RN Behavioral Health / BH Crisis Assessment - Casual

Children's Nebraska•Omaha, NE

About The Position

The RN Behavioral Health / BH Crisis Assessment nurse functions as a member of the interdisciplinary team and provides care to patients with behavioral health needs. The role uses the nursing process to deliver comprehensive, developmentally appropriate care to high-risk behavioral patients and their families. The nurse serves as a psychiatric resource for the care team, provides clinical support, monitors compliance with system policies and guidelines, supports accurate documentation, and helps maintain a safe environment. The nurse responds to behavioral emergencies throughout the building and collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to protect patient and staff safety. The role also requires knowledge of regulatory standards for hospitalized patients with behavioral health needs and responsibility for supporting compliance with those standards. The nurse conducts individualized, age-specific assessments; develops and revises patient and family plans of care; implements and evaluates nursing interventions; provides or coordinates education; and documents assessments, care, patient responses, and discharge needs. The nurse uses clinical judgment and evidence-based guidelines to support staff caring for high-risk patients, review observation levels and documentation in EPIC, address care concerns, and promote consistent application of hospital policies. Duties also include helping de-escalate patients, providing physical intervention when needed, documenting and debriefing interventions, auditing physical-intervention documentation, and contributing to quality improvement. Care is delivered with a team-oriented approach, sound clinical judgment, patient and family advocacy, protection of patient health information, and adherence to infection-prevention initiatives.

Requirements

Associate's degree or bachelor's degree from an accredited school of nursing.
Nebraska RN state licensure and/or compact state licensure upon hire.
Basic Life Support certification through the American Heart Association upon hire.
Ability to perform varied duties, shift between tasks without losing efficiency or composure, work under stressful conditions with multiple requests, and prioritize effectively.

Nice To Haves

Two years of psychiatric nursing experience.
Experience with pediatric patients.
Previous experience with EPIC.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse certification (PMH-BC) after two years and/or 2,000 mental health care hours.
Team members who are currently ineligible for advanced certification are strongly encouraged to pursue it upon eligibility.

Responsibilities

Conduct individualized, age-specific patient and family assessments according to unit scope and nursing practice standards.
Collect and document admission assessment information; assess developmental needs, patient and family education needs, and family expectations and involvement.
Identify nursing diagnoses, collaborative problems, and protocols based on patient assessments.
Reassess patients according to unit standards, care guidelines, protocols, and changes in condition, and communicate changes to appropriate people.
Develop, implement, evaluate, and revise individualized patient and family plans of care in collaboration with the Behavioral Health Team and other interdisciplinary partners.
Prioritize patient interventions based on assessments and reassessments.
Coordinate the nursing and interdisciplinary plan of care, identify the need for additional resources or disciplines, and follow through to support clinical outcomes.
Use critical thinking to analyze patient responses to orders, tests, laboratory results, medications, and treatments, and provide age-appropriate nursing interventions.
Provide or coordinate patient and family education based on identified needs and readiness to learn.
Complete timely, accurate medical-record documentation, update computerized care plans, verify order entry, and ensure discharge instructions clearly state post-discharge care needs.
Support a safe environment for high-risk patients by inspecting rooms, identifying hazards, and removing at-risk items.
Provide behavioral health expertise, education, and just-in-time support to staff, supervisors, and physicians caring for high-risk patients.
Review EPIC documentation and orders with staff to ensure appropriate observation levels and accurate, complete documentation.
Identify patient-care concerns in real time, collaborate with others, and escalate concerns as needed.
Educate the patient care team on constant visual observation guidelines, therapeutic interactions, and patient-safety policies.
Promote consistent application of guidelines and policies across the hospital and identify opportunities for performance and quality improvement.
Assist with patient de-escalation and provide physical intervention when needed; document interventions and participate in subsequent debriefings.
Audit physical-intervention documentation and assist with collecting, entering, and sharing data in real time.
Advocate for patients and families and help resolve their concerns.
Protect and secure patient health information and follow infection-prevention initiatives.