Perioperative Assistant - OPP Surgery

Advocate Health

2d • $21 - $31 • Onsite

About The Position

The Perioperative Assistant supports patient care and the daily operation of the Surgery Department under the direction of nursing staff. The role assists with patient transfers, positioning, preparation, transportation, and safety; supports nursing staff and clinicians during procedures and emergencies; and communicates information to Operating Room staff. The assistant also prepares operating rooms and case carts, maintains supplies and equipment, supports sterilization activities, and helps keep clinical and nonclinical work areas clean and orderly.

The position transports patients, specimens, blood products, supplies, and equipment to and from the Operating Rooms and other hospital departments. Department maintenance duties include cleaning and disinfecting rooms and equipment, monitoring refrigerators and freezers, maintaining records, conducting biological testing, and performing point-of-care testing as needed. The role requires professional, supportive interactions with patients, families, physicians, and coworkers.

This is a full-time position with a stated schedule of Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with no weekends or holidays. The posting also notes that the employee must be able to rotate shifts to provide coverage and may be called off based on unit demands.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) required.
• Ability to use a computer keyboard.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• CPR.
• Ability to successfully complete hospital-based training for Perioperative Assistant.
• Ability to rotate shifts to provide coverage and willingness to be called off based on unit demands.
• Ability to handle exposure to contagious diseases, radiation, chemicals, caustic materials, electrical equipment, and related hazards.
• Ability to perform heavy lifting, bending, squatting, prolonged standing, and reaching overhead.
• Ability to handle multiple requests for assistance and work in a fast-paced, stressful environment.
• Ability to lift up to 35 pounds without assistance. For patient lifts over 35 pounds, or when a patient cannot assist, use patient-handling equipment with at least one other associate when available; unusual patient-moving situations are assessed case by case.

Responsibilities

• Assist with direct patient care under the direction of nursing staff.
• Assist nursing personnel with transferring patients between operating room tables, beds, wheelchairs, stretchers, and carts; support patient positioning and safety.
• Assist with postmortem care and transport deceased patients to the morgue.
• Attend respiratory and cardiac codes and assist physicians, anesthesia staff, and nurses with patient care as needed.
• Transport patients from hospital units and gather items needed for postoperative transportation to a unit or PACU, as directed by the nurse.
• Assist with regional anesthesia positioning, surgical preps, and surgical shaves.
• Answer phones and communicate information to Operating Room staff.
• Maintain Surgery Department stock, supply carts, sterile supply areas, warmers, specimen containers, forms, and Operating Room supplies; rotate supplies and report missing sterile items as needed.
• Keep work areas, supply carts, and equipment clean, orderly, and properly stored.
• Prepare Operating Rooms and case carts by transporting carts, reviewing surgeon preference cards, identifying missing items, gathering equipment and supplies, and opening sterile supplies using aseptic technique.
• Monitor open sterile fields during surgical delays and return unused or sterile supplies and case carts to the appropriate areas.
• Operate autoclaves and assist with retrieval and transport of sterilized items; remove items from case carts before transport to Sterile Processing.
• Assist with end-of-case cleanup, including loading dirty instruments and waste onto case carts, transporting carts to the dirty utility room, and ensuring suction canisters contain solidifying agent.
• Transport patients, supplies, equipment, surgical specimens, blood products, laboratory and pathology reports, radiology films, and other patient-related information safely to designated locations.
• Obtain and return beds and morgue carts; ensure patient transport carts are complete, available, clean, and ready for use.
• Log blood products and specimens as required; obtain supplies and equipment from other hospital areas as needed.
• Run routine biological testing of autoclaves, including weekend testing and testing for implants flash-autoclaved in the OR, and report results to appropriate staff.
• Maintain the blood refrigerator and CO2 gas tank inventory; ensure oxygen tank gauges and keys are available; monitor and record liquid nitrogen freezer and sterile core refrigerator temperatures.
• Clean and disinfect Operating Rooms between cases, make OR beds with clean linen, and use and handle germicides, chemicals, and solutions according to department policy.
• Maintain cleanliness and supplies in hallways, lounges, restrooms, locker rooms, lifts, and scrub sink areas; dispose of trash and other waste materials.
• Perform GEM ABG point-of-care testing as needed and maintain and file autoclave records.
• Maintain professional conduct and effective interpersonal and interdisciplinary relationships; address interpersonal conflicts constructively and support patients, families, and personnel.
• Contribute to physician, patient, and associate satisfaction.

Benefits

• Paid Time Off programs.
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and short- and long-term disability benefits.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses.
• Adoption assistance and paid parental leave.
• Defined contribution retirement plans with employer match and other financial wellness programs.
• Educational Assistance Program.
• Competitive compensation, premium pay for eligible shifts and on-call work, incentive pay for select positions, and potential annual performance-based increases.
• Career development and well-being programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED