Head Nurse (40 Hour)

State of Connecticut • Bridgeport, CT

14h • Onsite

About The Position

The State of Connecticut, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), Southwest Connecticut Mental Health System (SWCMHS) is seeking a Head Nurse for the Greater Bridgeport Community Mental Health Center (GBCMHC) on the Co-Occurring Treatment Unit (CTU), 5th Floor. This is a full-time, 40-hour position on the 3rd Shift, Monday to Friday, 12:15 am - 8:15 am, with every other weekend and rotating holiday off. A recruitment and retention bonus of $3,000.00 annually is available for nurses permanently assigned to the second or third shift after one year of service. The role involves administrative and clinical supervision of professional nurses, paraprofessionals, and other staff, as well as performing specialized professional nursing work. The position offers professional growth, development opportunities, and a healthy work/life balance, with eligibility for shift and weekend differentials. DMHAS aims to improve the lives of individuals with behavioral health needs through comprehensive services, fostering dignity, respect, and self-sufficiency. SWCMHS provides high-quality, compassionate, and culturally competent mental health and substance abuse services to indigent adults with behavioral health disorders.

Requirements

• Two (2) years of experience as a Registered Nurse
• Possess and retain a license or temporary permit as a Registered Nurse in Connecticut OR hold a Multistate or Compact Registered Nurse license.
• Considerable knowledge of and ability to independently apply nursing principles, techniques and standards
• Specialized individual care applicable to nursing assignment
• Knowledge of medications, their actions, interactions, uses and side effects
• Knowledge of general and mental health conditions and treatment interventions through utilization of assessment, nursing diagnosis, outcome identification, health planning, implementation and re-evaluation
• Knowledge of adult learning and family systems theory
• Knowledge of sensitivity to cultural and socio-economic differences
• Considerable interpersonal skills
• Oral and written communication skills
• Ability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with other professionals, community resources and providers
• Ability to act as a role model to health care staff
• Supervisory ability
• Considerable knowledge of behavioral health of individuals
• Skill working with individuals, groups and families
• Ability to provide therapeutic treatment with a variety of individuals

Nice To Haves

• Experience in an Inpatient and Psychiatry setting
• Experience working with clients who have mental health and medical concerns
• Experience utilizing evidence-based strategies for health teaching, health promotion and prevention
• Experience supervising staff of a lower grade
• Experience using nursing principles and national standards to complete daily task
• Experience with Microsoft Word and Excel for clinical documentation, reporting, and data management
• Experience using Electronic Medical Record systems
• Incumbents in this class may be required to be fluent in a foreign language or proficient in the use of the American Sign Language in certain designated positions.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

Responsibilities

• Leads the planning of care and implementation of the nursing process
• Plans unit workflow and determines priorities
• Schedules, assigns, oversees and reviews work
• Makes recommendations for personnel actions such as selection, discipline and performance
• Conducts or assists in conducting performance evaluations
• Leads professional and paraprofessional nursing staff in provision of patient/individual care
• Maintains and promotes standards of nursing
• Ensures controlled drugs are properly stored, administered and ordered
• Identifies staff development needs
• Provides staff training and assistance
• Instructs staff regarding policies and procedures
• Participates in interdisciplinary meetings to promote and ensure adjustment and continuity of patient/individual care programs
• Responds to emergencies
• May make recommendations on policies and standards
• May prepare reports or correspondence
• May serve as Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP)
• Performs related duties as required
• Independently develops, implements and evaluates nursing and/or health care plans
• Provides nursing consultation in the assigned specialty program
• Conducts nursing assessments
• Provides admission and discharge nursing assessments including plans for continuing care
• Maintains records and makes reports
• Provides for nursing services to comply with intermediate care facility (ICF) regulations and Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards
• Maintains records of stored and secured medications
• Independently manages and provides direct care to patients/individuals
• Participates in individual, group or family therapy
• Participates as a member of an interdisciplinary team in the assessment, development, implementation and evaluation of patient/individual treatment or health care plans
• Manages an assigned caseload of other appropriate clinical activities
• Provides clinical direction and/or training to staff in individual, group and family service delivery programs
• May participate in home visits and crisis intervention
• May provide in-service training to nursing and paraprofessional staff with regard to signs and symptoms of illness, dysfunction, injury and prevention of same
• May conduct patient/individual-centered conferences with nursing personnel
• May consult with and make recommendations to physicians concerning health needs

Benefits

• Professional growth and development opportunities
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees
• This position is eligible for shift and weekend differentials
• recruitment and retention bonus yearly of three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) for second and third shift positions after one year of service

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager