Patient Support Assistant-Emergency Department

OhioHealth•Circleville, OH

About The Position

The Patient Support Assistant assists a Registered Nurse in providing direct care to multiple patients on a designated nursing unit in the Emergency Department. The role supports patients with activities of daily living, helps maintain a clean and safe care environment, and provides assistance to patients, visitors, nursing personnel, and other departments as needed. The assistant may help with patient safety, cardiac monitoring, patient transport, and errands related to patient care. Under RN direction, the assistant performs delegated nursing tasks that do not require nursing judgment, complex observations, assessment, or critical decisions. Duties may include basic testing and care, collecting and documenting patient measurements and observations, and using portable technology for documentation and point-of-care testing. The role also helps address information needs, coordinate healthcare activities using wireless devices, maintain supplies and equipment, and handle appropriate supplies, medications, and laboratory specimens. Associates are expected to perform other duties as requested by a supervisor. Job duties may change and are not exhaustive. Responsibilities require attention to safety, quality, and efficiency as part of a High Reliability Organization.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED, subject to the stated exceptions for certain 16- to 18-year-old individuals.
Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from the American Heart Association.
Focus on safety, quality, and efficiency when performing job duties.

Responsibilities

Assist patients with activities of daily living, including bathing, grooming, eating, and walking.
Maintain cleanliness and safety in patient rooms, the unit, and equipment.
Assist patients, visitors, and nursing personnel in the assigned unit and help other departments with patient care as needed.
Build respectful and compassionate relationships with patients and families to support the patient experience.
May serve as a patient safety champion and promote shared responsibility for safety guidelines among licensed and unlicensed caregivers.
May assist with telemetry cardiac monitoring, recognize life-threatening arrhythmias, and immediately notify an available licensed clinician.
May transport patients and run errands to pick up or deliver items for patient care.
Perform delegable nursing tasks assigned by the Registered Nurse that do not require nursing judgment, assessment, complex observations, or critical decisions.
Perform basic nursing care tasks as directed by the RN, which may include waived testing such as fingerstick glucose, urine dipstick, occult fecal testing, non-sterile specimen collection, nasogastric tube care, 12-lead EKG, and simple clean non-sterile dressing changes.
Collect and document data such as height, weight, vital signs, intake, and output on the appropriate forms.
Use portable technology and handheld wireless devices to measure and document intake and output, vital signs, and point-of-care testing.
Report patient observations and concerns to the Registered Nurse.
Assist hospital visitors and staff with information needs.
May use wireless devices and technology to coordinate healthcare activities such as scheduling, flowchart documentation, and nutrition service ordering.
May serve as a super user for nursing assistant information technology and/or preceptor for new nursing assistants.
Maintain supplies and equipment needed for patient care operations.
Secure and handle appropriate supplies, medications, and laboratory specimens transported to, from, and within the unit.
Perform other duties as requested by the supervisor.