Head Nurse (40 Hour)

DDS West Region • Torrington, CT

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The State of Connecticut, Department of Developmental Services (DDS) - West Region, has a full-time, second (2nd) shift job opportunity for a Head Nurse located at the Northwest Regional Center (NWC), in Torrington, CT. This role involves coordinating all medical services necessary to meet the health and safety needs of individuals in a continuous operation intermediate care facility (ICF), with a caseload of approximately 10-12 individuals. The Head Nurse will collaborate effectively with an interdisciplinary team to optimize individual outcomes and ensure compliance with clinical quality standards, policies, and ICF regulations. This position requires utilizing supervisory skills to provide clinical oversight to LPNs providing direct nursing care to individuals with an intellectual and/or developmental disability. The role also demands demonstrating organizational and interpersonal skills to communicate health and safety information to internal and external partners, in both verbal and written format, and showcasing knowledge and experience with rehabilitative and interdisciplinary healthcare practices and processes.

Requirements

• Two (2) years of experience as a Registered Nurse
• Incumbents in this class must 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; 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; adult learning and family systems theory; and 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; 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 working with individuals with a developmental and/or intellectual disability, including procedures and terminology relating to modern methods of care.
• Experience in a supervisory capacity of staff across multiple locations, effectively developing plans to prioritize work and assignments.
• Experience providing care to medically fragile individuals, demonstrating advanced knowledge of their complex medical and support needs.
• Experience with rehabilitative and interdisciplinary processes.
• Experience analyzing and resolving day to day problems of persons with ID/DD.
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel; as well as familiarity with internal data systems (e-CAMRIS) and use of integrated HRIS (CoreCT).
• Experience demonstrating strong organizational, interpersonal, and written and verbal communication skills while interacting with internal partners, external partners, and the public.
• Experience utilizing policies and procedures related to payroll, hiring, purchasing, Client accounting, data collection, and scheduling.
• Experience working with teams, clinicians, and case managers.
• Experience with and knowledge of processes for identifying State of CT and federal benefit/entitlement programs.
• Experience with and knowledge of ICF policies, procedures, and active treatment.
• Experience independently solving problems and resolving complex situations involving individuals and families requiring in-home or out-of-home supports.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate all medical services necessary to meet the health and safety needs of individuals in a continuous operation intermediate care facility (ICF), with a caseload of approx.10-12 individuals.
• Collaborate effectively with an interdisciplinary team to optimize individual outcomes; and ensure compliance with clinical quality standards, policies, and ICF regulations.
• Utilize supervisory skills to provide clinical oversight to LPNs providing direct nursing care to individuals with an intellectual and/or developmental disability.
• Demonstrate organizational and interpersonal skills as you communicate health and safety information to internal and external partners, in both verbal and written format.
• Showcase knowledge and experience with rehabilitative and interdisciplinary healthcare practices and processes.
• 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 assist 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.
• May prepare reports or correspondence.
• May serve as Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP).
• Performs related duties as required.

Benefits

• Professional growth and paid professional development opportunities.
• A healthy work-life balance to all employees.
• State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer
• Each Registered Nurse who is permanently assigned to the second or third shift may receive a “recruitment and retention” yearly bonus of three thousand dollars ($3,000.00). This bonus shall be pro-rated for part-time Registered Nurses. In order to be eligible for this bonus, the Employee must have completed one year of service in the registered nurse classification.

What This Job Offers

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