Registered Nurse

Interfaith Community Services INC•Escondido, CA

22h•Onsite

About The Position

As North County's largest social services agency, Interfaith Community Services has been "helping people help themselves" since 1979. The organization provides a wide range of programs designed to empower hungry, homeless, and low-income community members to begin a pathway towards self-sufficiency. Each year, Interfaith Community Services impacts more than 20,000 community members by providing basic needs and nutrition support, social services, shelters and housing, employment development, senior services, veterans programs and addiction recovery support. Together, in partnership with 250+ diverse faith communities, more than 1,700 recurrent volunteers, and a growing staff of over 275, Interfaith provides a safe-haven and pathway towards self-sufficiency for more than 20,000 community members annually. If you're passionate about making a difference and thrive in a service-driven environment, we invite you to be part of our mission!

Requirements

Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), required
An active California Registered Nurse license in the state of practice, required
1+ years of clinical nursing experience, required
Basic Life Support (BLS) for healthcare providers (American Heart Association preferred) to be completed within three (3) months of hire
Strong clinical assessment and patient care skills
Strong clinical judgment and ability to manage high-acuity cases.
Ability to apply methods and techniques of professional nursing
Ability to manage multiple priorities in fast-paced environments.
Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
Ability to establish and maintain professional boundaries with clients
Working knowledge and skills in mental health, co-occurring disorders, substance abuse treatment models, and crisis intervention
Ability to react calmly and professionally to emergency situations
Ability to identify problems, and research and recommend resolutions
Knowledge of community and social service agencies
Knowledge of adult development
Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills
Must be highly organized and demonstrate attention to detail
Demonstrated experience managing multiple deadlines and working effectively under pressure, using independent judgment to produce quality work under time constraints
Demonstrated experience working with a collaborative team
Working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook)
Maintain a high degree of confidentiality over all matters in the course of business operations including client and employee information
Ability to multi-task in an efficient, thorough, and prioritized manner
Ability to work quickly, accurately and independently
Must be able to perform work in an office setting
May be subjected to adverse conditions, including contact from hostile people
Potential exposure to contagious diseases, hazardous chemicals, and other hazardous fluids
Must have the physical ability to sit for long periods of time, stand, walk, bend, kneel on a frequent basis
Occasionally lifts, carries and balances objects weighing up to 30 pounds
Pulls and pushes such objects as file drawers, computers and similar office equipment and supplies
Prioritizes and multi-tasks work and projects requiring good memory, concentration and analytical thinking
Occasionally is required to perform the safe operation of office equipment and machines, and recognize and abate safety hazards within the workplace

Nice To Haves

Bachelor of Science in Nursing, preferred
1+ years of knowledge of mental health and alcohol and other drug recovery, preferred
Experience working with severely mentally ill, medically fragile, and people experiencing homelessness preferred
Experience working in community health or residential care preferred
Bilingual (Spanish/English) preferred

Responsibilities

Conduct referral screening, intake coordination, and provide clinical support to Licensed Vocational Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, and the interdisciplinary care team working with individuals with complex medical, psychiatric, and substance use recovery needs who are experiencing homelessness within a recuperative care/medical respite setting.
Support clients in achieving or maintaining individual stability to prevent hospital admission or readmission and system disengagement by providing persistent outreach, advocacy, health education, and coordination of care across multiple service domains.
Screen referrals and coordinate intakes from inquiries received from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, local contracted hospitals, Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans and other partnering agencies.
Determine whether referred individuals are medically and psychiatrically stable for safe on-site admission, including evaluation of neurological status and level of consciousness.
Review clinical documentation including labs and medical history of individuals referred to determine appropriateness for admission.
Understand medical and psychiatric inclusion and exclusion criteria and how to assess conditions that are not appropriate for admission.
Conduct general nursing screening for members who present for intake.
Engage in frequent client contact through scheduled or unscheduled visits, in program outreach, and telephonic support—often multiple times per week.
Monitor client progress and report significant changes to the supervising nurse or clinical program manager.
Promote clients’ self-determination by establishing individual care goals and educate clients on individual health conditions, medications, and self-care skills.
Conduct vital signs, breathalyzer, O2 saturation levels, and glucometer levels.
Assess communicable disease exposure, risk, and interventions.
Evaluate for emergency medical conditions and assess when stabilizing treatment is necessary.
Understand general and psychiatric medications.
Assess and manage members at risk of self-harm or harm to others.
Complete risk assessments for danger to self, danger to others, sexual acting out behavior, and vulnerability.
Coordinate care with pharmacies, specialty providers, and obtain health records. Assure critical health information is entered in clients’ records to assist with documentation to support wrap around services and promote whole person wellness.
Collect client care metrics for process improvement measures and promote optimal client care.
Provide education, health evaluation, monitoring, and outreach, as needed, to improve client outcomes.
Provide support as needed with medication management for individual clients; this may include organizing medications in weekly pill organizer, ensuring individuals are taking medications as prescribed, educating clients on purpose of medications and side effects, and assisting with prescription refills as necessary.
Provide care coordination by assisting with discharge planning with outside agencies and follow up with medical providers.
Collaborate with case managers with discharge planning to ensure linkage to medical resources and referrals and facilitate transition to stable or alternate housing.
Communicate client health changes or concerns to interdisciplinary staff and external healthcare providers.
Provide guidance to newly licensed RN's, LVN’s, CNA’s, staff, interns and volunteers.
Assist with training and educate staff and clients on various medical-related topics.
Participate in case reviews, multidisciplinary team meetings, and quality improvement initiatives.
Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential documentation in compliance with agency and regulatory standards.
On time completion of assigned training and policies.
Performs other duties as assigned.