PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH NURSE PRACTITIONER (ACU)

Essential Duties, Functions And Responsibilities

Provides assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and management of acute and chronic mental illness in children, adolescent, and adult patients. Gives total patient care including prevention, health maintenance, early diagnosis, treatment and follow up services.

Performs initial admissions intake, on admitted patients, and discharge planning. Practitioner may discharge patients not initially assigned to them at the time of admission in the ACU. The discharging Practitioner provider will be responsible for ensuring that the patient has an appropriate disposition and discharge plan must include ordering the appropriate discharge medications, care instructions, appropriate outpatient follow-up and referrals.

Participates in treatment and discharge planning meetings with interdisciplinary team members. Performs rounding on admitted patients for on-going medication management at least twice a week and/or sometimes daily or as needed depending on patient’s plan of care needs.

Provides supportive therapy, counseling and guidance to individuals, families, and groups. Conducts history and physical examination of patients, assesses physical condition, and orders various tests (e.g., laboratory, neurological, and psychological tests).

When necessary, provides case management functions; provides short or long-term psychotherapy; prescribes psychotropic medications and supervises medication maintenance by evaluation of the patient's response to drug therapy and determines continuing medication regime in consultation with physician.

Provides medical care and preventive services to patients, including guidance in nutrition, common illnesses, accidents, growth and development. Provides nursing functions such as measurement and interpretation of vital signs, lab results and administration of intra-venous medications and monitors patient’s response to drug therapy and provides education on medication interaction(s).

Maintains knowledge and proficiency in medical practices through continuing education, staff meetings, and workshops, and home study. When necessary and required, provides full range of emergency services or crisis intervention including evaluation and assessment of patients in the Emergency Department. This may include, but not limited to, patients who present with acute crises while on admission in the ACU and may require higher level of care.

Be available on a twenty four (24) hour stand-by, call back and on call rotation schedule when needed for crisis or any other psychiatric needs.

Teaches patients and family members on ways to participate, maintain and/or improve their welling and health status.

Maintains records and reports on patients, personal activities and other required information for use in program operation, quality assurance and other purposes.

Participates in Quality Assurance Improvement Performance (QAPI) review processes.

Experience

• Minimum of One (1) year direct inpatient psychiatric experience with Adolescents and/or Adults as a Psychiatric Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC)

Education

• Completion of a Doctor of Nursing (DNP), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), or a Post-Master's Certificate in a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program (PMHNP) accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), in the following area:Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) - Lifespan
• Licensure: Active unrestricted Advanced Practice Registered Nurse license from a full "opt-out" U.S. State/Territory (i.e., enabling independent practice privileges with prescriptive authority and independent admitting/order privileges within the PMHNP Scope of Practice without supervision by a Physician in other Licensed Independent Practitioner)
• Board Certification: Active, unrestricted, unencumbered Board Certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or an equivalent body in the following area:Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) – Lifespan
• Current, valid, unrestricted Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) License.
• Active, unrestricted Registered Nurse license from any U.S. State or Territory.
• Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification through the American Heart Association (AHA) and maintain certification.