Registered Nurse-Outpatient Mental Health

About the role

The Outpatient Mental Health (MH) Registered Nurse (RN) at Robley Rex VA Healthcare System in Louisville, Kentucky, executes position responsibilities to improve patient and organizational outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Provides patient-centered and recovery-oriented care and maintains self-awareness while caring for patients living with MH conditions.
• Facilitates care coordination, linking with the Inpatient MH Units to facilitate continuity of care, MH interdisciplinary treatment team huddles and meetings, warm hand-offs, and develops content as well as facilitates nurse-led psychoeducational groups.
• Uses therapeutic communication techniques, practices de-escalation techniques, utilizes recovery-oriented language, and provides Veterans, their family members, and/or significant others with education regarding their illness, medications, and treatment plan.
• Reports and assists or directs safety concern resolution and collaborates with program leadership to help improve patient and program outcomes, and directs team response to psychiatric and medical emergencies.
• Executes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership, experience, and creative approaches to management of complex client care.
• Documents nursing triage assessments, risk screens, measurement-based care tools, clinical reminders, and patient plan of care according to facility policy.
• Maintains professional boundaries to protect patient vulnerabilities and act in the best interest of the patient.
• Provides peers with formal or informal constructive feedback for improvement.
• Supports colleagues and other nurses through knowledge sharing to provide safe, quality nursing care.
• Fosters a safe and supportive environment conducive to the professional development of health care professionals.

Requirements

• Basic Requirements: Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate accrediting agency and accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies at the time the program was completed by the applicant: ACEN or CCNE.
• English Language Proficiency: No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Current - full - active - and unrestricted registration as a graduate professional nurse in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e. - Puerto Rico) of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
• Master's degree in nursing (MSN) and 2 years of professional nursing experience in which one year is equivalent to Nurse I - Level 3 OR a Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and no additional professional nursing experience.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and 1 year of professional nursing experience equivalent to the Nurse I - Level 2 OR a Master's degree in a *related field with a BSN and 1 year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I - Level 2.
• Doctoral degree in Nursing with no professional nursing experience OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN and no additional professional nursing experience.

Qualifications

• 2 Years experience in Outpatient Mental Health/Inpatient Mental Health - or substance abuse rehab preferred.
• Previous experience in VHA preferred.
• BSN/MSN preferred.

Skills

• Therapeutic communication techniques.
• De-escalation techniques.
• Recovery-oriented language.
• Documentation of nursing triage assessments, risk screens, measurement-based care tools, clinical reminders, and patient plan of care.
• Maintaining professional boundaries to protect patient vulnerabilities.
• Providing constructive feedback for improvement.
• Supporting colleagues and other nurses through knowledge sharing.
• Fostering a safe and supportive environment.

Benefits

• VA Nurse Total Rewards Pay: Competitive salary - regular salary increases - potential for performance awards.
• Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year).
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).
• Work Schedule: Based on the needs of the service.
• Telework: Not available.
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Pay

Pay Schedule: NF45

Schedule

Based on the needs of the service