients, and families under appropriate direction.
Follow newly admitted patients through their first four weeks of dialysis and coordinate transitional dialysis care.
Reinforce education and care information for new patients as permitted by state law, and liaise with appropriate staff to support the patient experience and scheduled care.
Help patients understand home dialysis products, the benefits of home dialysis, and how it may work for them.
Set up and perform treatments on all machines used in the Transitional Care Unit.
Help patients understand treatment options, including demonstrating peritoneal dialysis setup, and assist with coordination of transition to the patient’s chosen modality.
Assist with Transitional Care Unit supply ordering and inventory.