SHARE members on the nursing floors have begun to implement the newly-negotiated Patient Care Associate (PCA) Guidelines. This exciting new wave of improvements will help PCA’s better care for patients, and allow them to focus on the most meaningful aspects of their work.
The initial roll-out is being pioneered on the Memorial Campus on West 3, and on the University Campus on 6 East.
UMMC Associate Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Gillum and SHARE Co-President Bobbi-Jo Lewis will host the first of many informational discussions about the new guidelines. All staff on the Inpatient Floors are invited.
Acute Care Inpatient PCA Staffing
Informational Discussions
Friday April 21st
West 3 Breakroom
6:30a-7:30a & 2:30p-3:30p
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Acute Care Inpatient PCA Staffing
FAQ
1. What does this new language mean in our contract?
To work collaboratively with the RN and the unit team which will improve communication and provide quality patient care
2. Who chooses how we do our assignments?
The PCA model at Memorial Campus is decided shift to shift based patient needs and available staffing resources. The model will be reviewed at the start of the shift with the Unit Staff on the unit.
The University Campus will be decided by the Unit Staff that best meets the patient needs. It will either be an assignment or geographical locations and/or tasks
Concerns about your assignment should be discussed with the Resource Nurse, Nurse Manager, Clinical Coordinator and/or Nursing Supervisor
3. When is it going to start?
The first step is obtaining information of the assignments and tasking responsibilities on the PCAs on the unit.
The next step will be deciding the model for the unit by the unit team. Implementation should be completed by Mid-Summer (July 2017).
4. Does this affect all PCA’s work?
The new language is currently for PCA’s on the acute care inpatient floors.
5. Who is on this team that is making decisions about my work?
Since each inpatient floor has unique patients with special needs, the decisions should be decided through a joint effort between the Unit Staff, Nurse Manager, Clinical Coordinators.
The PCA’s and volunteer RN’s who will work together to roll-out the process, help problem solve and listen to concerns when a problem arises.
6. I want to be able to give good quality care. What if my assignment is still too much? And the patients aren’t getting the attention that they need from me?
Everyone’s goal is to provide quality care to our patients. If your assignment is too heavy and demanding then you should speak to the Resource Nurse and/or Nurse Manager to facilitate a discussion about the issues with the assignment.
You can also reach out to your SHARE organizer and ask that the situation be followed up by the committee listed in question 5. This committee’s goals is to make sure that things are going smoothly and thoughtfully.
7. Some will think that I can still do it all. What should I say?
You should say that "I want to give our patients the best care and I don’t feel that I am able to complete the delegated assignment/tasks. Is there another way that the work can be distributed?”
