Intake RN Nights - 3/4 Split with Alternating Weekends

To assess the needs of walk-in clients and phone callers and ensure their referral to the service or resource best suited to address those needs. Deliver quality general and psychiatric nursing care to patients hospitalized for treatment of psychiatric or emotional disorders, supporting the hospital and program philosophy of care while ensuring the safety and well-being of each patient.

Responsibilities

• Complete in-house assessments with treatment referral recommendations and document them; use approved admission criteria to determine the least restrictive level of care appropriate for treatment.
• Initiate the plan for an episode of care at admission across all levels of care.
• Assist clinicians, administration, and physicians in assessing pending admits.
• Plan, coordinate, and evaluate direct and indirect facility assessments and client admissions.
• Ensure admission paperwork is completed in accordance with hospital policy.
• Deliver competent care based on current developmental theory and psychiatric nursing knowledge and standards; evaluate care against goals and revise the plan of care as needed.
• Plan and provide nursing care through a systematic process of interaction with patients, their significant others, and healthcare providers, collecting and analyzing data on physical, psychosocial, environmental, self-care, educational, spiritual, cultural, and anticipated discharge needs.
• Identify and incorporate each patient’s unique needs into a comprehensive, individualized care plan, including the severity of disease, condition, impairment, or disability.
• Provide direct care, facilitating social and emotional needs, supervising medication schedules, evaluating patient progress, and ensuring access to the appropriate level of care.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary professionals to determine and provide the best possible care for patients.
• Provide social support by encouraging patients to participate in support groups, social activities, and other therapeutic measures.
• Conduct intake assessments through interviews with patients and relatives to gather case history.
• Make nursing diagnoses of medical and emotional status and recommend treatment options.
• Consult with psychiatrists and other behavioral health staff to design appropriate treatment plans.
• Maintain accurate records of patient treatments, immunizations, laboratory results, reactions to psychotropic drugs, and other medications; document patient activities and progress according to standard medical record-keeping and hospital policies.
• Assist clients in understanding the nature of emotional disturbances and accepting the need for treatment.
• Comply with laws, rules, regulations, protocols, and procedures.
• Use professional judgment to apply appropriate intervention techniques with patients in crisis.
• Assist in maintaining a safe and secure environment for staff and patients.
• Assess vital signs, including pain, and arrange further medical attention when necessary.
• Perform administrative tasks such as filing, answering phones, and computer entry of progress notes.
• Organize activities and schedules for medical and non-medical tasks for Child, Adolescent, Adult, and support staff during a given shift.
• Maintain patient confidentiality.
• Uphold the organization’s ethics and customer service standards.

Requirements

• Must be 21 years old or older.
• RN, ADN, or BSN from an accredited college or university.
• Minimum of 2 years of clinical experience, preferably in a behavioral healthcare setting, phone triage, telehealth, or case management, or a combination of education and experience.
• Basic teaching and training skills are a plus.
• Valid Texas RN license in good standing.
• CPR certification (must be obtained within 30 days of hire).
• BLS, ACLS, and CPI certifications are a plus.
• Must pass a medication administration exam before administering medications.
• Must obtain and maintain approved CPR certification and complete Management of Assaultive Behavior training, including restraint and seclusion policies, prior to assuming patient care responsibility.

Skills

• Knowledge of patient rights and laws pertaining to mental health, as well as regulations related to psychiatric nursing and treatment of mentally and emotionally disturbed patients.
• Understanding of theories, principles, and techniques of group and individual psychotherapy.
• Familiarity with symptoms and behavior patterns of emotionally disturbed and mentally ill patients.
• Advanced knowledge and clinical skills in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health, professional nursing principles, procedures, and techniques used in psychiatric patient care.
• Understanding of social, psychological, and physical factors of mental and emotional disorders.
• Knowledge of medical and psychological terminology, medications (including psychotropic drugs), and their effects on psychiatric patients, as well as preparation, control, and administration of medications.
• Basic knowledge of treatment procedures, interventions for acute psychotic and non-violent crises, medical and psychiatric emergency procedures.
• Basic knowledge of abnormal psychology, particularly in child or adolescent psychiatric populations, and its application to child, adolescent, or adult care.
• Familiarity with medical terminology associated with psychiatric care and psychopharmacy, including the use of psychotropic medications.
• Ability to apply professional nursing care principles and procedures in evaluating and treating psychiatric patients.
• Ability to develop interpersonal therapeutic relationships with psychiatric patients.
• Effective communication with diverse individuals, maintaining sensitivity, tact, and diplomacy in high-pressure situations.
• Ability to exercise appropriate judgment in answering questions and releasing information, analyzing and projecting consequences of decisions or recommendations.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Well-developed verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Ability to communicate effectively to exchange or provide information and build cooperative relationships.
• Ability to interact effectively with individuals of diverse roles, backgrounds, cultures, and socio-economic classes, including those in crisis or resistant to the organization.
• Skill in facilitating or co-facilitating process-oriented and didactic groups.
• Strong problem-solving, prioritizing, and time management skills.
• Crisis intervention skills and the ability to maintain self-control in volatile situations, such as verbal or physical confrontations.
• Flexibility and resilience in dealing with differing opinions.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, reach, stand, walk, push, pull, lift, and grasp.
• Ability to perceive attributes of objects such as size, shape, temperature, and texture by touch, particularly with fingertips.
• Ability to express and exchange ideas via spoken word, including conveying detailed or important instructions accurately, sometimes quickly and loudly.
• Hearing to perceive sound with no less than 40 db loss at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz, with or without correction; ability to make fine discriminations in sound.
• Ability to perform repetitive motions with wrists, hands, and fingers.
• Ability to exert up to 100 pounds of force occasionally and lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects.
• Minimum standard of visual acuity, with or without correction, to complete administrative, clerical, and inspection tasks.
• Ability to work and concentrate amidst distractions such as noise, conversation, and foot traffic; ability to handle interruptions and transition between tasks.
• Work is predominantly indoors, though the worker may occasionally be subjected to temperature changes.

Benefits

• Health Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• 401K Retirement Plan
• Healthcare Spending Account
• Dependent Care Spending Account
• PTO Plan with Holiday Premium Pay
• Life Insurance (Supplemental Life, Term, and Universal plans are also available)
• Short and Long-Term Disability (with additional buy-in opportunities)