Patient Support Assistant

About the role

Assist Registered Nurse in providing direct patient care to multiple patients at a time on a designated nursing unit.

Responsibilities and Duties

• 40% — Patient care and unit support:
  • Performs and/or assists the patient with activities of daily living (e.g., bathing, grooming, eating, walking).
  • Maintains environmental cleanliness and safety of patient rooms, unit, and equipment.
  • Provides assistance to patients, visitors, and nursing personnel in assigned unit; maintains flexibility to help other departments with patient care as needed.
  • Assists in creating the ideal patient experience through respectful and compassionate relationships with each patient and family.
  • May serve as a patient safety champion, empowering shared responsibility for safety guidelines among all caregivers.
  • May assist in telemetry cardiac monitoring, recognizing life-threatening arrhythmias, and immediately communicating to available licensed clinicians.
  • May act as a transporter for the assigned nursing unit.
  • Runs errands to pick up or deliver items for patient care.
• 40% — Delegated nursing tasks:
  • Performs delegable tasks assigned by the Registered Nurse, including those that:
  • Do not require judgment based on nursing knowledge;
  • Have predictable outcomes;
  • Can be performed safely with exact, unchanging directions;
  • Do not require complex observations or critical decisions;
  • Do not require assessment;
  • Have minimal and non-life-threatening consequences if performed improperly.
  • Performs basic nursing care duties as directed by the RN, including but not limited to:
  • Waived testing (e.g., fingerstick glucose, urine dipstick, occult fecal);
  • Non-sterile specimen collection;
  • Nasogastric tube care;
  • 1- or 2-lead EKG;
  • Simple clean, non-sterile dressing changes.
  • Accurately collects and records patient data such as height, weight, vital signs, intake and output.
  • Competent in using portable technology and handheld wireless devices for measurement and documentation of intake and output, vital signs, and point-of-care testing (e.g., fingerstick glucoses, urine dipstick).
  • Reports patient observations and concerns to the Registered Nurse.
• 20% — Support, coordination, and equipment management:
  • Assists hospital visitors and staff with information needs.
  • May utilize wireless devices and technology for coordination of healthcare (e.g., scheduling, flowchart documentation, nutrition service ordering).
  • May serve as a super user for nursing assistant information technology and/or preceptor for new nursing assistants.
  • Maintains supplies and equipment necessary for patient care operations.
  • Secures and handles appropriate supplies, medications, and lab specimens transported within and to/from the unit.

Associates are expected to perform other duties as requested by their supervisor. As a High Reliability Organization (HRO), responsibilities require focus on safety, quality, and efficiency in performing job duties.

Minimum Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED
• Individuals aged 16–18 without a High School Diploma/GED may be considered with an applicable work permit.

Schedule

• Work Shift: Night
• Scheduled Weekly Hours: 24
• Department: Medical Unit 3