The Patient Care Tech/ Lab Tech is responsible for assisting the nurse, physician, and other clinical employees with patient care by completing regular room checks, obtaining vital signs as needed, performing lab tests, running analyzer quality controls, reporting lab results, cleaning, restocking supplies and linen, preparing patient meals, helping to ensure the ready-room status of ER beds and inpatient rooms and many other essential duties, as requested by the facility staff. The Patient Care Technician is responsible for accurately completing assigned duties and conforming to policies and procedures. 

Shift Requirements are three 12 hours per week with rotating weekends. 

Reporting Structure: Reports to Laboratory Manager, who holds the employee responsible for the achievement of desired goals and objectives. Receives daily direction from nursing staff regarding patient care needs.

Education Qualifications and Credentials:

High School Graduate or GED equivalent - must be able to produce copy of diploma or official transcript.

Current Healthcare Provider BLS certification or Heart saver CPR with AED within 90 days of employment; and one or more of the following:

Phlebotomy Certification

Certified as a Nursing Assistant by the Texas Department of Health; or

Nursing Student having completed fundamentals of nursing; or

Completion of Patient Care Technician program; or

Graduate of a foreign nursing program with nursing credentials/licensure in county of origin; or

Certified Medical Assistant; or

Certified Emergency Medical Technician; or

Licensed Paramedic; or

Completion of U.S. Military Hospital Corpsman Training

Experience working in an Emergency Department or acute care hospital preferred.

Healthcare education experience or desire to pursue healthcare education preferred.

Clerical Experience Preferred

Must fulfill requirement of annual laboratory proficiency testing.

Essential Job Functions:

The employee must be able to perform each essential function effectively to be successful in this position.

1.              Models professionalism and customer service to patients, family, community, staff and physicians consistent with the Mission and Values of CapRock Health System.

2.              Maintains awareness of and adheres to current policies and procedure set forth by CapRock as well as other regulatory guidelines dictated by entities including but not limited to the Texas Department of State Health Services, CLIA/COLA laboratory accreditation program and accrediting bodies.

3.              Adheres to established laboratory procedures and follows established safety guidelines for working in the laboratory. Processes specimens, reports results, and files paperwork according to written Laboratory procedures

a.     Uses blood samples collected by the clinical staff to perform laboratory point of care testing.

b.     Prepares send out labs as ordered by the on-duty physician.

c.     Monitors and manages the timeliness of the lab results and posts to medical record.

d.     Reports abnormal lab results and critical values to the nurse or physician immediately.

e.     Enters and/or verifies the accuracy of lab results in the Lab Information System (LIS).

f.      Performs and/or assists with daily and monthly Quality Control (QC) on analyzers to ensure accuracy of data and compliance with CLIA/COLA standards.

g.     Completes annual laboratory proficiency testing and trains/orients new employees as needed.

h.     Reports any event or occurrence that falls outside of standard lab operations to the Lab Manager and/or Director of Nursing Services in a timely manner. i.e., exposures, incidents, spills, injuries, etc.

4.              Ensures that all laboratory equipment is in proper working order and reports defects and/or deficiencies to their supervisor.  Troubleshoots errors and malfunctioning of equipment.  Effectively communicates with teammates and physicians to ensure timeliness of results reporting and any error readings, etc., to allow the physician to determine appropriate course of action as to not delay patient care.

5.              Provides basic patient care, within their scope of competency and training, such as;

a.     Obtains vital signs; reports abnormal vital signs to the health care provider(s) as soon as possible and without delay.

b.     Assists with monitoring patients change in condition, patient/family concerns or complaints and notifies the health care provider(s) as soon as possible and without delay.

c.     Assists and supports clinical staff as directed and within their scope of training and competency; prepares room and patient for procedures, locates needed supplies for procedures/exams, performs basic wound cleansing and dressing, and applies orthopedic devices as appropriate.

d.     Assists with rooming patients, transportation of patients w/ the facility, and assist with discharge.

e.     Assists in positioning, feeding, bathing and toileting of patients as needed.

6.              Promotes safety initiatives and follows safety requirements by adhering to safety policies, regulatory standards, infection control policies/guidelines, and environment of care policies.  Examples; fall prevention, proper us of equipment, utilization of two patient identifiers before any procedure, treatment, exam, or test. Labels all specimens in the patient room, verifying two patient identifiers. Complies with all aspects of the Infection Control and Prevention Plan and any applicable Center for Disease Control (CDC) requirements as they relate to the daily operations of the facility.  

7.              Works collaboratively with other disciplines to provide well-coordinated patient care. Promotes a positive attitude for good interpersonal, interdepartmental, and inter-facility relationships.

8.              Assists with the cleaning of the facility to ensure a safe and sanitary work environment. Assists in ensuring the ready-room status of ER beds and inpatient rooms by personally cleaning or contacting vendor responsible for terminal cleaning.

9.              Assists with front office registration duties, as needed, to include; general filing, data entry, entering patient demographic data, HIPAA documentation, verification of insurance eligibility.

10.           Maintains confidentiality of patient and company related issues.  Ensures compliance with HIPAA rule and standards as applicable to patient medical records, patient care, and diagnostic testing to include but not limited to patient medical records, lab and other diagnostic results and other protected health information (PHI).

11.           Attends 80% of unit meetings remaining abreast of current departmental, facility, and organizational goals. Assists in dissemination of information as needed to other team members.

12.           Cultivates team members by assisting with competency and training as well as promoting ongoing staff education.

13.           Participates in the supply chain by assisting with inventorying, receiving, and stocking of supplies. Tracks and maintains par levels on linen and supplies.  Records supply needs on the request log, scans items for ordering, or reports to the department manager.

14.           Works in cooperation with other administrative and facility staff to ensure overall departmental compliance both directly and indirectly related to quality assurance; risk management and life safety are applied to patient care and employee safety. Assists in recording of data for departmental QAPI purposes.

15.           Diligently executes other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

·       Possess strong organizational and time management skills, ability to prioritize responsibilities based on critical thinking skills. Self-motivated and able to problem solve and follow through to achieve high quality outcomes.  

·       Communicate effectively, both orally and written, as well as respectfully communicate with patients from varying demographic backgrounds.

·       Work with high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.

·       Can adapt to changing environments, be innovative, and be dependable.

·       Must be able to work well with members of management, physicians, and support staff,

·       Must have a reliable means of transportation and may be asked to drive their personal vehicle to deliver specimens to the reference lab, pick up patient meals, or run additional errands as needed.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands below are typical of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be available for individuals with disabilities.

•       Employee is regularly required to hear and speak; is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, use hands to finger, reach with hands and arms, lift and move more than 10 lbs.;

•       Employee is occasionally required to lift and move objects up to 25 lbs., climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. 

•       Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Required to constantly make decisions and concentrate.

•       Regularly required to stand and walk for periods ranging from 6 to 12 hours at a time.

•       Ability to work with and around potentially hazardous materials and disease.