Nurse Assistant at Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI)

Location: Maiduguri, Borno State
Starting Date - 17th of January 2019
Contract duration - 2 months ½ (with possibility of extension)

General Objective

• Under the direct supervision of the Nurse, the Nurse assistant provides patients’ health care in collaboration other health team members in the facility.
• S/he assists the nurse and the rest of the medical team on duty with general nursing activities and over-all patient care according to international/national protocol and the given instructions under strict supervision/monitoring of a nurse, a supervisor or team leader.
• S/he follows PUI protocols and standards to ensure quality and continuity of care, promotion and restoration of health of the patients and population.

Responsibilities and Tasks
Support in the medical consultation:

• Welcome patients to the facility.
• Establish personal rapport with potential and actual patients and their relatives.
• Ensure proper triage (make sure urgent cases are seen first) at the entrance of the facility
• Attends to patients according to their medical needs based on the severity of their illness
• Ensure anthropometric measurements (MUAC, weight, height) are done properly and recorded accurately as required (aside from the common vital signs)
• Assist in the admission and discharge of the patients
• Give first aid care when needed. Assist in resuscitation of the patient
• Assess and identify patients health needs
• Provide health education to patient and caretakers, hygiene, nutrition, warning signs, immunization
• Provide essential preventative assistance services and follow up on identified beneficiaries with Non Communicable Diseases and other diseases/morbidities of Public Health relevance.
• Support nursing staff in patient management
• Perform any clinical tasks, as required, within the scope of training, supervised by the duty nurse
• Assist with setting up of equipment and materials as required
• Perform and record initial observations, vital signs, weight and height
• Inform nurse in-charge of any incident or concerns regarding patient status
• Ensure proper assistance of patients with personal hygiene, feeding
• Assist in the preparations and administration of medications (oral, injections (IV, SC, IM)
• Assist in the measurement of fluid intake (IV and oral) and output, record and report to nurse/supervisor)

Infection Prevention Control:

• Follow waste management procedures by correctly separating waste in accordance with protocols
• Follow standard precautions and maintain general hygiene at all times
• Ensure that all sterile techniques are respected
• Ensure the department is always clean and tidy, water and soap are always available at washing points that the medication preparation areas are cleaned with appropriate solution at the beginning of each day and that hand towels are changed daily
• Maintain the working environment in a clean and presentable state
• Adhere to infection-control policies and protocols, medication administration and storage procedures, and controlled substance regulations

Specific Code of Conduct:

• Ensure no action or omission that places the patient at risk, including referring to others when she has reached the limit of her/his experience
• Does not accept gift or money from her/his patients or their family for care provided
• Upholds good medical practice, updates her/his knowledge regularly by reading and training
• Maintain patient confidentiality at all time and respect patients
• Helps promote the policies and protocols
• Should not prescribe/advice medications for the patients/ attendants
• Respect the rights of the patients and caretakers/attendants under his/her care
• Inform the patients and caretakers/attendants BEFORE any procedure or medication is done/given
• Respect the patient right to decline care or treatment
• Respect the patient right to have a family member for support
• Maintains and promotes a good attitude and proper manner towards patients, their attendants and the medical staff
• Upholds universal precautions at all times during their practice in the PHCC facility

Administration, Reporting and Data Collection:

• Assist the nurse in the reporting of data
• Assist in the preparations of oral meds, counting the correct numbers of tablets , the correct name of the patient to ensure proper dose and dosage as prescribed by the clinician
• Assist the nurse in ensuring the correct patient information documentation.
• Ensure daily, weekly and monthly data collection
• Directly report any difficulties or delays in the implementation of activities

Team Work:

• In case of absence of another team member, the nurse assistant will replace in the appropriate sector (roster flexibility required).
• Participate in ward dispensary inventory and order
• Attend to trainings and meetings when required
• Perform duty of referral nurse focal point if it is needed

Qualifications/Mandatory Requirements

• Language skills: Good command in English (speaking, reading & writing) and fluent in local languages (Hausa and Kanuri)
• Education degree: Nigerian health care qualification or Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) qualified under the Nigerian health care legislation
• Work experience: Minimum of 1 years of experience as nursing assistant/ nursing aid or similar. Work experience with other NGO’s would be an asset.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Good knowledge of Public Health
• Good ability for team work
• Ability to manage a fair workload including emergencies.
• Interests: Working in humanitarian relief, interest for social issues
• Transversals Skills:
  • Strong motivation to help people in need
  • Conflict resolution and diplomacy experience
  • Ability to adapt or change priorities according to the changing situation within a mission or the organization itself
  • Understanding of the political situation in the area
  • Ability to analyze and suggest improvements of the activities
  • Well organized and hard worker
  • Able to manage stress and pressure
  • Understanding of the context of the area
  • Reliability
  • Neutrality
  • Able to check validity of information, logical thinking.