Student Aide - Nursing Home

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Take the resident to the dining room or designated feeding area.
• Prepare resident for meals.
• Prepare designated food for eating based on the resident’s medical conditions, physical health, preferences and distaste based on Dietician instructions.
• Cut meat or other meal items into smaller pieces as needed so the resident may self-feed.
• Assist a resident as he or she drinks a beverage.
• In some cases the resident may need to be fed.
• Provide encouragement and conversation during the meal.
• Monitor the resident’s eating habits and report problems with swallowing, chewing, or loss of appetite.
• Take the resident back to the room or to another area in the facility.
• Be able to perform the Heimlich maneuver and respond to emergency situations in which this may be needed.
• Works willingly and accepts assignments as given.
• Attends all mandatory meetings and programs.
• Participates in opportunities that enhance personal and professional growth.
• Performs other duties as necessary or assigned.
• Complies with the Corporate Compliance Policy and all laws, regulations, and Standards of Conduct relating to the position and agrees to report any suspected violations of law or Standards of Conduct.
• Complies with all applicable state and federal regulations and JCAHO standards.
• Maintains a safe work environment using safe work practices, utilizing standard precautions and complying with hazardous waste procedures at all times as described in St. Anthony's Safety Manual.
• Maintains the confidentiality of patient, resident, employee and organizational information.

 

Supervisory Responsibilities

This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

 

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

Education and/or Experience

• High school diploma, GED, or similar certification required, one year certificate from a college or technical school preferred; with 3 months related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• State approved training course needed. 483.35(h) specifies that if a facility uses Paid Nutritional Aide, they must successfully complete a state approved training course that meets certain minimum requirements and is at least eight hours long.  “Successful completion” is left up to the instructor or the supervisory nurse to assess.

 

Position Requirements, Certifications, License

• Must be flexible and adaptable to change.
• Basic understanding of or the ability to learn basic sanitation and regulations for workplace safety.

• Basic understanding of or the ability to learn food handling techniques
• Ability to follow instructions.
• Positive, caring, and customer-service oriented attitude.

• Ability to work well as part of a team.
• Ability to maintain personal hygiene.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Language Skills
Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.  Ability to speak effectively before customers, patients, families and employees of the organization.

 

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; talk and hear; and use hands to finger, handle or feel.  The employee is frequently required to stoop, kneel, crouch, and reach with hands and arms.  The employee is frequently required to walk and sit.  The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 20 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, color vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.