Endoscopy Tech-Procedure Room

Job Requirements

Position Summary

The Endoscopy Technicians are an integral part of the Endoscopy Department healthcare team who assist the Physician in the planning and implementation of the endoscopic procedure when using endoscopes and equipment to diagnose or treat patients with gastrointestinal or pulmonary problems using specialized skills gained in training. Endoscopy Technicians prepare the endoscopy room and the equipment; provide support to physicians and nurses while the procedure is underway; and handle specimens collected using specific instruments. The Endoscopy Technicians work under the supervision and delegatory authority of a RN Endoscopy Manager, Charge Nurse or designee, to facilitate high standards of decontamination, assembly, inspecting, decontamination and high-level disinfecting of endoscopes for the Endoscopy suite. The Endoscopy Technician maintains consistency and continuous workflow while practicing above average customer service. Endoscopy Technicians collaborate with leadership in developing and implementing the Spartanburg Medical Center culture, vision mission and goals.

Minimum Requirements

Education

• High School Graduate/GED
  
  

Experience

• 6 months experience as an endoscopy technician
• Proficient in:
• Assisting the physician as needed with the endoscopy procedure
• Endoscopy scopes, equipment and instruments for procedure
• Room setup, cleaning and readiness to advance to more complicated cases
• Cleaning, decontamination/High Level Disinfection of endoscopic scopes and instruments properly
  
  

License/Registration/Certifications

• BLS
  
  

Preferred Requirements

Preferred Education

• Graduate of an accredited CST Program
  
  

Preferred Experience

• N/A
  
  

Preferred

Preferred License/Registration/Certifications

• CNA Certification
  
  

Core Job Responsibilities

• Successfully completes hospital and unit-based orientation programs
• Successfully completes annual hospital and unit-based required competencies and education
• Functions as member of the endoscopy team in the role of an endoscopy technician
• Plans for each case according to physician’s preference and basic routine for specific surgical procedures.
• Coordinates the use of supplies and equipment care in a timely, organized and cost-effective manner.
• Demonstrates knowledge of the procedure being performed and anticipates the needs of the Endoscopy team
• Able to establish priorities and prepare for emergency situations.
• Changes in physician’s preferences are communicated to appropriate team members verbally
• The procedure room is maintained in an organized manner.
• Assist the physician as needed with the endoscopy procedure.
• Knowledge of endoscopy procedures and readiness to advance to more complicated cases are demonstrated.
• Assures that procedure room is cleaned between procedures and set up for the next procedure in a timely manner.
• Provides appropriate measures for positioning patients according to endoscopy procedure.
• Takes correct measures to prevent patient injury from chemical agents.
• Takes correct measures to prevent patient injury from falls, i.e. assist patient to bathroom/dressing room, maintain siderails are up, stretcher position is low, and brake locked at all times.
• Is competent of placing bovie pad on appropriate site for appropriate case when helping circulate.
• Reports any damaged equipment to Nurse Manager or BioMed and tags all damaged instruments.
• Provides a safe environment by maintaining own physical health and mental alertness.
• Observes and monitors the use of universal precautions in all areas.
• Always follows and recognizes the importance of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Precautions during procedures, scope decontamination and reprocessing and appropriately dons and doffs PPE.
• Recognizes the importance of hand hygiene and performs appropriate hand hygiene techniques
• Demonstrates knowledge of standard and transmission-based precautions to reduce the risk of cross-contamination by using appropriate disinfectant according to pathogen present in the environment.
• Ensures that all endoscopy equipment is properly arranged and organized
• Handles and prepares endoscopy equipment and supplies necessary during the endoscopy procedure
• Inspects, assembles, packages and high-level disinfects endoscopy devices following manufacturer’s recommendations and established procedure.
• Operates cleaning and sterilization equipment in the department according to manufacturer’s recommendations and established procedure.
• Performs patient care; decontamination and high-level disinfection of endoscopy equipment according to guidelines provided thru the Society of Gastrointestinal Nurses Associate (SGNA); Association of peri-Operative Nurses (AORN); Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC); Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV)
• Cleans and decontaminates all endoscopic scopes and instruments properly.
• Is very knowledgeable about all levels of disinfection.
• Is knowledgeable in the use of the Olympus OER Scope Processor
• Cleans stretchers and all equipment with germicidal solution after each patient use
• Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability by performing other duties as necessary due to extenuating circumstances.
• Functions as a role model for other technologists, students, and visitors.
• Acquires and maintains current knowledge in practice by meeting regulatory standards.
• Responsible and accountable for own professional growth and development through local and national SGNA involvement.
• Provides a positive and conducive learning environment for novice practitioners.
• Accepts constructive feedback to improve job performance and collaborates with Director/Endoscopy Unit Manager and Charge nurse to make necessary adjustments.
• Assist the Pre-Op and Post-Op areas as assigned and needed
• Responsible for attending staff meetings and/or reads staff meeting notes to remain knowledgeable in department updates and new processes.
• Participates in the orientation of new endoscopy technicians
• Serves on unit-based committees
• Responsible for demonstrating competency for all new equipment and processes
• Other duties may be assigned as necessary to facilitate the functions of the department and hospital.
• Participates in continuing education and achieving/maintaining certification
• Provides clinical guidance to technology students and ancillary staff
• Provides a positive and conducive learning environment for novice practitioners
• Responsible and accountable for own professional growth and development
• Preprocedural duties include as follows: appropriately dons Endo attire and personal protective equipment (PPE).; Gathers, checks and opens supplies and equipment needed for the surgical procedure; Performs the hand hygiene; Sets up the endoscopy machine, endoscopes, suction, supplies, equipment, and medications/solutions needed for the procedure; Assists the team members with PPE; Participates in the procedure and patient verification during the time out process; Secures tubing, cords and other accessories as needed for the procedure (s)
• Intraprocedural duties include as follows: Prepares and anticipates additional equipment and supplies for usage during the procedure; Anticipates the needs of the physician by passing instruments and supplies to the physician during procedure; Holds and drives endoscopes or instruments as directed by the physician during the procedure; Maintains highest standard of aseptic technique during the procedure; Verifies specimen with physician and endo nurse prior to preparing and passes off specimen(s) to the lab.
• Post Procedural duties include: Assisting other members of the team with in between procedure cleaning of room.; Assists in prepping the endo suite for the next patient; Participates in debriefing and quality improvement practices to ensure quality patient care; Assists the Endoscopy recovery room RN with transport discharged patient to vehicle.
• Decontamination/High Level Disinfection duties include: Performs bedside initial cleaning of endoscopes and prepares used instruments for high-level disinfection by flushing lumens with enzymatic product at of procedure. Properly transports used endoscopy equipment according to hospital policy to the decontam endoscopy area. Dons appropriate PPE to prior to endoscopy equipment decontamination. Decontaminates and high-level disinfects endoscopy equipment according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Maintain Endoscopy cleaning records according to departmental polices, SGNA and Manufacturer’s guideline instructions.
• Stores high-level disinfection endoscopy equipment in a well vented storage cabinet and prevents cross contamination of clean endoscopy equipment. Operates the Olympus Reprocessing unit according to manufactures’ instructions for use; Reports damaged equipment to management to initiate repair process; Reports equipment malfunction to Biomed as needed.
• Demonstrates flexibility and adaptability by performing other duties as necessary such as: Assists with transferring patient to the Endoscopy suite; Assists with positioning the patient, using appropriate equipment and anatomical principles to avoid patient injury; Applies the electrosurgical grounding pad; Assists with applying monitors before the procedure begins; Anticipates additional supplies needed during the procedure; Properly assist with specimen collections.