Patient Care Tech - Acute Inpatient Medical (AIM) (0.3 Day)

Work Shift

Day

Scheduled Weekly Hours

12

Summary

This position supports Mercy’s philosophy of patient centered care by providing safe and effective patient care by performing tasks and support functions under the supervision of a Licensed Nurse. Patient Care Technicians may fulfill an expanded role by performing additional tasks and responsibilities as delegated by their department.

Job Description

Job Duties

• Ensure that accurate and clinically relevant information is communicated with patients, their families, and co-workers at hand offs and other times as needed.
• Take all measures necessary to ensure that the appropriate and involved parties have communicated necessary information in order to allow for the best possible patient outcome
• Provide safe and effective patient care under the supervision of the licensed nurse by performing tasks and support functions as delegated by department
• Observe and communicate to the licensed nurse any changes in patient condition and pertinent information regarding the needs of the patient and/or significant others
• Demonstrate effective and age-appropriate communication as well as the ability to understand the needs of the patient including non-verbal communication, fears, anxieties and language/cultural barriers
• Maintains accurate and real time documentation of patient care provided
• Assures patient privacy by knocking on doors, closing curtains and protecting patient information
• Responds within scope of practice to emergencies and life-threatening conditions
• Demonstrates support for changes in practice designed to improve performance.
• Organize and prioritize daily work, taking into account the needs of patients, families and other health care workers
• Maintain cleanliness and organization of patient rooms and department work areas
• Assist in identifying quality improvement opportunities and demonstrate support for changes in practice designed to improve performance
• Ability to prioritize tasks, identify needs for changes in priorities and takes the initiative to recommend and implement changes in concert with their supervisor. 
• Follows Mercy's safety guidelines, carries out job-specific safety duties and responsibilities, and promptly reports any unsafe conditions, situations, incidents and injuries.

Department Specific Duties

Birthplace:

• Receives and handles telephone communications accurately and in a timely manner
• Enters patients in the computer and log book upon arrival.
• Accurately enters state birth certificate information and submits information to the state in a timely manner
• Assists families with paternity papers, fees for registration, paperwork and notarizes documents
• Enter charges for Birthplace and NICU within guidelines
• Assists RN’s with basic nursing cares such as patient rounding, newborn hearing screens, etc.
• Rounds on patients to assure basic needs are met, pick up trays, refresh water, empty trash, sign HIPAA Consents, etc.
• Assists with Birthplace tours and classes as needed
• Facilitates the ordering of supplies through authorized Birthplace personnel
• Implements patient admission, discharge, transfer according to hospital policies and procedures.

Cardiovascular:

• Transports patients
• Provides patient care to include but not limited to rooming patients, taking vitals, patient transfer assists, and cleaning rooms/procedure room turnaround
• Schedules procedures via computer
• Orders supplies, stocks rooms, and monitors/tracks expiration dates

Digestive Health Center:

• Accurately performs vital signs and blood sugars
• Removes foleys and IV's per protocol
• Applies and removes telemetry to patients per protocol
• If cross trained to Monitor tech: 
•   Accurately completes documentation of telemetry strips on flowsheet    
•   Accurately reads and measures telemetry strips every 4 hours    
•   Acknowledges telemetry changes in a timely manner and notifies RN    
•   Completes inventory control log accurately 

Emergency Department & Hiawatha ED:

• Performs department specific duties as outlined on the department specific developmental checklist.
• Attends departmental/hospital meetings, activities or special projects per departmental guidelines.
• Practices cost containment efforts on a shift-to-shift basis by efficient use of time and resources, i.e., man-hours, patient charges, equipment, supplies, etc. 

Healing Center:

• Collects and records patient data within scope of practice (vital signs, IO, telephone calls,