Emergency Department Associate

This position performs nonprofessional direct and indirect patient care activities under the supervision of a registered professional nurse and/or licensed medical provider. This position assists medical and nursing staff with a variety of procedures in an Emergency setting.

About the role

The position is available in the Emergency Services department at THOM Thomas Hospitals. The company is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws.

Responsibilities

• Observes and reports all patient concerns/changes in condition to a registered nurse immediately.
• Affords assistance with admission, transfer, discharge and general patient care duties.
• Records the vital signs, assists in personal hygiene and other patient comfort measures.
• Records oral intake and outputs (temperature, blood pressure and other monitoring).
• Affords assistance with specimen collection and other activities of assigned patients.
• Affords assistance in indirect patient care by maintaining a clean and safe environment to help prevent and/or control infections and to provide for safety of patients, visitors and employees.
• Reports all necessary equipment repairs to appropriate personnel according to departmental procedure in a timely manner.
• Prepares patients for examinations and diagnostic procedures according to departmental procedure.
• Communicates with RN regarding any nutrition issues, such as poor appetite or verbalized lack of understanding of diet changes.
• Affords assistance with administrative tasks to support the department operations.
• Answers patient call bell and relays message to appropriate personnel.
• Performs assigned tests such as glucose monitoring, urine and stool testing and maintains quality control testing & logs, according to department policy.
• Performs routine discontinuation of IV catheters as assigned.
• Affords assistance in care of drainage devices such as penrose drains, chest tubes and similar catheters while maintaining accurate output.
• Ability to perform EKG testing upon request.
• Transport of specimens to the Lab as needed.
• Collects blood samples as per physician order, when phlebotomy credentialed.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Obtain certification in Basic Life Support within 30 days of hire date.
• Currently certified as a West Virginia Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic or applicable state licensure where services will be performed.
• Certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).
• Certification in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
• Two years of college in an applicable course of study (nursing, biology, physical therapy, sports medicine, or related field) OR two years’ experience in an Emergency Department or pre-hospital setting.

Skills and Abilities

• Effective communication with staff and patients.
• Adaptability to changing environments.

Physical Requirements

Heavy/Hard Work: Work requires strength and/or stamina, lifting, moving, stooping, reaching, standing, and walking.

Working Environment

• Working closely with others.
• Working protracted or irregular hours.
• Working around biohazards.
• Working around infectious diseases.
• Working with or near the deceased.
• Working with hands in water.
• Working with electrical hazards associated with patient care equipment.
• Working in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 32
Shift: United States of America (Non-Exempt)
Cost Center: 51
THOM Nursing Emergency Services
Address: 4605 Maccorkle Ave SW South Charleston West Virginia
Equal Opportunity Employer
West Virginia University Health System and its subsidiaries (collectively "WVUHS") is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws.