ATU Nurse Leader - Night shift

FLSA Status: EXEMPT – This position is classified as Exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is not eligible for overtime pay.

Position Summary The ATU Nurse Leader – Night Shift is responsible for the day-to-day clinical and operational leadership of the ATU during nighttime hours. This role oversees nursing staff, mental health technicians, and therapeutic programming to ensure safe, high-quality, patient-centered care in a structured treatment environment. The Nurse Leader promotes a culture of safety, accountability, collaboration, and therapeutic engagement while supporting staff performance, patient flow, regulatory compliance, and interdisciplinary coordination.

Essential Responsibilities Provide night-shift leadership and operational oversight for the inpatient mental health unit, ensuring effective coordination of patient care, staffing, and daily therapeutic programming.

Supervise, support, and hold accountable registered nurses, licensed practical nurses if applicable, and mental health technicians assigned to the night shift.

Coordinate and monitor daily programming to ensure groups, therapeutic activities, milieu management, and patient engagement interventions are carried out as planned.

Partner with interdisciplinary team members, including providers, therapists, case managers, and other support staff, to support individualized treatment plans and continuity of care.

Ensure safe staffing, appropriate assignment distribution, and real-time response to changes in census, acuity, admissions, discharges, and patient behavioral needs.

Provide clinical guidance and leadership in psychiatric and behavioral health interventions, including crisis response, de-escalation, observation practices, and therapeutic communication.

Oversee medication administration practices, nursing documentation, patient assessments, care planning, and handoff communication for compliance, timeliness, and quality.

Monitor unit operations to promote a safe, therapeutic, trauma-informed environment for patients, staff, and visitors.

Coach staff on performance expectations, workflow efficiency, patient engagement, professionalism, and adherence to policies, procedures, and standards of care.

Participate in hiring, onboarding, orientation, training, competency validation, and ongoing development of nursing staff and mental health technicians.

Address staff concerns, patient care issues, and operational barriers promptly and escalate issues as needed to nursing or administrative leadership.

Support performance improvement initiatives, patient safety efforts, restraint and seclusion reduction strategies, and quality outcome monitoring.

Review incidents, patient concerns, and staff-reported events; assist with follow-up, documentation, corrective action, and process improvement planning.

Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory, accreditation, and organizational standards related to behavioral health care, staffing, documentation, and patient treatment programming.

Lead or support shift huddles, safety rounds, interdisciplinary communication, and daily coordination meetings to align care priorities and operational needs.

Serve as a role model for therapeutic leadership, customer service, professionalism, accountability, and respectful team collaboration.

Handle with Care Instructor which helps train all staff and perform ongoing drills.

Orientates new staff and performs ongoing competency assessments and training.

Ensures all regulatory testing are complete to include QC and safety checks.

Maintains and orders stock medications

Ensure that the AED is checked and safety bag is stocked.

Takes after hour calls in the ATU and coordinates coverage as needed.

Coordinate with AOC as needed for after hour crisis support

Performs chart audits to ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory regulations.

Required Qualifications Current, active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the applicable state.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) preferred

Minimum of 3–5 years of nursing experience, with behavioral health, psychiatric, or inpatient mental health experience strongly preferred.

Prior leadership, charge nurse, supervisor, or management…