RN-PSYCH SVCS

Covenant Health•Louisville, TN

22d

About The Position

The Psychiatric Registered Nurse, Unit A - Overflow, provides quality patient care by offering clinical direction as part of a patient care team and applying the nursing process to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care. The nurse helps maintain a safe, therapeutic environment; supports patients through therapeutic communication and counseling; and carries out individualized treatment plans. The role includes medication administration, implementing physician orders, coordinating admissions and discharges, determining patient acuity and assigning care, and collaborating with a multidisciplinary treatment team. The nurse also supports staff training, maintains required certifications, follows hospital policies, and advocates for patient rights. Peninsula Behavioral Health, a division of Parkwest Medical Center and part of Covenant Health, provides mental health services in East Tennessee. Its inpatient and outpatient programs serve children, adolescents, and adults across multiple counties.

Requirements

Graduate of an accredited nursing school.
Current licensure as a registered professional nurse in the State of Tennessee.
CPR certification required.
Ability to work effectively with others and within a team approach.
Excellent assessment skills.
Ability to apply principles of nursing care and to organize, plan, deliver, and document quality patient care.
Emotional stability and empathy sufficient to care for emotionally unstable patients.
Previous psychiatric nursing experience is desired but not mandatory.

Nice To Haves

Previous experience in the practice of psychiatric nursing.

Responsibilities

Provide supervision and guidance in daily program activities as part of a patient care team.
Maintain a safe and therapeutic patient environment.
Use therapeutic communication, supportive counseling, small-group dynamics, scheduled activities, and the therapeutic milieu to manage the unit, support patients, establish limits, and carry out treatment plans.
Implement restrictive measures in collaboration with medical staff when least restrictive measures have failed, and provide clinical supervision during the intervention.
Assist with training, orientation, and teaching of new staff as directed by the Nurse Manager or Nurse Supervisor.
Administer medications.
Implement physician orders accurately and document them appropriately.
Seek administrative or medical consultation to support quality patient care.
Coordinate emergency medical care for patients, communicate with the Emergency Room, obtain a report before a patient's return, facilitate receipt of records, and support patient stabilization.
Determine patient acuity and assign patients to appropriate nursing staff.
Facilitate admissions and discharges and ensure relevant information is comprehensive, accurate, and appropriately documented.
Perform 24-hour chart reviews as needed.
Participate in the treatment team process and interact with multidisciplinary care providers.
Apply infection control, hospital emergency, hazardous materials management, and patient/proprietary information confidentiality policies.
Advocate for patient rights and process patient complaints and concerns.
Formulate nursing diagnoses using NANDA taxonomy and use DSM-IV classifications to express conclusions supported by collected data.
Develop individualized, patient-centered treatment plans with specific, measurable, time-oriented goals.
Perform ECG, VP, and bedside glucose meter procedures.
Understand and follow hospital policies and procedures relevant to the program.
Maintain required certifications and training, including CPR and de-escalation and physical intervention training.
Attend staff training, development sessions, and unit staff meetings.
Provide input on policy changes affecting programming and patient care.
Be punctual and prepared, present a professional image, communicate work-related issues to supervisors, and cooperate effectively with coworkers.
Hold self and coworkers accountable, adhere to organizational ethics and values, communicate the organization's mission, problem-solve through the chain of command, promote patient rights, and provide exemplary customer service.