Unit Tech - Surgical ICU

Parkland Health•Parkland, WA

About The Position

The Unit Tech coordinates patient care, clerical, and administrative needs as the unit’s primary contact and information resource. The role responds to information requests from doctors, nurses, patients, families, and other employees. Unit Techs perform phlebotomy, draw laboratory samples, and prepare them for testing. The position is expected to perform the functions of both a Patient Care Assistant and a Health Unit Coordinator, carrying out specified patient care activities under the direction of a Registered Nurse and maintaining accurate patient records and unit documentation.

Requirements

Must have completed or hold at least one of the following: a formal nurse aide course; current certified nurse aide registry; medical assistant course; current medical assistant certificate; patient care technician course; current patient care technician certificate; current enrollment in an accredited school of professional nursing with documentation of basic nursing fundamentals; graduation from an accredited school of nursing; or Parkland’s job-specific training program.
One year of acute-care hospital experience; successful completion of Parkland’s job-specific training program is considered equivalent to one year of experience.
Must obtain a current Heartsaver CPR course completion card within 90 days of hire and/or placement in the job from the American Heart Association or American Red Cross.
Demonstrated competence in a variety of patient-care and clerical duties.
Ability to communicate effectively with personnel from other departments, nurses, physicians, patients, and families.
Flexible work habits and ability to set priorities.
Enthusiasm and eagerness to perform a variety of assigned duties.
Ability to demonstrate patient-centered/patient-valued behaviors.
Computer skills including data entry, report generation, printing, scanning, and faxing.

Responsibilities

Perform phlebotomy tasks, draw laboratory samples, and prepare them for testing as needed.
Coordinate patient care and clerical needs as the primary contact and information resource for the unit.
Perform specified patient care activities under a Registered Nurse’s direction, including hygiene care, injections, venipunctures, sterile and unsterile treatments, vital signs, and range-of-motion exercises.
Lift, ambulate, and feed patients; transport meal trays when applicable; and respond to patient needs and special requests.
Maintain open communication and protect patients’ rights and confidentiality.
Prepare and process hardcopy and computerized patient files, including entering, sorting, and updating information.
Create reports summarizing patient information for unit decision makers.
Monitor patient status and notify and assist nurses and other health team members when a patient’s condition changes.
Admit, transfer, and discharge patients by creating charts, checking rooms, and receiving, logging, and storing patient valuables and nonvaluables.
Document activities accurately and promptly, including unit logs, vital signs, ambulation, feeding outcomes, quality-control checks, and chaperoning, in accordance with nursing-unit standards.
Maintain work and patient-care areas according to infection-prevention and environment-of-care guidelines; provide or request translation services when applicable and perform quality-control checks.
Maintain knowledge of rules, regulations, policies, laws, and guidelines affecting the unit; develop effective internal controls and seek guidance as needed.
Order, pick up, and deliver medical and nonmedical supplies, laboratory requisitions, patient specimens, and other items; fulfill routine requests.
Stock and rotate work-area supplies and remove items before their expiration dates.
Identify ways to improve work processes and customer satisfaction, make recommendations to a supervisor, and implement and monitor results as appropriate.
Stay current with developments and trends in the field through seminars or workshops, professional journals, professional organizations, and/or maintaining certification or licensure, and integrate relevant knowledge into work practices.
Perform other duties as assigned by the manager or the manager’s designee.