Technician, Patient Care

About the role

The Patient Care Technician is directly responsible to the Assistant Head Nurse/ Charge Nurse of the unit or designee for all patient care activities. Functions as part of the multidisciplinary team providing direct patient care to patients.

Responsibilities

• Assisting patient with activities of daily living (e.g. bathing, eating, toileting, moving/walking), and diversionary activity (e.g. reading, TV, games).
• Set up and/or place diversionary materials in easy reach.
• Assisting with the movement of patients via stretcher, wheelchair, or bed. Move patients from bed to chair, or stretcher.
• Give partial/complete bed baths or shower baths. Shampoo hair as necessary; brush and comb hair.
• Assist with skin care.
• Prepare patients for meals before tray arrives. Feed patients/provide snacks, fluids as ordered.
• Give oral hygiene denture care mouth swabs, and mouth washes.
• Provide range of motion activity, lifting, turning, positioning, and ambulation.
• Use special equipment correctly (e.g. cane, walker, pressure-relief devices).
• Assist with activities related to bladder and bowel function.
• Assisting patients to use bedpan, urinal and proper disposal of excreta.
• Applying external urinary catheter.
• Performing urinary catheter care.
• Apply Pressure Injury devices such as TAP (turning & positioning) device and apply heel boots.
• Making patient care rounding, as assigned.
• Apply sequential compression device sleeves.
• Answer telephone and relay messages promptly.
• Obtain & Record Vital signs (B/P, Resp. rate, Pulse, Temp, & Pulse oximetry), I&O, and other patient care activities in EHR, per policy in daily care flow Sheet.
• Consistently reports to nurse observations/changes in patient’s condition.
• Provides a handoff when leaving unit for breaks and at end of the shift.
• Documents changes (i.e.: Vital signs) in EHR.
• Utilize appropriate precautions when providing care to patients in isolation.
• Maintain universal precautions in all patient care activities.
• Adheres to observation level defined by RN as assigned.
• Accepts and documents the responsibility for the level of observation for the patient on the acceptance sheet and on the observation flow sheet.
• Adheres to restraint policy and complies with application of restraint management and patient observation.
• Documents in EHR non-violent flow sheet.
• Responsible for accepting and identifying patient belongings; will document such in Patient Property sheet in EHR.
• Collect specimens (e.g. urine, sputum, stool, etc.) as assigned.
• Label specimen correctly