Nurse Educator/Infection Prevention

About the role

East Tennessee Behavioral Health is seeking an experienced Nurse Educator/Infection Preventionist to join our team. As Knoxville's newest behavioral health hospital, we provide a full continuum of behavioral health treatment services for adults and seniors. The Nurse Educator plays a critical role in ensuring that behavioral health staff are well-equipped to provide safe, high-quality patient care. This hands-on position is responsible for developing and implementing education plans, identifying learning needs, and leading new hire orientation from a clinical perspective. The Nurse Educator facilitates ongoing training programs, ensures compliance with regulatory guidelines, and fosters a culture of continuous learning. By modeling best practices and engaging staff in evidence-based education, this role directly contributes to enhancing professional competency and patient safety within the facility.

Essential Functions

• Facilitates orientation/onboarding program to promote employee retention
• Conducts orientation in a manner that fosters a positive learning environment
• Role models organizational and personal commitment to new employee success
• Participates in designing and identifying educational activities to address practice gaps for identified target audiences, which may include licensed and non-licensed healthcare personnel
• Identifies learning needs of staff and/or facility
• Role models competent practice through demonstration or simulation activities
• Assesses practice gaps/Crosswalk competencies to practice
• Collaborates with Corporate Nursing Director/Educator to review outcomes data to evaluate and refine competency management activities
• Assists with development and/or instruction of didactic content and clinical skills for designated competencies
• Develops education plan according to gap assessment or quality data/safety outcomes
• Aligns educational programs with facility and/or organization policies and procedures
• Implements and delivers educational curricula as required by regulatory agencies such as Joint Commission, CARF, CMS and State agencies
• Creates engaging, evidence-based educational content to meet the specific needs of the intended audience
• Demonstrates exceptional instructional skills while maintaining learner engagement
• Acts as a general resource for nursing staff
• Collaborates with medical practitioners and CNO/DON to incorporate nursing processes into the plan of care for patients
• Provides educational leadership to patients and care providers to enhance specialized patient care within established clinical protocol
• Promotes safe, quality, and compassionate patient care
• Assists patient and caregivers with education needs, problem solution and health management across the continuum of care
• Educates direct patient care staff in the use of equipment, supplies, and coordinates in-service training for appropriate staff
• Supports new ideas and innovation in educational design
• Provides staff with resources and "just-in-time" education to implement immediate changes
• May serve in the role of infection preventionist for the facility with training
• May provide direct care as needed

Other Functions

• Provides expertise in identifying professional development needs of individual staff
• Assists staff to identify areas for individual growth in current role
• Identifies and provides opportunities for skill enhancement and mastery
• Utilizes novice to expert continuum when developing staff
• Promotes certification in areas of nursing specialty
• Performs other functions and tasks as assigned

Requirements

• Current state license is required for this position
• CPR and de-escalation/restraint certification required (training available upon hire and offered by facility)
• First aid may be required based on state or facility

Qualifications

• Master's degree in nursing, Healthcare Administration, Education or other clinical field or equivalent combination of education and/or experience preferred
• Bachelor's degree in nursing or commensurate experience required
• Five+ years strongly preferred
• Three years of registered nurse experience required
• Inpatient psychiatry experience as an RN strongly preferred
• Two years of behavioral health experience as an RN required
• 1+ years experience in Clinical Education/Training and Development (Preferred)
• Certification as an NPD Practitioner and/or clinical certification as recognized by American Nurse Credentialing Center (Preferred)