Patient Care Technician - Surgery, Prep, and Recovery - Days - Resource

About the role

The Patient Care Technician (PCT) provides basic nursing care to patients and performs related tasks necessary to support the unit under the direction of a Registered Nurse (RN).

Responsibilities

• Assist patients with activity of daily living and provides for patient comfort.
• Makes occupied and unoccupied beds; turns and positions patients in bed; ambulates and dangles patients; transfers patients; performs passive and assisting with active range-of-motion exercises.
• Absorbs hygiene activities.
• Indwelling urinary catheter care (excluding insertion, removal and irrigation); changing non-sterile dressings; providing ileostomy/colostomy care. Assists with postmortem care.
• Assists with nutrition including passing trays, snacks and drinking water; feeding patients; and measuring and recording intake from dietary trays.
• Absorbs elimination needs recording accurate input and output. Empties other drains as designated by the RN.
• Collects and labels sputum, urine, and stool specimens for laboratory testing; testing urine for sugar, acetone, blood or pH; straining urine for kidney stones; and using the glucometer to test blood glucose levels.
• Measures and record accurate vital signs and weight including oral and tympanic temperature, radial and apical pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate; and using standing, chair, sling and bed scales to measure weight.
• Uses equipment and supplies safely and appropriately. This includes assisting patients with incentive spirometry; setting up oxygen flow meters; setting up suction equipment and disposing of suction canisters; and applying and removing ice bags, moist or dry heat, ace bandages, arm slings, binders, supports, anti-embolism stockings, sequential compression devices (SCDs), restraints.
• Assists with controlling the spread of infection by using aseptic technique; adhering to universal/standard precautions; caring appropriately for patients with special isolation precautions; passing clean linen and bagging and disposing of soiled linen; replacing full sharps containers; cleaning equipment between patients’ use; and cleaning equipment prior to return to Central Processing Department (CPD).
• Documents care given as directed by the RN.
• Communicates effectively using Vocera, unit paging system, telephone system and pneumatic tube system; answering patient call lights; reporting observations to the RN; keeping the RN informed of care delivered; maintaining patient confidentiality.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Minimum High School Diploma or GED required.
• Must meet one of the following requirements: Current Certified Nurse Aide (CENA) certification, or Current enrollment (and continued progression) in a health science program required with completion of nursing fundamentals course and/or one clinical rotation preferred.
• Equivalent enrollment considered will include but is not limited to: Nursing School, Pre-PA School, Medical School, or closely related health science program, or Equivalent experience.
• Equivalent experience considered will include but is not limited to: Medical Assistant, Paramedic, Medical First Responder, EMT, Nurse Tech, Resident Aid/Assistant, or LPN.
• Basic understanding of Medical Terminology, Anatomy, Physiology, and Patient Confidentiality is preferred.
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) provider required.
• Experience in acute care or extended care facility preferred.
• Able to successfully complete unit-specific core competencies as defined in the orientation check-list.