RN-PSYCH SVCS

Covenant Health•Knoxville, TN

About The Position

The Psychiatric Registered Nurse in the Empath Emergency Department is responsible for quality patient care, providing clinical direction as part of a patient care team and using the nursing process to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate care. The role provides supervision and guidance in daily program activities, helps maintain a safe and therapeutic patient environment, and applies therapeutic communication, supportive counseling, group dynamics, scheduled activities, and the therapeutic milieu to support patients and carry out individualized treatment plans. The nurse administers medications, implements physician orders, participates in admissions and discharges, and works with a multidisciplinary treatment team. The role also includes determining patient acuity and assigning care to appropriate nursing staff, supporting staff training as directed, responding to patient complaints and advocating for patient rights, and following applicable clinical, safety, infection-control, emergency, hazardous-materials, and confidentiality policies. This is a full-time position of 72 hours per pay period on the day shift.

Requirements

Graduate of an accredited nursing school.
Current licensure as a registered professional nurse in the State of Tennessee.

Responsibilities

Provide supervision and guidance in the daily activities of the program 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 when necessary in collaboration with medical staff after less restrictive measures have failed, and provide clinical supervision during the intervention.
Assist with training, orientation, and teaching of new staff members 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 assure quality patient care.
Access emergency medical care for patients, provide reports to the Emergency Room, ensure a report is received before patients return, facilitate receipt of records, and provide patient stabilization.
Determine patient acuity and make patient care assignments 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 by interacting 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 standard DSM IV classifications of mental disorders to express conclusions supported by collected data.
Develop individualized treatment plans with patient-centered, time-oriented, measurable goals.
Perform ECG, VP, and bedside glucose meter procedures.
Follow policies, procedures, and safety standards; complete required annual education; work toward goals and objectives; and participate in quality improvement initiatives as requested.
Perform other duties as assigned.