Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Correctional Health Services, Part-time

About the Role

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation, comprising a network of 11 hospitals, trauma centers, neighborhood health centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, and correctional health services. Our system provides essential services to 1.4 million New Yorkers annually across more than 70 locations in the city’s five boroughs. With a diverse workforce of over 42,000 employees, we are uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers to live the healthiest lives possible.

Correctional Health Services (CHS) is one of the nation’s leading correctional health care systems, delivering high-quality care from pre-arraignment through compassionate release. CHS provides comprehensive in-jail services, including medical, nursing, mental health, substance use treatment, social work, dental, vision care, discharge planning, and reentry support. CHS also leverages the resources of the nation’s largest municipal health care system to help discharged patients successfully reintegrate into their communities and partners in New York City’s criminal justice reform efforts.

The NYC jail system is the second largest in the nation, with a significant portion of individuals receiving mental health care. The Mental Health Service at CHS provides safe, holistic, and evidence-based therapeutic interventions for a diverse range of mental health issues, from serious mental illness to the challenges of incarceration. Services include specialty housing units for individuals with serious mental illness, a 24-hour on-call psychiatric service, creative arts programming, clinics in each facility, substance use treatment, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), integrated re-entry services, and partnerships with multiple training institutions. CHS is also working to better identify individuals with neurodevelopmental/neurocognitive disorders and connect them to community services.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychiatric care, including admission evaluations, follow-ups, and urgent and emergent consultations to individuals with mental health needs.
• Participate in the creation of individualized treatment plans by discussing cases with the mental health care team and reviewing psychosocial data, medical history, nursing assessments, and other pertinent information.
• Evaluate patients for the need for a higher level of care, including hospitalization, and escalate care when clinically appropriate. Maintain contact with hospital psychiatric staff to ensure continuity of care for hospitalized patients.
• Provide patient education on medications, treatment adherence, and aftercare services.
• Document all activities in the electronic medical record in a timely, concise, and clear manner.
• Integrate nursing and medical concepts in planning care for medically complicated psychiatric patients.
• Provide consultation to non-prescribing mental health staff and medical staff regarding diagnosis, treatment, and the need for psychiatric medication.
• Counsel patients using advanced psychotherapeutic techniques, including in group settings if needed.
• Participate in team meetings with treatment staff, daily if working on a mental observation unit and weekly if working in one of the clinics.
• Engage in clinical supervision with the Supervising or Senior Psychiatrist and provide clinical oversight for psychiatric nurse practitioner trainees, including direct supervision and documentation of evaluation and feedback.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior Psychiatrist, Mental Health Manager, Medical Director, Chief of Service for Psychiatry, or their designees.

Requirements

• A valid New York State license and current registration to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse issued by the New York State Department of Education (NYSED).
• Current certification to practice as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner issued by the NYSED.
• Holds, or obtains through facility orientation, a valid and current certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) through the American Heart Association (AHA).

Qualifications

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of psychopathology in assessing patients in need of mental health treatment, including mental status examination and diagnosis.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of psychopharmacology as it pertains to the patient population being treated and writing prescriptions.

Experience working in correctional settings is not required, but the ability to work closely and effectively with multiple disciplines, including security staff, is critical. Each psychiatric Nurse Practitioner will be matched with a patient population that aligns with their clinical expertise, desired work location, and schedule, as well as the clinical needs of the service.