Medication Tech

Summary 

Assists residents with medications as prescribed by resident physicians.   

Essential Duties and Responsibilities  

• Passes medications/treatments or assists residents with their medications/treatments according to physician orders, company policy, and regulation. 

• Documents the administration, effectiveness and any noted adverse actions or side effects of medication in accordance with established policies and procedures, standards of practice, and applicable regulation. 

• Observes, records, and reports symptoms and conditions of residents that could be related to medication interactions, adverse drug reactions, and medication side effects. 

• Promotes and adheres to resident rights during administration of medication. 

• Responsible for proper storage and security of medications, including narcotics, in accordance with established policies, procedures and state/federal guidelines. 

• Responsible for maintaining a clean and organized medication cart/supply area. 

• Assists the Director of Wellness with Quality Improvement activities as assigned.  

• Obtains and reports vital signs as indicated and documents resident issues and conditions in the medical record. 

• Demonstrates awareness of proper infection control practices. 

• Notifies supervisor of changes in resident status or condition. 

• Assist the team with provision of resident care as needed. 

• May be responsible for the following in absence or by direction of Wellness Nurse or Director of Wellness: 

• Order all new and renewal medications, including those needed for treatments, and special formulas used in supplemental nourishments. 

• Responsible for proper counting, storage and security of medications, including narcotics, in accordance with established policies, procedures and state/federal guidelines. 

• Upon discharge or expiration of resident, ensures all scheduled and controlled substances, open liquids and injectables are collected and disposed of as prescribed by law. 

• Defrost medication and food refrigerators and maintain temperature as required. 

• Maintain general cleanliness of medication room. 

• Attend mandatory meetings as scheduled by Executive Director. 

• Maintain confidentiality of resident, community, employee, and company information. 

• Maintain working knowledge of fire and disaster plans and responsibilities under emergency conditions. 

• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Supervisory Responsibilities 

This position does not have direct supervisory responsibility, but may provide shift supervision of Resident Caregivers. 

Qualifications 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. 

Must satisfy all state health, licensure/certification, and background requirements. 

Education/Experience: Must have a high school diploma or equivalent plus completion of any additional education required by the state of practice (such as Medical Assistant or Certified Nursing Assistant).  Requires knowledge of safe medication practices, with a medication error rate of 2% or below.  Must recognize complications, adverse reactions or side effects of medications and obtain input from the nurse as needed to ensure optimum health and safety of the resident. 

Certificates and Licenses: Must complete CPR and First Aid certifications if not current, plus any additional licensing requirements in state(s) of practice. 

Communication Skills: Receive and carry out verbal or written instruction.  Communicate effectively in person, over the phone, or via email with customers and co-workers.  Write and proofread routine correspondence and reports with appropriate grammar and spelling. 

Organization/Self-Management Skills: Perform a variety of duties, moving between tasks of differing nature, with occasional distractions and interruptions.  Prioritize competing requirements to complete work in a timely manner when there are changes to workload and assignments.  Work independently and follow through on assignments with minimal direction. 

Computer Skills: May require proficiency with computers to participate in training and/or other assigned tasks. 

Physical Demands and Work Environment 

The Physical Demands and Work Environment described below represent the activities and surroundings of the position.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Physical Demands 

Constantly stands and walks around the community, interacting with residents, coworkers, and others.  Uses hands and fingers to feel, handle, and operate supplies, controls, tools, and objects, and hands and arms to reach.  Frequently communicates with others to exchange information in person, and over the phone, and must be capable of effective communication in these situations.  Occasionally moves items weighing up to 25 pounds and may assist in transferring residents weighing more than 100 pounds.  Frequently required to bend, twist, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.   

Work Environment 

This position is most frequently situated inside of a climate-controlled assisted living community, with a low to moderate noise level.  In certain circumstances, a staff member may be exposed to communicable diseases and infections, other biological hazards, and various drugs and chemicals.? Due to these potential hazardous exposures, you may be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in addition to universal precautions. PPE could include, but is not limited to, gloves, gowns, masks, respirators, and goggles. 

Travel 

This position does not typically require travel.