Nurse Coordinator - General Adult Unit

About the role

Sheppard Pratt's new General Adult Unit provides specialized inpatient treatment for adults 18 and older, utilizing an intensive multi-disciplinary approach through individual therapy, milieu therapy, and process-oriented, experiential, and psycho-educational group therapies.

Responsibilities

• Communicate in a therapeutic, respectful way with patients at the patients’ level of understanding.
• Investigate and follow up on complaints or concerns from patients’ family members.
• Assign inpatient rooms based on requirements of programming tracks on inpatient unit(s).
• Reassign nursing staff as necessary to provide optimum coverage and meet regulatory/compliance requirements.
• Manage milieu and operational concerns on unit(s).
• Assist and provide direction to nursing staff in resolving problems.
• Apprise nurse leader of concerns that require their attention.
• In the absence of or as delegated by the nurse leader, assess and coordinate the resolution of clinical crises.
• Provide significant input into the procedures and protocols for the unit.
• Support the nurse leader by interviewing and screening candidates for existing nursing vacancies.
• Orient new nursing staff to the unit.
• Maintain appropriate documentation regarding new employee and ongoing education and training, competency assessment, and performance appraisal, working with Human Resources as needed.
• Identify nursing staff education needs and recommend methods of staff development to the nurse leader.
• Provide input into the performance appraisals of RNs, mental health workers, and unit support staff.
• Utilize clinical expertise in the provision of direct patient care as needed, consultative activities, staff development, and treatment planning.
• Provide quality nursing care services based on an understanding of the needs of the assigned patient population.
• Assist the nurse leader in evaluating and monitoring nursing documentation and initiate corrective action to ensure compliance with internal and external standards.
• Help create a culture of performance improvement that contributes to providing quality, cost-effective services.
• Suggest ways in which the unit/program can maintain and improve safety.
• Attend required in-services for updates and reviews.
• Maintain confidentiality with regard to all communication pertaining to patients, families, and organizational business.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited program of nursing (BSN preferred).
• Current license as a Registered Nurse in the State of Maryland at the time of appointment and continuously while in position, or an active license in a compact state that allows practice in Maryland.
• Two to three years of related experience, with at least one year in inpatient psychiatric nursing.
• Clinical and managerial skills, along with comprehensive knowledge of psychiatric nursing, diagnosis, and treatment of the assigned patient population.
• Interpersonal skills sufficient to provide effective leadership for assigned personnel and to interact effectively with psychiatrically and physically ill patients, family members, visitors, and various Sheppard Pratt departments (51 to 80% of work time).
• Analytical and problem-solving abilities necessary to reassign nursing staff, screen applicants (with supervision of nurse leader), identify training needs, and resolve nursing and administrative issues in the absence of the nurse leader.

In keeping with the Maryland Board of Nursing guidelines, all nurses must have an active Maryland nursing license to practice in the state of Maryland, or must have an active license in a compact state that allows them to practice in Maryland if they reside in that compact state. A multistate licensee who changes primary state of residence to another party state must apply for a multistate license in the new party state within 60 days.