Admissions: Discharge Nurse

Job Summary

To deliver quality general and psychiatric nursing care to patients who are hospitalized for treatment of psychiatric or emotional disorders; to support the hospital and program philosophy of care; to aid the admission, transfer, and discharge efforts of the hospital; to ensure the safety and well-being of each patient. The Registered Nurse will provide professional nursing care to patients according to hospital policy and procedure; will assess patients, their care needs, plan and implement nursing care procedures, evaluate patient progress and modify care plans as necessary; will provide teaching to patients and their families; will direct the work of nursing support staff through the use of appropriate delegation and supervision skills. The RN will assist with the coordination of admitting patients to their assigned units, transferring patients between units, and discharging of patients off their units. This RN reports to the Director of Quality/Performance, Risk Management, Compliance.

Essential Duties:

• Coordinate and execute on patient admissions, transfers, and discharges, and assure that relevant nursing documentation and processes are completed in a timely manner.
• Provides clinical oversight to nursing personnel providing nursing services to all patients coming for treatment and/or appropriate referral from other clinics.
• Provides psychiatric nursing interventions and treatment education, provides intervention appropriate to the specific treatment needs of the patient.
• Supervises special treatment interventions such as de-escalation, physical restraint, seclusion.
• Able to provide leadership and supervision of direct care staff, delegate responsibilities, make shift assignments, and monitor performance.
• Provide timely, accurate, and thorough documentation of patient behavior, medication administration, medical interventions, treatment planning, and treatment interventions. Documentation reflects professional standards.
• Knowledge of psychiatric nursing skills, ability to assess patient physical and emotional status. Knowledge of seclusion and restraint protocols, national patient safety standards, age-specific competencies, pain management, and standards established by the Texas Board of Nursing.
• Accurately conveys patient behavior and status verbally and in writing. Professional verbal and written skills for communicating patient status, and treatment needs to clients, families, professionals, and employees of the facility. Able to verbally adapt spoken communication to meet the needs of patients.
• Proficiency in facilitating medication education groups, and training/assisting ADLs. Proficiency with training and oversight of vital signs checks.
• Able to safely de-escalate and manage aggressive patients, to oversee seclusion and physical restraint of patients per policy. Able to handle multiple projects under deadlines with short notice.
• Maintains professional therapeutic relationships with staff, patients, families, and visitors. Able to maintain patient confidentiality.
• Maintains patient confidentiality.
• Maintains accurate records and documentation of patients.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education and/or Licensure – Degree in nursing (RN) required, Bachelor’s degree in health related field a plus. CPR and SAMA (or obtained within 30 days upon hire). Valid Texas RN license in good standing required. BLS, ACLS, CPI certifications a plus.

Licensure/Certification: Current unrestricted Texas Registered Nurse licensure.

Experience – 5+ years’ experience as RN or BSN required, emergency department-type experience a plus; 2+ years RN or BSN work experience in a behavioral health or hospital setting preferred.

Additional Requirements – None

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

§  Must be able to concentrate on work amidst distractions such as noise, conversations and foot traffic; must be able to consistently meet deadlines; and finish all food preparation at specified serving time; must be flexible in work hours in order to meet patient and organization operating needs.

§  Must maintain self-control in volatile or hostile customer services interactions.

§  High school level reading and writing skills; acceptable oral and written communication skills along with legible handwriting.

§  Customer service skills in face to face interactions with dealing courteously with patients, the public, and other staff within the organization.

§  Use of appropriate social skills, including demonstration and respect for patients and staff; empathy toward patients; skills in teaching or assisting with activities of daily living helpful.

§  Must be able to work independently, in a result restricted physical environment for extended periods of time.

§  Skill to independently interpret reference materials to comply with law, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, etc.

§  Ability to apply time management practices to prioritize, schedule and complete work effectively to comply with mandated policies and deadlines.

§  Ability to work on multiple tasks or parts of tasks simultaneously to ensure timely completion of work activities.

Physical Requirements/Environmental Conditions

Perform the following with or without reasonable accommodations:

§  Ability to stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, reach, stand, walk, push, pull, lift, grasp, and be able to perceive the attributes of objects such as size, shape, temperature, and/or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of the fingertips. 

§  Ability to express and exchange ideas via spoken word during activities in which they must convey detail or important spoken instructions to others accurately, sometimes quickly and loudly.

§  Hearing to perceive the nature of sound with no less than 40 db loss @ Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz with or without correction; ability to perceive detailed information orally and make fine discriminations in sound. 

§  Perform repetitive motions with wrists, hands, and fingers. Individual must be able to exert up to 100 pounds of force occasionally and to be able to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. 

§  Light work most of the time, exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently; and occasionally medium work, that is exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 20 pounds of force frequently.

§  Work requires a minimum standard of visual acuity with or without correction that will enable people in the role to complete administrative and clerical tasks, as well as inspect and analyze.

§  Must be able to work and concentrate amidst distractions such as noise, conversation and foot traffic; ability to handle interruptions often and be able to move from one task to another.

§  While worker may possibly be subjected to temperature changes, the worker is generally not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions as the work is predominantly inside.

• Vision Insurance
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• 401K Retirement Plan
• Healthcare Spending Account
• Dependent Care Spending Account
• PTO Plan with Holiday Premium Pay
• Life Insurance (Supplemental Life, Term, and Universal plans are also available.)
• Short and Long-Term Disability (with additional buy-in opportunities)