Community HTS Assistant at AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Reports To:                Prevention Coordinator
Job Summary:

• To render quality counseling and psychosocial support to clients. Refer clients for appropriate additional psychosocial and clinical support.
• Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned by the supervisor.

VCT Duties

• Provides pre and post – voluntary HIV confidential counseling and testing, to all patients willing to have the HIV test done. KPA:  Must test an average of 120 patients per week, but may see more if patients are still available.
• Performs the rapid HIV testing on all clients that have consented to testing. KPA: ensures that each and every test done, has consent signed by the patient or a legally authorized person.
• Encourages and support patients that test positive; helping them to cope with the new diagnosis. KPA: Try to make sure that the patient accepts and can deal with the new diagnosis.
• Participates in Mass HIV testing initiatives and campaigns. KPA: Take part in mass HIV testing activities according to mass testing projects program.
• Acts as (by facilitating) a linkage between HIV diagnosis, care, support and treatment. KPA: Ensures that an HIV positive patient is referred to the next appropriate level of care.

Adherence counseling duties:

• Collaborate with other health care professionals (doctor, nurse, social worker, community health care worker, home-based caregiver, psychologist.) in maintaining treatment protocol. KPA: Assist other professionals by seeing at least 10 patients per day or entering them to HIV care program.
• Provide direct and comprehensive primary, preventive and Psychosocial care to patients. KPA : refers to support groups and these are recorded in support group register. Also encourages patients to have a supporter on treatment initiation.
• Teach and counsel patients & family on disease prevention and staying healthy. KPA : Run literacy classes; educating patients on ARVs and staying healthy.
•  Assist patients with adherence counseling and document the session in counseling form. KPA at least see 5 or more defaulting patients per day.
• Provide ongoing psychosocial counseling to clients attending the clinic. KPA : Must have a minimum of 65 clients  seen and counseled per month.
• Assist with the reading and interpretation of the CD4 count results to clients. KPA:
• Brings questions and concerns to the physician as necessary.
• Maintain filing system for all client records including psychosocial forms, laboratory results and medical records. KPA : Client confidentiality to be maintained at all times. 

Treatment literacy duties. 

• Provide training to patients ready for ARV treatment and provide them with the clinical and laboratory goals of ARV’s. KPA : must keep a schedule for this and a register of attendance for patients attending literacy training sessions.
• Identify clients who are defaulting and furnish team with relevant information for intervention. KPA : Suggest solutions to deal with adherence as per each clients need.        
• Preparation for weekly sessions with supervisor by noting challenges encountered and planning for the next weeks activities. KPA : Keeps agenda for meeting supervisors and becomes punctual.  

General duties.

• Prepare monthly report on services rendered for submission to supervisor. KPA: monthly statistical reports submitted on time.
• Participate in team de-briefing sessions. KPA : keep record of debriefing sessions held.
• Enter client visit details into the psychosocial relevant register. KPA: Provide weekly psychosocial relevant statistical report to the data capturer.

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. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience                                                        

• Diploma in Psychology, Sociology and other related discipline
• Certificate for AIDS Treatment Training
• Certificate for Counseling Skills Training
• Degree or diploma in child and youth development would be an advantage
• Must be proficient in MS Office