Clinician Fellow, BH (RN, BSN) - Co-Occurring Disorders Unit

UPMC•Pittsburgh, PA

About The Position

The Clinician Fellow is an advanced nursing role focused on expert clinical practice, education, and evidence-based care. Working with leadership, the position promotes excellence in nursing and patient outcomes through high-quality care, staff mentoring, coordination of clinical activities, and contributions to hiring and performance evaluations. The Clinician Fellow provides education, consults on practice issues, and ensures care is age-appropriate and developmentally informed, while demonstrating strong clinical judgment and commitment to the profession and community. The role is based in Western Psychiatric Hospital’s Co-Occurring Disorders Unit, a 24-bed adult inpatient drug abuse and psychiatric treatment service. The unit treats adults with a primary psychiatric disorder and a co-occurring chemical dependency problem.

Requirements

Minimum of 2 years of experience.
BSN; if not held at the time of hire, enrollment in a BSN program is required within one year of hire or transfer, with completion within three years of enrollment.
Demonstrated competence as a Professional Staff Nurse/Psychiatric Nurse.
Ability to provide care and interact appropriately with the ages of patients served by the assigned unit, and knowledge of lifespan growth and development and age-specific assessment and care needs.
Ability to establish and maintain positive, caring relationships with executives, managers, physicians, non-physician providers, ancillary and support staff, other departments, and patients and families.
Ability to work productively and effectively in a complex environment, handle multiple or changing priorities, and work with specialized equipment.
Exemplary clinical judgment, critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving abilities related to patient care.
Critical thinking skills to exercise and lead others in applying the nursing process.
Mobility and visual manual dexterity.
Physical stamina for frequent walking, standing, lifting, and positioning of patients.
CPR certification meeting AHA standards, including didactic and skills demonstration components, within 30 days of hire.
Basic Life Support (BLS) or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
Comprehensive Crisis Management (CCMC).
Registered Nurse (RN) licensure.
Act 31 Child Abuse Reporting certification with renewal.
Act 33 clearance with renewal.
Act 34 clearance with renewal.
Act 73 FBI Clearance with renewal.
Current licensure in the state where the facility is located, or a multistate license issued by a participating Nursing Licensure Compact state when applicable. Employees working on an out-of-state NLC license who change residency to the facility’s state must apply for in-state licensure within 60 days.

Nice To Haves

MSN or CNL.

Responsibilities

Lead clinical nursing practice improvements and drive change initiatives.
Support staff through transitions by addressing psychological and learning needs.
Practice participatory leadership and contribute to shared governance.
Take leadership roles in quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and onboarding; assist with peer review.
Use Relationship-Based Care and the nursing process to meet patient and family needs.
Communicate effectively, advocate for patient care changes, and maintain thorough documentation that supports care-team communication.
Use critical thinking to address clinical, social, safety, psychological, and spiritual issues.
Align daily work with organizational goals for safety, quality, and patient experience.
Share innovations through presentations, posters, and publications.
Build internal and external relationships through mentorship and positive communication.
Coach peers on cultural diversity and address workplace conflict and impairment.
Demonstrate accountability in time management, workload, and healthy work habits.
Mentor staff, students, and new nurses; serve as a preceptor and support new preceptors.
Model continuous learning and formal professional development, and share expertise across the unit and broader healthcare team.
Apply performance improvement tools and methods to enhance care quality and the work environment.
Integrate research and best practices into daily workflow and spread successful improvements across units or the system.