Patient Care Tech - Hemo/Oncology - PRN

Patient Care Technician

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 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, observation notes).
• Assists patients with activities of daily living and personal care/hygiene and responds to patient requests for assistance. Assists nursing staff with patient care needs.
• Provides support by answering the telephone, computer data entry, scheduling of patient appointments, greeting patients and visitors arriving in department, and communicating patient information and telephone messages as appropriate.
• Effectively communicate with team when requested needs cannot be immediately met.
• Assist Hyperbaric Nurse with patient needs (blood glucose, vital signs, dressing, bathroom needs, transfers) and cleans hyperbaric oxygen chambers with nurses' supervision and direction.
• Clean rooms after each patient use and stock rooms.
• Schedule patients for treatments based on referral work que and prepare schedule for the next day on white board(s).
• Help prepare clinic for anticipated needs. Utilize patient care tech template to help prioritize needs and duties.
• Settle patients in treatment rooms.
• Help close unit at the end of the shift if needed and available.

Hematology/Oncology:

• 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

Hiawatha OSC:

• Completes skin prep and hair removal per department protocol
• Restocks patient rooms per department protocol
• Transports patients safely to their destination
• Assists with the turnover and cleaning of patient rooms

Hospice Community:

• Maintains professional boundaries while providing compassionate care and emotional support in the end-of-life care setting
• Demonstrates accountability in time management, flexibility in scheduling and goodorganizational skills to meet the ever-changing needs of patients and families at end of life
• Follows the patient plan of care and communicates to the supervising RN and / or IDT with changes in patient condition or when changes to the plan of care are deemed necessary
• (Community) In addition to personal care services will provide light household services and minor meal preparation as outlined in the patient plan of care
• (Oldorf Hospice Hospice) Assists with meal preparation for Hospice House patients –additionally responsible for maintaining pertinent kitchen regulatory practices (i.e. temperatures, cleaning)

Hospice House:

• Provide emotional support and education to patient and family regarding the end-of-life process, in a kind and compassionate manner.
• Work independently as well as within an interdisciplinary team and demonstrate ability to adapt and maintain flexibility in schedule.
• Utilize critical thinking skills and good communication skills.

OR:

• Performs transfer of patients safely to/from ED or the inpatient units.
• Assists with turnover of operating rooms after procedures.
• Prioritizes tasks within the individual's scope of responsibility.
• Demonstrates knowledge of setting rooms, stocking supplies and proper handling and logging of surgical specimens.

PACU:

• Transports surgical patients.
• Assists with ordering supplies for the department.
• Assists with data collection for the department.

Pain Management:

• Accurately file medical records.
• Accurately obtain documentation from referral offices.