Anesthesia Technician

Work Week: Three days per week. Includes 12-hour day shifts every Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

At Houston Methodist, the Anesthesia Technician (AT) position provides support to the anesthesia providers and other members of the interprofessional health care team and is directly involved in patient care before, during and after procedures. This position assists with anesthesia-related procedures, troubleshooting of anesthesia-related equipment, and set up, operation, and initiation of patient monitoring in all anesthetizing locations e.g., OR, Cath Lab, Endoscopy, etc., as well as, in preoperative units, post-anesthesia care units, and intensive care units, as deemed necessary or as assigned. The AT position is familiar with all anesthetizing locations, anesthesia supplies, and anesthesia and other related equipment ensuring that assigned locations and items are ready, available, and in good working conditions at all times.

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

• One year of hospital experience if not certified; no experience if certified through the American Society of Anesthesia Technologists & Technicians (ASATT)

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

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

Preferred

• ASATT - Certified Anesthesia Tech

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
• Possesses basic computer knowledge; operates multiple computer systems to include, Hospital/Anesthesia systems and Microsoft Office products to maintain patient documents
• Progression towards organizational and problem-solving skills as evidenced by capacity to prioritize multiple tasks and role components and actively participating in problem-solving with minimal supervision
• Progression towards demonstrating time management skills
• Ability to progress towards independence and exercise judgment in interactions with physicians, interprofessional care team and patients and their families

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Contributes to a positive work environment and to a dynamic, team focused work unit that actively helps one another to achieve optimal department results. Collaborates with all members of the interprofessional health care team by actively communicating and reporting pertinent patient care information and date in a comprehensive manner.
• Works well with others to make contributions to the work effort as a whole and participates in problem resolution. Communication to promote both work efforts and problem resolution is clear, and professional.
• Contributes towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Performs anesthesia support activities in all monitoring and anesthesia locations including but not limited to operating rooms, catheterization laboratories, intensive care units, and other patient care areas where anesthesia is performed.
• Performs complete operating/procedure room patient monitoring and anesthesia equipment set up.
• Sets up, calibrates as necessary, and checks the performance of all monitoring and anesthesia equipment before connecting to the patient.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Cleans and disinfects equipment and work areas between patients, following infection control standards and department procedures.
• Organizes the work flow, problem-solves and manages ongoing priorities, with minimal supervision, seeking guidance when needed.
• Reports “near misses” and inputs error promptly into TAPS to improve processes and identify trends. Contributes to identification of corrective actions and improvement activities.
• Contributes to meeting department and hospital targets for quality and safety.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Ensures that anesthetizing areas and anesthesia services work stations are put back together, organized properly, and ready for use as soon as possible after each case, including but not limited to, keeping monitor cables stored neatly, ensuring that anesthesia gases are turned off, unused supplies are restocked properly, and equipment are put back in designated places.
• Utilizes resources with cost effectiveness and value creation in mind. Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively, minimizing incidental overtime, and prioritize daily tasks, assisting coworkers as needed.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Participates in committees and task forces as assigned and action items are appropriately performed. Follows up on action items as necessary to ensure completion of assignments.
• Seeks opportunities to expand learning beyond baseline competencies with a focus on continual development as a Technician/Technologist. 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: No
• Scrubs: Yes
• Business professional: No
• Other (department approved): No

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* Yes

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

• One year of hospital experience if not certified; no experience if certified through the American Society of Anesthesia Technologists & Technicians (ASATT)

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

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

Preferred

• ASATT - Certified Anesthesia Tech