Monitor Tech

The Monitor Technician at CHI Health St. Elizabeth is a critical member of our patient care team, responsible for continuous, centralized surveillance of patients' cardiac rhythms and vital signs. This role demands exceptional vigilance, analytical acuity, and the ability to quickly and accurately interpret complex data to identify significant changes. Beyond direct monitoring, the Monitor Technician provides essential clerical and administrative support, ensuring smooth unit operations and efficient communication within a fast-paced healthcare environment. This position requires a keen eye for detail, strong communication skills, and the ability to act promptly under the direction of nursing staff.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Central Monitoring and Cardiac Surveillance:

• Continuous Cardiac Monitoring: Vigilantly observes and interprets cardiac rhythms on the central monitoring station for assigned patients, identifying and reporting significant changes to the nursing staff immediately.
• Patient Management: Accurately admits and discharges patients from the central monitor system, ensuring correct patient identification and assigning arrhythmia monitoring protocols as directed.
• Alarm Management: Adjusts alarm limits precisely at the direction of the Registered Nurse (RN), validates critical alarms, accurately changes paced status, and manages alarm activation/deactivation as per policy.
• Documentation & Reporting: Prints high-quality rhythm strip recordings at prescribed intervals and upon alarm events. Ensures that any changes in conduction, rhythm, or rate requiring immediate attention are promptly reviewed and acknowledged by an RN.
• Chart Maintenance: Posts reviewed strip sheets to the appropriate patient chart (ICU) or unit (PCU or Telemetry) daily, maintaining meticulous records.
• Troubleshooting: Identifies and troubleshoots basic monitor malfunctions, signal loss, and equipment issues, contacting Bio-Med for advanced repairs as appropriate to minimize downtime.
• Communication: Proactively notifies the appropriate nursing unit and nursing staff of critical patient events such as significant arrhythmias, "no signal" events, low battery alerts, or other urgent monitoring concerns requiring immediate patient assessment.

2. Clerical and Administrative Support:

• Unit Reception: Serves as a primary point of contact for the unit, providing courteous receptionist and secretarial support to patients, visitors, physicians, and staff.
• Communication Hub: Effectively utilizes telephone and paging systems for internal and external communication, relaying messages accurately and efficiently.
• Chart Management: Assists in assembling new patient charts, meticulously maintains current patient charts, and accurately breaks down patient charts upon dismissal. Posts appropriate reports and documentation to patient charts.
• Supply Management: Performs clerical duties including posting charges, ordering necessary unit supplies, filing, and printing various forms to support unit operations.
• Facility Coordination: Generates and maintains work orders for Plant Operations and Maintenance to address facility-related issues promptly.

3. Equipment Maintenance and Readiness:

• Cleaning & Preparation: Cleans and maintains specialized monitoring equipment (e.g., telemetry boxes, monitor cables, and modules) according to established protocols and as directed by the Unit Manager or designee, ensuring equipment readiness and hygiene.
• Supply Stocking: Ensures adequate stock of monitoring supplies within the central monitoring area.

Education:

• High School Graduate or equivalent required.

Experience:

• Previous experience in a healthcare setting, particularly with central monitoring or EKG interpretation, is highly preferred.
• Experience with medical terminology is a plus.

Skills & Abilities:

• Analytical Acuity: Advanced analytical skills are essential to accurately recognize, interpret, and report life-threatening changes on central monitors and to effectively troubleshoot simple malfunctions of monitoring equipment. Ability to organize work, gather, collate, and interpret data related to patient transport or transfer.
• Communication Skills: Exceptional interpersonal skills necessary to gather and exchange factual information with physicians, patients, visitors, clergy, and other healthcare personnel in a courteous, clear, and professional manner. Ability to comprehend and communicate complicated verbal and written instructions.
• Attention to Detail: Meticulous attention to detail and ability to maintain focus for extended periods in a high-stakes environment.
• Organizational Skills: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, organize tasks, and maintain accurate records in a busy setting.
• Language Proficiency: Ability to read, write, and comprehend English at a level normally acquired through completion of high school.
• Adaptability: Ability to adapt to changing patient conditions and unit demands.

Work Environment:

• Primarily works from a centralized monitoring station, requiring extended periods of sitting and concentration.
• May involve exposure to various medical equipment and a fast-paced hospital environment.

About CHI Health St. Elizabeth: Founded by the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in 1889, CHI Health St. Elizabeth is a vibrant, full-service, 260-bed nonprofit regional medical center in Lincoln, Nebraska. We are dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality care across a wide range of specialties including newborn and pediatric care, women’s health, burn and wound, cardiology, oncology, emergency medicine, orthopedics, and neuroscience. Join a team committed to excellence and community service.