Patient Care Technician - Progressive Care Unit * Nights - 24hrs/wk

University of Michigan Health-West; Wyoming (MI); Hybrid; USD 25,000 - 36,000; Part time

Job summary

University of Michigan Health-West is seeking a Patient Care Technician for the Progressive Care Unit on the night shift. The role is 24 hours per week, under RN supervision, providing basic nursing care and patient support on a busy unit.

Responsibilities include assisting with daily living activities, hygiene, nutrition and hydration, hygiene, vital signs, specimen collection, infection control, and accurate documentation.

Qualifications

• Minimum High School Diploma or GED required.
• Must meet one of the following: CENA certification, or enrollment in health science program with completion of nursing fundamentals and/or clinical rotation, or equivalent health-science experience.
• Basic understanding of Medical Terminology, Anatomy, Physiology, and Patient Confidentiality preferred.
• Current BLS/CPR provider required.
• Experience in acute care or extended care facility preferred.
• Able to complete unit-specific core competencies as defined in orientation.

Responsibilities

• Assist patients with activities of daily living and comfort; bed care and patient transfers.
• Assist with hygiene activities and routine care.
• Provide urinary catheter care (excluding insertion/removal) and dressings; ostomy care.
• Assist with postmortem care when needed.
• Aid nutrition by passing trays, feeding, and recording intake.
• Assist with elimination and manage drains as directed.
• Collect and label sputum, urine, and stool specimens; test urine with basic checks.
• Measure and record vital signs and patient weight accurately.
• Use equipment safely; manage oxygen, suction and therapy devices.
• Follow infection control practices and proper linen handling.
• Document care as directed by the RN and communicate observations.
• Perform other duties to support unit efficiency as assigned.

Skills

BLS/CPR certification

Medical terminology

Acute care experience

Patient confidentiality

Education

High school diploma or GED

Certified Nurse Aide (CENA) certification

Health science program enrollment with progress

Equivalent health-science experience

Job description

Patient Care Technician - Progressive Care Unit * Nights - 24hrs/wk

Requisition #: req12760

Shift: Nights

FTE status: 0.6

On-call: No

Weekends: Yes

General Summary:

Under the direction of a Registered Nurse (RN), the Patient Care Technician (PCT) provides basic nursing care to patients and performs related tasks necessary to support the unit.

Requirements:

1. Minimum High School Diploma or GED required.
2. Must meet one of the following requirements:
   • Current Certified Nurse Aide (CENA) certification, or
   • Current enrollment (and continued progression) in a health science program required with completion of nursing fundamentals course and/or one clinical rotation preferred. Equivalent enrollment considered will include but is not limited to: Nursing School, Pre-PA School, Medical School, or closely related health science program, or
   • Equivalent experience. Equivalent experience considered will include but is not limited to: Medical Assistant, Paramedic, Medical First Responder, EMT, Nurse Tech, Resident Aid/Assistant, or LPN.
3. Basic understanding of Medical Terminology, Anatomy, Physiology, and Patient Confidentiality is preferred.
4. Current Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) provider required.
5. Experience in acute care or extended care facility preferred.
6. Able to successfully complete unit-specific core competencies as defined in the orientation check-list.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

1. ACTIVITY / COMFORT: Assist patients with activity of daily living and provides for patient comfort. This responsibility includes making occupied and unoccupied beds; turning and positioning patients in bed; ambulating and dangling patients; transfers patients; performs passive and assisting with active range-of-motion exercises.
2. HYGIENE: Assist patients with hygiene activities.
3. PROCEDURES: Indwelling urinary catheter care (excluding insertion, removal and irrigation); changing non-sterile dressings; providing ileostomy/colostomy care.
4. Assisting with postmortem care.
5. NUTRITION: Assist patients with nutrition including passing trays, snacks and drinking water; feeding patients; and measuring and recording intake from dietary trays.
6. ELIMINATION: Assist patients with elimination needs recording accurate input and output. Empties other drains as designated by the RN.
7. SPECIMEN COLLECTION: Collects and labels sputum, urine, and stool specimens for laboratory testing; testing urine for sugar, acetone, blood or pH; straining urine for kidney stones; and using the glucometer to test blood glucose levels.
8. VITAL SIGNS / MEASUREMENT: Measures and record accurate vital signs and weight including oral and tympanic temperature, radial and apical pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate; and using standing, chair, sling and bed scales to measure weight.
9. EQUIPMENT: Uses equipment and supplies safely and appropriately. This includes assisting patients with incentive spirometry; setting up oxygen flow meters; setting up suction equipment and disposing of suction canisters; and applying and removing ice bags, moist or dry heat, ace bandages, arm slings, binders, supports, anti-embolism stockings, sequential compression devices (SCDs), restraints.
10. INFECTION CONTROL: Assists with controlling the spread of infection by using aseptic technique; adhering to universal/standard precautions; caring appropriately for patients with special isolation precautions; passing clean linen and bagging and disposing of soiled linen; replacing full sharps containers; cleaning equipment between patients’ use; and cleaning equipment prior to return to Central Processing Department (CPD).
11. DOCUMENTATION: Document care given as directed by the RN.
12. COMMUNICATION: Communicates effectively using Vocera, unit paging system, telephone system and pneumatic tube system; answering patient call lights; reporting observations to the RN; keeping the RN informed of care delivered; maintaining patient confidentiality.
13. Performs other duties as assigned. These may include but are not limited to: Performing tasks assigned by the Registered Nurse in charge to facilitate department efficiency. Maintaining a current knowledge base of department processes and procedures for patient care, pursuing self-directed learning and continuing education opportunities, and participating on committees, task forces, and work groups as determined by management.