Patient Care Technician - Med-Surg Nights - 36hrs/wk

umhealthwest•Wyoming, MI

21h

About The Position

Under the direction of a Registered Nurse (RN), the Patient Care Technician (PCT) provides basic nursing care to patients and performs related tasks necessary to support the unit. This position is on the Med-Surg unit, works nights, is 0.9 FTE (36 hours per week), and has weekend work. It is not on-call.

Requirements

Minimum high school diploma or GED.
Meet at least one of the following: hold current Certified Nurse Aide (CENA) certification; be currently enrolled in and progressing in a health science program; or have equivalent experience.
For health science program enrollment, completion of a nursing fundamentals course and/or one clinical rotation is preferred. Considered programs include nursing school, pre-PA school, medical school, or a closely related health science program.
Equivalent experience may include work as a Medical Assistant, Paramedic, Medical First Responder, EMT, Nurse Tech, Resident Aid/Assistant, or LPN.
Current Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) provider certification.
Ability to successfully complete unit-specific core competencies as defined in the orientation checklist.

Nice To Haves

Basic understanding of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, and patient confidentiality.
Experience in an acute care or extended care facility.
Completion of a nursing fundamentals course and/or one clinical rotation for candidates enrolled in a health science program.

Responsibilities

Assist patients with activities of daily living and comfort, including making beds, turning and positioning patients, ambulating and dangling patients, transferring patients, and performing passive and assisted active range-of-motion exercises.
Assist patients with hygiene activities.
Provide indwelling urinary catheter care, excluding insertion, removal, and irrigation; change non-sterile dressings; provide ileostomy and colostomy care; and assist with postmortem care.
Assist with nutrition by passing trays, snacks, and drinking water; feeding patients; and measuring and recording dietary intake.
Assist patients with elimination needs, record accurate intake and output, and empty other drains as designated by the RN.
Collect and label sputum, urine, and stool specimens for laboratory testing; test urine for sugar, acetone, blood, or pH; strain urine for kidney stones; and use a glucometer to test blood glucose levels.
Measure and accurately record vital signs and weight, including temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and respiratory rate, using appropriate scales to measure weight.
Use equipment and supplies safely and appropriately, including assisting with incentive spirometry; setting up oxygen flow meters and suction equipment; disposing of suction canisters; and applying or removing ice bags, heat, ace bandages, arm slings, binders, supports, anti-embolism stockings, SCDs, and restraints.
Help control the spread of infection using aseptic technique and universal or standard precautions; follow special isolation precautions; handle clean and soiled linen appropriately; replace full sharps containers; and clean equipment between patients and before return to the Central Processing Department.
Document care as directed by the RN.
Communicate using Vocera, the unit paging system, telephone system, and pneumatic tube system; answer patient call lights; report observations to the RN; keep the RN informed of care delivered; and maintain patient confidentiality.
Perform other assigned duties, which may include tasks assigned by the RN in charge to support department efficiency, maintaining knowledge of department processes and procedures, pursuing self-directed learning and continuing education, and participating in committees, task forces, and work groups as determined by management.