Overview

Hours: Varied 24 and 32 Hour, All Shifts, Varied weekends, Every other holiday

Job Summary

Under the supervision of the Nurse Manager or designee, the Nursing Assistant performs various functions in accordance with established standards of care, standards of practice and policies and procedures for nursing service.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

• Provides patient care based on standards of care, standards of practice, protocols, and established policies and procedures under direction of a licensed nurse.
• Collects basic health data as directed by a licensed nurse (i.e. I&O, meals, VS, Weights, etc.)
• Assists patients with activities of daily care (e.g. personal hygiene, toileting, nutrition, ambulation, etc).
• Appropriately prioritizes patient care (e.g. seeks assistance as needed from appropriate resources, recognizes need for emergency intervention, etc.)
• Respects each patient as an individual; provides care that fosters the patient’s sense of dignity and positive self-regard.
• Provides thorough, timely, and accurate documentation of all pertinent patient information according to established standards.
• Maintains clean and safe work environment (identifies and/or removes safety hazards).
• Provides timely and thorough information on assigned patients to supervising licensed nurse and other health care team members.
• Participates in learning for colleagues and self (attends educational programs, in-services, assist with orientation of new staff).
• Proactively identifies risk to patient safety and identifies opportunities to reduce medical/health care errors (i.e. appropriate reporting of errors/incidents). 
• Ensures that MHU patients are appropriately dressed in street clothes and are well groomed.
• Transports patients to and from other departments as needed.
• Assists patient with laundering of clothing and keeps laundry room in good condition for patient use.
• Performs patient safety and contraband checks on the unit
• Participates in the redirection and/or de-escalation of the disruptive or potentially violent patient.
• Performs close supervision (1:1) of patients as assigned and monitors patients’ needs during this time.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the needs of the adult patients with psychiatric illness.
• Monitors unit for overall safety including monitoring for ‘contraband’ and use of personal items on the MHU.
• Participates in scheduled patient groups and activities as assigned and assists with getting patients to groups.
• Assists patients with obtaining secured personal items as needed.
• Assists patients with bed linen changes as needed and when patients are discharged.
• Completes Admission belongings list initiates MHU search process and assists patient upon discharge with packing belongings
• Cleans unit and stocks supplies as needed (i.e. copy forms, clean activity room, sensory room, patient areas, staff areas, etc.).
• Transport specimens as needed.
• Answer phones as needed.

Statement of Other Duties

This document describes the major duties and responsibilities for this job, and is not intended to be a complete list of all tasks and functions. It should be understood, therefore, that employees may be asked to perform job-related duties beyond those explicitly described.

Functional Demands

Physical Requirements:

Exerts 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Frequently kneels (bending the legs at knee to come to rest on knee or knees), reaches (extending hands and arms in any direction), and feels (perceiving attributes of items as size, shape, temperature, or texture by means of fingertips). Occasionally crouches (bending body downward and forward by bending legs and spine), and stoops (bending the body downward and forward by bending the spine at the waist).

Organizational Expectations

Behavioral Attributes:

The following behavioral attributes are required: achievement motivation, concern for order, flexibility, initiative, self-confidence, customer service oriented, interpersonal effectiveness, teamwork, analytical thinking and information seeking.

Qualifications

Job Requirements

Minimum Education

• High School Diploma preferred
• AHA CPR certification obtained within 60-days of hire

Minimum Work Experience

• Minimum 1 year experience
• Experience handling crisis and emergency situations

Required Licenses

• Current Certified Nursing Assistant certification required -OR-
• A minimum of 75 hours in an accredited nursing program to include completion of first rotation -OR-
• Active EMT or Paramedic Certification - OR-
• Active Patient Care Technician/Assistant Certification -OR-
• Active Home Health Aide Certification
• Successful completion of a Nurse Aide program
• OR previous Massachusetts CNA licensure for Nurse Aide