Covenant Health

Endoscopy Processing Tech, GI Lab - Endoscopy

Full Time, 80 Hours Per Pay Period, Day Shift

On call every 2-3 weekend. Shift 9a-5:30p, M-F.

Fort Sanders Regional Overview:

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is an award-winning, certified, and accredited facility with 468 beds. As a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center, Fort Sanders offers state-of-the art care that maximizes recovery from stroke.  We are also the region’s leader in technology in areas such as bariatric surgery, robotic surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. Our door-to-balloon times for heart attack patients are below the national average, and our hip fracture center offers advanced diagnosis, surgery and recovery procedures for hip patients.

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is a member of Covenant Health, a locally-owned, non-profit health system based in Knoxville, TN, with a “patient-focused” culture. It has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as its 2020 “Best-in-State-Employer” for Tennessee. The CEO of our company, Jim VanderSteeg, attends every new employee orientation and will ask you to sign our pledge of excellence to always put patients first, strive for excellence in everything we do, and make Covenant Health the first and best choice for patients in our region. As you’d expect, we offer our employees a robust benefits package, including: offering unmatched medical insurance, tuition reimbursement; student loan repayment assistance, certification bonuses; leadership and professional development programs; an employer-matched 401(k); and a generous Combined Time Off (CTO) program.

Department Description:

The Endoscopy Lab at Fort Sanders Regional is a fast-paced, team focused environment that has four endoscopy suites and a bronchoscopy suite. It serves as an outpatient ambulatory surgery center and accommodates inpatient add-on procedures.

Procedures performed include, but aren’t limited to colonoscopies, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), peg tube placement, pill cam studies, bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), and Super Dimension Navigation. Our team consists of RNs, CSTs, CNAs, and a departmental assistant.

Nursing responsibilities rotate within the department, and include pre-op, intra-op, and post-op care with occasional scope room coverage as needed. Nurses are trained to prepare patients for procedures, assist the physicians with the procedures, electronically document the cases, handle specimens, educate patients for home care, and ensure patients meet criteria prior to discharge. Our department is open Monday-Friday 6a-5:30p with holiday, after hours, and weekend call coverage. Call requirements for CSTs and RNs is one night per week and every 6^th weekend, with rotating holiday coverage.

We are looking for team focused RNs who are highly motivated with critical thinking skills, computer proficiency, detail oriented, and who are willing to put their patients first.

Position Summary:

Under the direction of department leadership, this role is responsible for the proper, decontamination inspection and high-level disinfection of flexible endoscopes for GI and Pulmonary procedures.  Requires proficiency to operate processing equipment in a manner that complies with manufacture instructions for use.

Recruiter: Jennifer Gordon || jgordon2@covhlth.com || 865-374-8107

• Responsible for following steps to ensure that flexible endoscopes are safe for patient use.
• Pre-clean flexible endoscopes and reusable accessories by following the device manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFU).
• Perform the leak test using manufacturer’s IFU after each use and prior to manual cleaning.
• Performs meticulous manual cleaning including brushing and flushing channels and ports consistent with the manufacturer’s IFU before performing high-level disinfection (HLD) or sterilization. Perform manual cleaning within the timeframe specified in the manufacturer’s IFU.
• Visually inspect the endoscope and its accessories.
• Perform HLD in accordance with the manufacturer’s IFU. Carefully reviews and adhere to the endoscope manufacturer’s reprocessing instructions and to the IFU for chemicals or sterilants and any equipment (e.g., automated endoscope reprocessors) used for reprocessing to help ensure that effective disinfection occurs.
• After reprocessing is complete, store endoscopes and accessories in a manner that prevents recontamination, protects the equipment from damage, and promotes drying.
• Maintain documentation of adherence to these essential steps each time an endoscope is reprocessed.
• 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:

None