Anesthesia Technician

Why work for Nebraska Methodist Health System?
At Nebraska Methodist Health System, we focus on providing exceptional care to the communities we serve and people we employ. We call it The Meaning of Care – a culture that has and will continue to set us apart. It’s helping families grow by making each delivery special, conveying a difficult diagnosis with a compassionate touch, going above and beyond for a patient’s needs, or giving a high five when a patient beats a disease or conquers a personal health challenge. We offer competitive pay, excellent benefits and a great work environment where all employees are valued! Most importantly, our employees are part of a team that makes a real difference in the communities we live and work in.

Job Summary:

Assist anesthesia practitioners and operating room personnel to ensure that operative/anesthesia care needs are met. Performs a variety of technical and supportive patient care tasks including stocking anesthesia/other supplies, maintaining supply inventories, cleaning and/or sterilizing equipment after use according to infection control policies, providing assistance to anesthesia practitioners, keeping the department clean, and other duties as assigned.

Responsibilities:

Essential Job Functions

Maintenance of Anesthesia Machines

• Placing clean circuits on machines at the beginning of each day and after a case is completed.
• Ensure anesthetic agents are available for the days' cases and check expiration dates.
• Maintain sodasorb to ensure proper filtering of anesthesia machines. (Change when color indicates)
• Terminally clean anesthesia machines daily to ensure a clean environment.
• Ensure reusable equipment is clean. (e.g., blood pressure cuffs).
• Place clean back circuits on appropriate machines weekly.
• Knowledgeable in the location and ability to change O2 tanks when empty.
• Ensure all cables, cuffs and lines attached to the anesthesia machine are available.
• Ensure suction apparatus and supplies are available.

Maintenance of Anesthesia Monitors

• Demonstrates ability to troubleshoot problems with monitoring equipment.
• Check all cables and lines attached to the anesthesia monitoring equipment.

Maintenance of Anesthesia Carts/Omnicell

• Clean Medication Carts daily to ensure a clean environment.
• Ensure sharps containers are changed when appropriate fill levels are met.
• Restock medication carts with supplies as designated on the inventory list.
• Ensure supplies fit in drawers in a neat and orderly fashion.
• Check all supplies monthly for outdates.
• Ensure top of cart is free of debris.
• Dispose of contaminated materials in accordance with infection control policy.

Maintenance of Difficult Airway Cart

• Ensure Cart is stocked with necessary airway supplies.
• Identify all components of intubating scopes to recognize when pieces missing.
• Place intubating scope in appropriate container prior to sending to Sterile Processing.
• Demonstrates procedure to troubleshoot any malfunction of scope, i.e., broken fibers.

Maintenance of Malignant Hyperthermia Tote

• Ensure tote is stocked with appropriate supplies.
• Ensure tote checked for outdates.
• Return outdated medication to pharmacy when applicable.
• Know location of tote and ensure it is available when needed.

Maintenance and cleaning of Reusable Equipment (Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA's), Glidescope, Laryngoscope Blades, etc.)

• Differentiate between techniques of cleaning, high level disinfecting and sterilizing.
• Follows infection control policy/procedure for cleaning of re-usable equipment (enzymatic cleaning, storage, etc).
• Inspect for rubber break down on LMA's and Fastrach.
• Cleans the exterior casing of Bard InfusOR, Computer Assisted Drug Design (CADD) Prizm Pumps.
• Cleans Blood Pressure Cuffs.
• Able to locate and retrieve anesthesia equipment from sterile processing.

Maintenance of inventories ensuring all areas clean and neat.

• Demonstrates ability to identify supplies by name to ensure accuracy in stocking of supplies.
• Maintain appropriate levels of inventory.
• Understands the importance of monitoring expiration dating by rotating stock.
• Maintain appropriate levels of supplies and medications on cart used for stocking surgical suites.
• Ensure that surgical suites are stocked and prepared for all cases.
• Demonstrates ability to identify when supplies need to be ordered and notify appropriate personnel.
• Demonstrates understanding of special order items and time constraints on delivery.
• Check in supplies ordered and place in appropriate location for storage.

