Registered Nurse - Behavioral Health

the Client•Winston Salem, NC

7h•Onsite

About The Position

This is a three-month contract travel nursing position on the night shift in an inpatient, locked behavioral health unit in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The unit serves adult and geriatric patients across all mental health diagnoses and is split between the second and ninth floors. Nurses rotate between both floors and work in all areas of acuity. The patient ratio is 1:7. Psych techs perform vital signs, blood glucose checks, milieu management, and patient monitoring; lead psych techs assist with de-escalation. A team lead provides coverage, and a nurse manager, assistant nurse manager, or house supervisor is always onsite. Virtual clinical nursing support is available 24/7, and a therapy team conducts groups seven days per week. The schedule is nights, 18:45–07:15, with three 12-hour shifts. A total of 36–48 hours may be offered, and every other weekend is required. Call is not required. Floating may be required to task in med-surg units. The position includes a 32-hour unit orientation, and the nurse must be available for Hospital Orientation classes each day during the first week. Navy blue scrubs are required. Return to Origin (RTO) after booking is not allowed and cannot be arranged onsite; call-offs or additional RTO may result in contract cancellation and Do Not Rehire status.

Requirements

At least 2 years of experience.
Inpatient experience on a locked unit.
Experience or skills related to substance use or chemical dependency; anxiety, bipolar, depressive, personality, psychotic, schizophrenia-spectrum, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders; degenerative disorders; self-injurious behavior; and suicidal behavior.
Experience with emergent chemical restraints, physical hold protocols, seclusion, and voluntary or involuntary commitment processes.
Ability to administer antianxiety medications, antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and sedatives or analgesics.
Skills in blood glucose monitoring, lab-value interpretation and communication, oxygen administration, wound care, dressing changes, behavior management, crisis intervention, de-escalation, assaultive-behavior management, and psychoeducation.
EPIC experience is required; familiarity with Pyxis and SBAR is specified.
MOAB (Management of Assaultive Behavior) certification required.
Flu vaccination required; medical or religious exemptions only.
Must be available for Hospital Orientation classes each day during the first week.
Must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice To Haves

Experience with congenital or developmental disorders.
Experience with profound impulse-control issues.
Experience starting and maintaining IVs.

Responsibilities

Provide nursing care on an inpatient, locked behavioral health unit serving adult and geriatric patients across all mental health diagnoses.
Rotate between the second- and ninth-floor behavioral health units and work in all areas of acuity as assigned.
Administer and monitor antianxiety medications, antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and sedatives or analgesics.
Perform blood glucose monitoring, oxygen administration, wound care, and dressing changes; interpret and communicate lab values.
Implement behavior management, crisis intervention, de-escalation, and assaultive-behavior management techniques.
Apply physical hold protocols, emergent chemical restraints, and seclusion procedures when required.
Facilitate and support voluntary and involuntary commitment processes.
Provide psychoeducation to patients and families.
Collaborate with psych techs, lead psych techs, the therapy team, and clinical nursing support to promote safe patient outcomes.
Float to med-surg units to task when needed.
Document using EPIC and Pyxis and communicate using the SBAR framework.
Use ObservSmart and personal panic alarms for patient monitoring and coordinate with public safety in the building.