Certified Nurse Assistant / Patient Care Associate

About the role

The Patient Care Associate works under the supervision of leadership and the direction of an RN, LPN, or Provider. They administer quality patient care according to established standards, provide exceptional service to all patients and customers, and may be required to work in other areas based on staff skills and patient acuity.

Responsibilities

• Completes daily Activities of Daily Living to meet patient’s needs, including personal hygiene, dressing patients, and linen changes.
• Feeds patients as indicated and records food and fluid intake and output when appropriate.
• Takes and records vital signs, including pulse oximetry.
• Transports patients as appropriate.
• Lifts, turns, repositions, and ambulates patients, alone or with assistance.
• Collects and transports urine, stool, and sputum samples for testing when assigned; completes Point of Care testing.
• Observes and reports changes in patient’s condition to nurse.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• High School Diploma (Required).
• PCA education requirements (one of the following):
  • Completion of an Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) training program in the last three years, or
  • A fundamentals of nursing course, or
  • A certified nursing assistant program with obtainment of certification (C.N.A.), or
  • A graduate of a professional or practical nursing program who did not pass the state licensure examination in the past three years, or
  • A graduate of a professional or practical nursing program outside the United States and awaiting licensure in this country.
• In lieu of the education requirements above, documented experience as a nurse assistant, emergency medical technician, or surgical technician in the past three years (Required).
• In Home Health, 6 months of Hospital/Nursing Home experience (Preferred).
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification (Required within 90 Days).
• CPI: Nonviolent Crisis Intervention certification (Required within 90 Days).
• Any other required training by the organization (Required within 90 Days).
• Must be able to travel between various system facilities and off-site locations as needed.

Skills and Abilities

Essential Technical/Motor Skills

• Fine motor skills, eye/hand coordination.
• Ability to answer phones and perform data entry.

Interpersonal Skills

• Displays a friendly, positive attitude.
• Communicates with patients, families, physicians, and co-workers in a professional manner.

Essential Physical Requirements

• Must walk, move, kneel, crouch, stoop, reach, stand, push, pull, and lift.
• Must follow good body mechanics.

Essential Mental Abilities

• Ability to collect thorough information regarding patient's condition and evaluate effects of care.
• Problem-solving, adaptability, and ability to interpret data.
• Ability to calculate, comprehend, understand, explain, assess, and evaluate short-term and long-term memory.

Essential Sensory Requirements

• Visual, hearing, feeling, smell, and speech abilities.

Exposure to Hazards

• Needles, cuts, back injury, chemotherapy, and body fluids.
• Blood, punctures, scratches, and physical injury from combative patients.
• Radiation exposure, blood products, and road and weather hazards when driving.
• Infection/disease exposure from patients, visitors, and co-workers.