Surgical Patient Services Assistant PRN Job Listing at UChicago Medicine in Chicago, IL (Job ID 2024-68859)

Description

Join one of the nation's most comprehensive academic medical centers, UChicago Medicine, as a Surgical Patient Service Assistant PRN at our Hyde Park medical campus. This position is a 100% onsite opportunity. You will need to be based in the greater Chicagoland area. 

Under the direction of the SPSA Manager or his/her designee, the Surgical Patient Service Assistant PRN provides fundamental services to support the patient/family and the Peri-Operative Care Team to render quality care to all surgical patients. 

Essential Job Functions:  

• Environment/Facilities/Supplies: 

• Completes cleaning of all areas under the jurisdiction of the GOR/DCAM Care Center according to the standards set by the Care Center Leadership or designee and Environmental Liaison. 
• Provides a safe environment for patients and health care team members. 
• Coordinates cleaning in an efficient manner to meet the needs of patient care and keeps charge nurse apprised of clean/dirty status of OR rooms.  Assists in meeting room turn-over expectations. 
• Inventories and maintains stock and equipment throughout the perioperative areas, including OR sub sterile areas, pre-op and recovery rooms. 
• Transportation of equipment, specimens, and supplies as required. 

• Assists in maintaining a sterile field during the preparation of the OR for a surgical procedure and the duration of the procedure. 
• Change medical gas tanks at the direction of the charge nurse. 
• Complete steam sterilizer drain cleaning. 

• Patient Care/ Patient Safety: 

• Performs duties involving direct patient care in the changing, pre-op holding and recovery areas as assigned by the Registered Nurse within the guidelines provided by the Illinois Nurse Practice Act and UCH policies and procedures. 

• This includes but is not limited to: 
• Stocking blanket warmer and bedside items as needed 
• Assisting patients in changing clothes, to and from home, as required 
• Transporting patients (via cart/wheelchair) within the OR areas and other departments, as requested 
• Assisting in the assembly of chart sheets according to posted guidelines 

• Assisting in positioning patients on the OR table and transferring patients between operating room table and cart. 
• Assisting in post-mortem care 
• Under the direction of the Registered Nurse or OR Technician, acts to expedite delivery of supplies and equipment needed for patient care. 
• Provides and promotes patient safety. 
• Promotes, has knowledge of and utilizes appropriate patient care protocol relating to the physical, psychosocial and developmental needs of neonatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult and geriatric patients. 

• Intraoperative Care: 

• Assists the Intraoperative Care Team while adhering to principles of sterile technique. This includes but is not limited to: 
• Setting up and changing suction canisters. 
• Verifying all equipment is present where needed and ready for use, including sterile supplies. 
• As requested, delivers additional supplies and equipment to the OR during the operative procedure. 

• Practices within Infection Control policies and procedures. 
• Properly and safely handles contaminated instruments in regards to storage and transferring to designated areas. 
• Transportation of red and yellow containers to a central location on the floor.   
• May be asked to move these longer distances in emergency situations. 
• Properly transports blood products within the GOR/DCAM Care Centers. 

• Properly transports patient specimens with the GOR/DCAM Care Centers. 

• Education/EQI: 

• Assists with orientation of new employees, agency personnel and employees reassigned to the area. 
• Participates in Continuous Quality Improvement projects as directed by the Specialty Manager. 

• Performs other duties as requested by senior management 

Required Qualifications: 

• High School Diploma or the equivalent is required. 
• Surgical operating room experience preferred. 

• Previous work that required organizational skills and ability to work in stressful environment. 
• Reading comprehension and math ability at 6th grade level. 
• Ability to successfully complete departmental certification program including sterile technique, case supply selection according to pick sheet and use of Optime Operating Room data management software system.