Clinical Education Specialist II

Advocate Health•Park Ridge, NJ

1d•$36 - $53

About The Position

The Clinical Education Specialist II provides academic instruction to children and adolescents receiving inpatient or partial hospitalization psychiatric care. Working alongside treatment teams, the specialist helps students maintain educational progress while participating in psychosocial therapy. The role includes planning and delivering classroom instruction, providing individualized tutoring, assessing educational needs, and developing or adapting educational programs and IEPs. It also involves coordinating with families, schools, school districts, and healthcare professionals to support academic continuity and transitions between hospital and community settings. The specialist maintains educational and billing documentation, prepares progress reports, supports program administration and compliance, and participates in interdisciplinary treatment planning. The position also contributes to staff orientation and training, professional development, quality initiatives, and educational service reimbursement processes. The work is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., for 40 hours per week. The role is based in a hospital environment and may involve exposure to hazardous materials and life-threatening diseases, working with aggressive children and adolescents, and responding to crises. Patient lifting or transfer activities may be required, with patient-handling equipment and assistance required for specified lifts.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in special education.
Five years of teaching experience with SED students.
SED or LBS 1 certification.
Type 10 LD certification.
Ability to recognize the needs and behaviors of a variety of age groups.
Familiarity with normal growth and development, behavioral patterns, and signs of the normal aging process for the designated patient group.
Good organizational and time-management skills.
Good communication skills for liaison work with staff and school districts.
Understanding of effective general education and special education practices and curriculum.
Ability to administer and evaluate educational testing.
Understanding of the needs of students identified as SED.
Comfort working with a team.
Commitment to patient-focused care and ability to work in a fast-paced environment with time constraints and difficult situations.
Ability to deal with aggressive children and adolescents and respond quickly in a crisis.
Ability to lift up to 35 pounds without assistance; patient lifts over 35 pounds or when a patient cannot assist require patient-handling equipment and another associate when available.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.
Prior experience with various age groups preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide academic instruction to children and adolescent psychiatric patients as an adjunct to prescribed psychosocial therapy.
Plan and conduct daily classroom sessions with multidisciplinary treatment teams, adjusting programming to changing patient needs.
Provide individualized tutoring and academic support as needed.
Maintain records of attendance, participation, progress, educational services, and documentation required for school district billing.
Assess educational status at admission and during treatment transitions, and complete intake and related educational documentation.
Develop, implement, and evaluate educational programs in a clinical or hospital setting.
Design and implement IEPs or collaborate with home school teams to modify existing IEPs.
Develop and introduce educational strategies, modalities, and instructional techniques.
Administer and interpret educational assessments and diagnostic evaluations to determine academic functioning, skills, abilities, and limitations.
Coordinate with patients, families, schools, counselors, and teachers to exchange assignments, communicate progress, and support educational continuity.
Obtain school records, curriculum materials, textbooks, tests, and other instructional resources from students' home schools.
Collaborate with school districts and educational teams to plan, coordinate, and implement educational services, including tutoring when appropriate.
Participate in school staffing meetings and provide educational summaries, recommendations, and progress updates.
Support transitions between hospital-based and community-based educational settings through communication with families and school personnel.
Participate in multidisciplinary treatment planning and collaborate with healthcare professionals to integrate educational services into treatment plans.
Build positive working relationships with hospital departments and disciplines to support patient care and educational programming.
Assist leadership with staff orientation, training, and professional development activities as assigned.
Support departmental goals, budgets, quality assurance initiatives, productivity standards, policies, and procedures.
Prepare initial, interim, and discharge educational progress reports.
Maintain confidentiality and comply with hospital policies, professional standards, and emergency procedures.
Assist with operational planning, special projects, reporting, and policy development.
Ensure compliance with hospital standards, accreditation requirements, and applicable educational regulations.
Monitor adherence to departmental policies and contribute to continuous program improvement.
Set and pursue professional development goals with supervisory staff; participate in continuing education, professional organizations, and committees.
Assist with departmental and hospital-wide in-service training programs as requested.
Manage billing and financial processes for educational services in inpatient and partial hospitalization programs.
Coordinate reimbursement with insurance providers and school district billing departments.
Maintain documentation supporting accurate billing, reimbursement, and financial compliance.