2SE Perioperative Care Assistant

WVU Medicine

7d•Onsite

About The Position

Performs nonprofessional direct and indirect care activities under the supervision of a professional Registered Nurse. Assists in providing high-quality, cost-effective care by performing delegated tasks. Provides preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative support for nursing teams caring for surgical and procedural patients. This may include care within the scope of practice, such as monitoring stable patients’ vital signs, assisting with activities of daily living and comfort, and performing point-of-care tests. The unlicensed assistive personnel role has limited access to medications, including transporting non-controlled substances at the request of a licensed care provider. The position may also support the Sterile Processing team within an assigned specialty or service. The role includes patient transport and positioning; room and equipment preparation and cleaning; supply and inventory management; specimen transport; support for oxygen equipment; and, as needed, cleaning, decontaminating, wrapping, and processing instruments and scopes. The work is performed in a direct patient-care environment supporting multiple providers and may involve high-stress conditions and exposure to communicable diseases, body fluids, and chemicals. The scheduled shift is 7:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m., four 10-hour shifts, with variation based on unit operational needs. Scheduled hours are 40 per week. The position is non-exempt.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Successful completion of departmental clinical support or PCA orientation.
Obtain Basic Life Support or HeartSaver First Aid certification within 30 days of hire.
Physically capable of prolonged standing and walking.
No known history of malignant hyperthermia; this requirement may not be waived.
Able to lift up to 60 pounds and push heavily loaded carts weighing more than 200 pounds; able to transport patients on stretchers, in wheelchairs, or in cribs.
Able to discern and distinguish colors for point-of-care testing and inventory monitoring.
Possess visual and hearing acuity, manual dexterity, and technical ability.
Demonstrate ability to use personal protective equipment.
Understand and practice excellent personal hygiene.
Able to operate computer programs after training.
Able to follow written and verbal directions, read and write English proficiently, and work with people.
Demonstrate team-building communication and work efforts to assist healthcare providers.
Demonstrate skills needed to use Safe Patient Handling equipment.

Nice To Haves

Prior patient-care experience.
CNA or MA experience.

Responsibilities

Provide preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative support to the nursing team, including care within scope of practice, point-of-care testing, comfort measures, and reporting changes in patient condition to a Registered Nurse.
Assist personnel in obtaining supplies, instruments, and equipment for surgical and procedural cases.
Use appropriate aseptic technique to open sterile supplies, perform shave preparations, and hold extremities during surgical or procedural preparations.
Clean and prepare work areas for the next patient and shift.
Transport patients between areas; clean transport devices; and assist with patient transfers and positioning.
Retrieve and clean patient-care equipment and run errands as directed.
Review stocking lists, preference cards, and supply carts to help ensure supplies, instruments, and equipment are available; assist with inventory control.
Stock supplies, check expiration dates, remove, discard, or reprocess items according to guidelines, monitor supply levels, and return supplies and equipment to designated storage locations.
Maintain clean, sanitary, and safe procedural and Sterile Processing environments, including cleaning work areas, patient bays, computers, monitors, carts, and assigned equipment; perform post-case, terminal, or isolation cleaning as required.
Process instruments and scopes when needed; prepare cleaning solutions; and operate instrument-processing and cleaning equipment according to policies.
Wrap and label instruments and supplies for sterilization; may prepare or process operating-room linens and sterile packs.
Document assigned care and cleaning activities, including patient weight, temperature, pulse, respirations, blood pressure, intake and output, and abdominal girth as directed by nursing staff.
Transport specimens to the laboratory or designated location, document delivery, and add fixative when needed.
Set up equipment for oxygen administration, change tank regulators, and check tank volumes.
Follow departmental policies and report equipment or room repair needs; tag equipment and submit Biomedical Engineering repair tickets.
Assist with routine unit operations and communication, including relaying telephone, visitor, patient, and healthcare-provider messages accurately and promptly.
Transport linens, trash, and biohazardous case carts or materials according to policy, using PPE and required signage.
Assist with room or bay setup and, when directed by a Registered Nurse, monitor sterile-field setup.
Answer telephones and perform minor clerical duties in designated areas.
Transport non-narcotic medications when directed by a Registered Nurse; may transport a patient with a PCA/Epidural pump.
Clean autoclaves, washers, cart washers, dryers, shelving, and other assigned equipment according to manufacturer recommendations and departmental policy; keep assigned Sterile Processing areas orderly.
Process instruments between cases using heat or cold sterilization as needed and maintain orderliness of equipment and supplies.