Maintenance of the Anesthesia supply room.

• Performing minor housekeeping duties as required, e.g., fold towels.
• Maintenance of batteries in anesthesia equipment, e.g., Bard Infusion Pumps.
• Maintain a clean, uncluttered environment to allow a safe environment.
• Restock inventory that is stored in the anesthesia supply room.
• Check medications for outdates and return to pharmacy.
• Knowledgeable in the set up of O2 transport.

Provides appropriate care specific to the age of the customer, to ensure understanding and comfort level of treatment, as outlined in the Age Specific Criteria.

• Communicates to adolescent, young adult, middle adult, and geriatric customer.
• Communicates health issues to adolescent, young adult, middle adult, and geriatric customer.
• Communicates safety issues to adolescent, young adult, middle adult, and geriatric customer.

Responds to needs of physicians and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA's) throughout the day.

• Available to respond to requests during cases; answers pages in a timely manner.
• Available to clean rooms to ensure a timely turnover between cases.
• Available to assist with patients while physician administers an epidural.
• Provide assistance while recognizing practice limitations.

Schedule:

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 0500-1530, 0400-1430

Job Description:

Job Requirements

Education

• High School diploma or General Educational Development (G.E.D.) required.
• Satisfactory completion of annual mandatory education requirements.

Experience

• Operating room and/or hospital experience preferred. 

License/Certifications

• Current American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification preferred.

Skills/Knowledge/Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal skills necessary to communicate effectively with hospital personnel, patients, and the public. 
• Requires knowledge of Microsoft Outlook and Word, (equivalent to Level I experience for all programs); ability to learn materials management inventory system. 
• Ability to analyze product/supply literature, manage inventory needs. 
• Ability to prioritize time and tasks according to the needs of patients and the Department of Anesthesia without prompting. 

Physical Requirements

Weight Demands

• Medium Work - exerting up to 50 pounds of force for one person, or up to 100 pounds of force with assistance from a second person with the ability to meet Medium Work Weight Demands. A cabinet with a height of greater than 60” requires two individuals to move.

Physical Activity

• Occasionally Performed (1%-33%):
  • Climbing
  • Crawling
  • Kneeling
  • Sitting
• Frequently Performed (34%-66%):
  • Balancing
  • Carrying
  • Crouching
  • Distinguish colors
  • Keyboarding/typing
  • Lifting
  • Pulling/Pushing
  • Repetitive Motions
  • Standing
  • Stooping/bending
  • Twisting
  • Walking
• Constantly Performed (67%-100%):
  • Fingering/Touching
  • Grasping
  • Hearing
  • Reaching
  • Seeing/Visual
  • Speaking/talking

Job Hazards

• Not Related:
  • Explosives (pressurized gas)
  • Electrical Shock/Static
  • Radiation Alpha, Beta and Gamma (particles such as X-ray, Cat Scan, Gamma Knife, etc)
  • Radiation Non-Ionizing (Ultraviolet, visible light, infrared and microwaves that causes injuries to tissue or thermal or photochemical means)
• Rare (1-33%):
  • Chemical agents (Toxic, Corrosive, Flammable, Latex)
  • Mechanical moving parts/vibrations
• Occasionally (34%-66%):
  • Biological agents (primary air born and blood born viruses) (Jobs with Patient contact) Blood or Body Fluid (BBF)
  • Physical hazards (noise, temperature, lighting, wet floors, outdoors, sharps) (more than ordinary office environment)
  • Equipment/Machinery/Tools

About Methodist:

Nebraska Methodist Health System is made up of four hospitals in Nebraska and southwest Iowa, more than 30 clinic locations, a nursing and allied health college, and a medical supply distributorship and central laundry facility. From the day Methodist Hospital was chartered in 1891, service to our communities has been a top priority. Financial assistance, health education, outreach to our diverse communities and populations, and other community benefit activities have always been central to our mission.

Nebraska Methodist Health System is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other classification protected by Federal, state or local law.