Patient Care Assistant/ Unit Administrative Assistant - Observation

At Houston Methodist, the Patient Care Assistant/Unit Administrative Assistant (PCA/UAA) position is responsible for performing key functions that support the interprofessional team in delivering high quality, cost-effective care. The PCA/UAA position demonstrates basic knowledge and skills necessary to communicate appropriately and carry out delegated nursing assistant level tasks for assigned patient populations, assisting in the delivery of patient care and services under the supervision of a licensed nurse. This position performs basic patient care activities of daily living (ADL's) within unit-specific defined limits and job scope, such as assistance with patient elimination, hygiene, comfort, safety, nutrition, and progress activity and maintains competency requirements for computer medical terminology and other job-related functions, while practicing Patient and Family Centered Care in concert with Houston Methodist ICARE values: Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence. The PCA/UAA position assists with calls to physicians and their office, bed management, transfer services or other floors, coordinating with Operations Administrator as needed, answering incoming telephone calls for the unit and transfers as appropriate.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)

EXPERIENCE

• Eighteen months of Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) or Patient Care Assistant (PCA) experience
• One year of secretarial/office, college/vocational training, or six months of internal cross-training within Houston Methodist
• Prior health care experience and/or medical terminology preferred

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) - American Heart Association

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Performs basic patient care activities of daily living (ADL’s) within unit specific defined limits and job scope, such as assistance with patient elimination, hygiene, comfort, safety, nutrition, and progress activity
• Ability to operate and troubleshoot equipment (fax, PC, printers, telephones, etc.)
• Proficient computer application skills

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Answers incoming telephone calls for the unit and transfers as appropriate. Facilitates and supports effective throughput with timely communication. Greets patients and visitors to the unit, assisting with directions, information and guidance. Works well with others to make contributions to the work effort as a whole and facilitates problem resolution, responding positively to requests for assistance.
• Interacts with peers, staff, and physicians in a supportive and respectful manner. Encourages open communication to achieve mutual understanding. Communication to promote both work efforts and problem resolution is clear and professional. Collaborates with all members of the interprofessional team by actively communicating and reporting pertinent patient care information in a clear and timely manner.
• Provides contributions towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e., peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Follows the patient and family-centered care standards and provides direct patient care under the direction of a registered nurse. Documents, where applicable, care administered, diagnostic measurements, treatments and procedures in accordance with established policies and procedures. Responds to the call light system, contacting nursing personnel as appropriate, and follows through with meeting patient needs.
• Pull/prints daily reports per unit standard, which may include daily shift report, charge nurse reports, handoff reports and/or My Daily Care Plan. Assists with calls to physicians and their office, bed management, transfer services or other floors, coordinating with Operations Administrator as needed. Organizes the unit workflow, paperwork as needed, proactively problem-solves, anticipating needs, and managing multiple ongoing priorities with minimal supervision.
• Coordinates the requests to Facilities Management and Biomed regarding department needs or broken equipment. Rounds through the unit, per unit expectations, to check for environmental or equipment needs, and other assistance that may be needed. Serves as an in-house courier which may include retrieving blood, hand-delivering labs, tele boxes, etc.
• Contributes towards improving department scores for patient satisfaction through peer-to-peer accountability, i.e., bedside shift handoff/report.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Reports observations, conditions and problems of patients to licensed personnel to achieve desired patient outcomes. Provides for the privacy of patients and families, keeping the safety of the patient in mind.
• Provides appropriate hand-off at change of shift at patient bedside to communicate and collaborate, promoting patient-centered care.
• Conducts hourly rounding to ensure patient needs are met (four P’s). Monitors and addresses noise level of unit to improve or impact patient satisfaction. Responds to patient calls promptly. Reports near misses and collaborates with the interprofessional health care team to improve patient safety. Reports near misses and collaborates with the interprofessional health care team to improve patient safety.
• Contributes towards improving quality and safety scores, through peer-to-peer accountability. Supports initiatives to prevent conditions such as pressure injuries, patient falls, and hospital-acquired infections.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Assists with patient and staffing needs (floats) across the service line or hospital as competencies allow. Utilizes time between heavy workloads efficiently.
• Utilizes resources with cost effectiveness and value creation in mind. Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks, minimizing incidental overtime, assisting coworkers as needed.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Offers innovative solutions in performance improvement projects and shared governance activities. Follows up on action items as necessary to ensure completion of assignments.
• Seeks opportunities to identify self-development needs on knowledge base, skill level and decision-making, as necessary, especially in areas of question, from preceptor and assigned licensed personnel and takes appropriate action. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an on-going basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: Yes
• Scrubs: Yes
• Business professional: No
• Other (department approved): Yes

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area No
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)

EXPERIENCE

• Eighteen months of Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) or Patient Care Assistant (PCA) experience
• One year of secretarial/office, college/vocational training, or six months of internal cross-training within Houston Methodist
• Prior health care experience and/or medical terminology preferred

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

• BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) - American Heart Association