Covenant Health

Patient Care Assistant, Orthro-Neuro

Full Time, 72 Hours Per Pay Period, Day Shift

Parkwest Overview:

Since admitting our first patient in 1973, Parkwest has been at the vanguard of healthcare in East Tennessee. We are an eight-time Top 100 Heart Hospital and have received multiple awards for excellence in emergency care, clinical practice, and patient satisfaction. Learn more about our professional accolades.

Ortho-Neuro Unit:

Parkwest’s 3 Dogwood houses our Orthopedic Center of Excellence and Bariatric Center of Excellence.  It consists of 36 beds inside our most recent expansion, the Dogwood Tower, which opened in December 2019. 3 Dogwood is a fast-paced unit that treats post-surgical joint replacements, spine interventions, and bariatric surgical patients.

A typical day on this unit may include pain management and drain monitoring to mobilizing a patient day-of surgery and sending them home! Parkwest’s orthopedic and spine program have been recognized both nationally and regionally for excellent outcomes and outstanding quality. The most engaging part about 3 Dogwood is the teamwork. Nurses on our orthopedic-spine, bariatric unit are members of an integral team of health professionals including RNs, LPNs, SNAs, CNAs, HUCs, PTs, OTs and Clinical Dietitians.  As a unit, they all work very closely together to make the patients their number one focus and to provide excellent patient care and outcomes.

We utilize a preferred self-scheduling module that covers a six week period to allow for flexibility. Staff rotate every other major holiday and weekend. 3 Dogwood welcome’s staff members of varying experiences, from new graduates to the experienced healthcare professional. We have a supportive environment and orientation is tailored to your needs. Come join our amazing team on 3 Dogwood!

Position Summary:

Functions as a direct patient caregiver performing tasks to assist registered nurses. Performs hands-on care, assistance with ADL’s and specified technical tasks for a group of patients under the supervision of the Team Leader.

Recruiter: Jason Shubert || jshuber1@covhlth.com || 865-374-5393

• Take and record temperature, pulse, respiration rates, blood pressures, weights, heights, and intake-output measurements.
• Encourage patients to turn, cough, and take deep breaths and to use incentive spirometry as specified by Plan of Care.
• Ambulate, and assist patients in and out of bed, into wheelchairs and transport when necessary.
• Attends to nutritional needs of patient which may include distributing meal trays, feeding, filling and passing out water pitchers,
• Provides morning or evening care, which may include bed bath, oral hygiene, combing hair, back care, dressing patient, changing bed linen, cleaning over-bed table and bedside stand, straightening room, and other supportive care as needed.
• Empty drains, canisters, urine bags, bedpans and emesis basins and record intake and output.
• Assists in maintaining a safe environment, which may include reporting equipment that is out of order, appropriate handling of linen and storing of supplies.
• Provides general care such as positioning, lifting or turning patients; assisting in use of bedpan, urinal or commode; preoperative supportive care; and application/removal of abdominal binders or anti-embolism stockings and sequential compression devices.
• Empty & clean ostomy bag, per procedure.
• Collect urine, stool and sputum specimen as ordered.
• Perform tasks such as ROM, assist with ambulatory devices as specified by the patients' plan of care.
• Perform phlebotomy (requires additional training). To include correct labeling using two patient identifiers, maintenance of lab-draw supplies, rotating and restocking.
• Perform EKG (requires special training).
• Promptly answer patient call lights and respond to patient requests.
• Report significant changes in patients' condition to RN.
• Help to maintain clean and orderly patient and work environment.
• Employ all established infection control policies including standard precautions, transmission-based isolation precautions, OSHA standards, safety measures and proper body mechanics in performance of job.
• Document/maintain patient record as appropriate.
• Gathers equipment for O2 set up. Checks O2 for connection and proper placement.
• Checks for proper functioning of equipment at patient bedside
• Ambulate patients with oxygen.
• Set up suction equipment and check for proper function.
• Demonstrates knowledge and competency in providing for age-specific needs of the population served.
• Demonstrates ability to perform skills on the Nursing Assistant checklist.
• Follows policies, procedures, and safety standards. Completes required education assignments annually. Works toward achieving goals and objectives, and participates in quality improvement initiatives as requested.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Education:  

None specified; will accept any combination of formal education and/or prior work experience sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skill and ability needed to perform the essential tasks of the job, typically such as would be equivalent to a high school diploma or GED. Preference may be given to individuals possessing a HS diploma or GED.

Minimum Experience: 

None.

Licensure Requirement:

CPR required.