RN Behavioral Health / BH Inpatient - Days

Children's Hospital & Medical Center•Omaha, NE

About The Position

The RN Behavioral Health nurse functions as a member of the interdisciplinary team, with primary responsibility for caring for patients with behavioral health needs. The nurse uses the nursing process to deliver comprehensive, developmentally appropriate care to high-risk behavioral patients and their families, and serves as a psychiatric resource for the care team. This includes providing clinical support, monitoring compliance with system policies and documentation guidelines, and maintaining a safe environment. The nurse responds to behavioral emergencies throughout the building and collaborates with the interdisciplinary team to promote patient and staff safety. The position requires knowledge of regulatory standards for hospitalized patients with behavioral health needs and responsibility for supporting compliance with those standards. The role conducts individualized, age-specific assessments; develops and revises patient and family care plans in collaboration with the Behavioral Health Team; implements and evaluates nursing care; and documents assessments, interventions, patient responses, and discharge needs. The nurse also supports staff caring for high-risk patients through education, clinical guidance, safety reviews, and real-time assistance with patient-care concerns. The schedule is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m., for 36 hours per week.

Requirements

Associate's degree from an accredited school of nursing, required; or bachelor's degree from an accredited school of nursing, required.
Registered Nurse state licensure and/or compact state licensure in Nebraska, required upon hire.
Basic Life Support certification from the American Heart Association, required upon hire.
Ability to perform varied duties, shift between tasks without loss of efficiency or composure, work under stressful conditions with multiple requests, and demonstrate prioritization skills.

Nice To Haves

Two years of psychiatric nursing experience.
Experience with pediatric patients.
Previous experience with EPIC.
Certification as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse (PMH-BC); preferred upon hire, with certification indicated after two years and/or 2,000 mental health care hours.

Responsibilities

Conduct individualized, age-specific patient and family assessments, including admission assessments and reassessments based on unit standards, patient condition, and identified care needs.
Identify nursing diagnoses, collaborative problems, and protocols based on assessment findings.
Develop, implement, evaluate, and revise individualized patient and family plans of care in collaboration with the Behavioral Health Team, family, and healthcare team.
Prioritize and deliver nursing interventions according to patient assessments, condition, age-specific needs, evidence-based guidelines, and established standards.
Coordinate nursing and interdisciplinary care, identify the need for other disciplines or outside resources, and follow through to support clinical outcomes.
Provide or coordinate patient and family education according to identified needs and readiness to learn.
Complete timely and accurate documentation, including assessments, care plans, medication records, orders, patient responses, and discharge instructions.
Support a safe environment for patients with high-risk behaviors by inspecting rooms, identifying hazards, and removing at-risk items.
Provide behavioral health expertise, education, and just-in-time clinical support to staff, administrative supervisors, and physicians caring for high-risk behavioral patients.
Review EPIC documentation and orders with staff to ensure observation levels are appropriate and documentation is accurate and complete.
Identify patient care concerns in real time, collaborate with others, and escalate concerns as needed.
Educate the patient care team about constant visual observation guidelines, therapeutic interactions, and patient safety, and support consistent application of policies.
Identify and present opportunities for performance and quality improvement.
Assist with patient de-escalation and physical intervention when needed, document interventions thoroughly and accurately, and participate in post-event debriefings.
Audit physical intervention documentation and assist with collecting, entering, and sharing related data in real time.
Advocate for patients and families and assist in resolving their concerns.
Protect patient health information and follow infection prevention initiatives.