RN Behavioral Health Center

About the Role

This position has the authority and responsibility for the delivery of nursing care through the use of the nursing process. The incumbent accepts accountability, applies competent clinical knowledge and skills, and uses independent nursing judgment for care provided by self and by health care providers to whom care is delegated to achieve quality patient care outcomes. Performs duties within the scope of a Registered Nurse (RN) - Level I & II, demonstrating knowledge and skills at the competent level necessary to provide care relevant to patients under their care. The role involves assessing and interpreting patient data to identify age-specific needs and providing professional nursing care in an inpatient hospital setting.

Responsibilities

• Prioritizes patient’s diagnosis, problems, and issues, and mutual goals to meet the needs of the patient and healthcare team.
• Serves as a resource for patient and family learning needs.
• Coordinates with the interprofessional team to manage changing priorities.
• Functions as an independent team member to provide safe, quality care for patients.
• Mentors colleagues in acquiring clinical knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment.
• Participates in the development and continuous improvement of systems supporting the patient care planning process.
• Leads interprofessional teams to collaborate and consult effectively.
• Designs innovations to improve outcomes.
• Assists other nurses in developing research skills.
• Participates in collaborative planning to provide safe, high-quality, patient-centered health care.
• Participates in the development, implementation, and review of and adherence to policies promoting patient health and safety.
• Advocates for healthcare consumers' rights to inform decision-making and self-determination.
• Demonstrates leadership skills within the community/healthcare arena.
• Engages healthcare consumers and interprofessional team members in holistic, culturally sensitive data collection.
• Integrates knowledge from global and environmental factors into the assessment process.
• Identifies resources/actions to appropriately address cultural situations.
• Recognizes personal bias and disseminates educational findings and experiences with colleagues.
• Achieves higher levels of education/training, demonstrating commitment to lifelong learning.
• Identifies appropriate resources for ethical dilemmas and advances ethical nursing practice.
• Demonstrates competencies such as regularly being a charge nurse and/or precepting new staff or nursing students.
• For facilities with specialty accreditation requirements: Completes annual required education related to specialty accreditation.

Requirements

• Current Registered Nurse license issued by the state in which services will be provided or current multi-state Registered Nurse license through the enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC).
• Obtain certification in Basic Life Support within 30 days of hire date.
• Two (2) years of registered nursing experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Nursing (BSN) or higher.

Skills

• Possesses interpersonal skills to positively and effectively communicate, negotiate, and resolve conflict.
• Motivation and drive for continuous self-development.
• Cooperatively interacts with the healthcare team to support and contribute to shared group goals.
• Uses competent clinical practice and critical thinking skills to efficiently deliver patient care with all healthcare providers while maximizing efficient use of resources.
• Ability to be flexible in response to changes in work volume, staff, and scheduling.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work successfully under highly stressful conditions and adapt to varying workloads and assignments on a constant basis.

Physical Requirements

• Heavy/Hard work: Requires strength and/or stamina, lifting, moving, stooping, reaching, standing, walking, and carrying materials and equipment weighing 40+ lbs.
• Visual acuity must be within normal range.
• Hearing within normal range is required (e.g., to assess breath sounds, bowel sounds, apical pulse, monitors, etc.).
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommends minimizing manual patient lifting and limiting safe patient handling to 35 pounds. All transfers, lifts, and repositioning will utilize lift equipment and/or other patient handling aids as indicated by the patient’s profile and appropriate algorithms.

Working Environment

• Working protracted or irregular hours.
• Working around biohazards and infectious diseases.
• Working with or near the deceased.
• Working with hands in water.
• Working with electrical hazards associated with patient care equipment.

Benefits

The CAPE program is a system-wide clinical advancement program (clinical ladder) to enhance professional development, provide a reward system for quality clinical performance, promote quality nursing, and improve job satisfaction for inpatient direct care nurses. Nurses must meet the requirements of their current level and additional criteria to advance to the next level.

• Level 1: No experience required; all graduate nurses with less than 12 months of experience enter at this level with a diploma, ADN, BSN, or higher.
• Level 2: One year of experience.
• Level 3: Two years of experience plus one specialty certification (preferred but not required). Required competencies include regularly being a charge nurse and/or precepting new staff or nursing students.
• Level 4: Available to those with a BSN or higher, or nurses with ADN/diploma with 5 years of experience. One specialty certification is required. Required competencies include regularly being a charge nurse and/or precepting new staff or nursing students, and participation in QI and/or shared governance at the unit level.
• Level 5: Available to those with an MSN or higher with 4 years of experience, or nurses with a BSN with 4 years of experience and a health-related Master’s Degree, or nurses with a BSN and 5 years of experience. One specialty certification is required. Required competencies include regularly being a charge nurse and/or precepting new staff or nursing students, and participation in QI and shared governance at the organization level.
• Level 6: Available to those with an MSN or higher degree with 7 or more years of experience. Consideration is given to other health-related advanced degrees that assist with direct patient care at the bedside. One specialty certification is required. Required competencies include regularly being a charge nurse and/or precepting new staff or nursing students, and participation in QI and shared governance at the system level.

Schedule

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 36