Patient Observation Assistant

About the Role

Full‑time, night‑shift Patient Observation Assistant at Texas Children’s Hospital – The Woodlands. The POA ensures the safety of patients at risk of harming themselves or others under the direction and supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN), delivering family‑centered, developmentally appropriate care.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct continual observation of patients requiring special precautions, remaining with the assigned patient at all times during the shift.
• Monitor for at‑risk behavior and assist the RN in creating a safe environment for patients, visitors, and staff.
• Promote healthy coping via verbal support, implementation of behavior plans, and management of the environment.
• Identify patient responses to care, report condition to the RN, and document observations in the medical record.
• Communicate with other health‑care team members to enhance the patient’s plan of care, advocate for the patient/family, and facilitate unit operations.
• Use knowledge of behavioral health diagnoses to provide therapeutic direction and feedback to the patient.
• Evaluate patient responses to interventions and convey findings to appropriate team members.
• Respond during psychiatric emergencies using the least restrictive measures to ensure patient safety.
• Employ verbal de‑escalation techniques to prevent escalation and violence.
• Maintain therapeutic boundaries and monitor the environment for items that could be used as weapons.
• Participate in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) to reinforce safety in structured routines for patients requiring medical observation.
• Provide ADLs for patients who require observation for medical needs; do not provide ADLs for patients observed solely for behavioral health conditions.
• Use safe and effective oral feeding practices to ensure eating safety.
• Demonstrate willingness and ability to acquire new knowledge, improve individual, team, and organizational performance, and exhibit professional interpersonal, communication, and customer‑service skills.
• Undergo respiratory fit testing in compliance with occupational health and safety standards.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED (required).
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification by the American Heart Association (preferred).
• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) credential (preferred).
• One year of experience in a psychiatric inpatient or outpatient program, psychiatric residential placement program, or therapeutic support services (preferred).
• Inpatient hospital experience or enrollment in an accredited nursing education program (preferred).

Schedule

Full‑time, night‑shift position.

About Texas Children’s Hospital – The Woodlands

Texas Children’s Hospital – The Woodlands is north Houston’s first true free‑standing pediatric hospital, designed, equipped, and staffed exclusively to provide care in more than 25 specialty areas for children and adolescents. Facilities include a 24‑room emergency center, outpatient exam rooms, radiology suites, operating rooms, acute‑care beds, and a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The hospital employs over 15,000 dedicated team members.