Psychiatry Nurse Practitioner - Iowa

Inpatient Psychiatry Nurse Practitioner

The Inpatient Psychiatry Nurse Practitioner provides advanced practice psychiatric care to patients admitted to an inpatient behavioral health or medical unit. This role focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, and management of acute psychiatric conditions, collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, and support of safe transitions of care.

Key responsibilities include conducting comprehensive psychiatric evaluations for hospitalized patients, diagnosing and managing acute and chronic psychiatric conditions, developing and implementing individualized treatment plans, monitoring patient response to treatment, participating in daily interdisciplinary treatment team rounds, providing crisis intervention and risk assessment, collaborating with psychiatrists, nursing staff, social work, and ancillary services, educating patients and families regarding diagnoses, medications, and treatment plans, coordinating discharge planning and continuity of care, maintaining accurate, timely, and compliant documentation in the electronic health record, and supporting quality improvement, patient safety, and regulatory compliance initiatives.

The practice setting includes an inpatient psychiatric unit or hospital-based behavioral health service, with potential coverage of medical floors for psychiatric consultation. Shift-based or scheduled coverage, including weekends and holidays as required, is also part of the role.

The patient population consists of adult or adolescent inpatient psychiatric patients, including those with acute mood, psychotic, substance-related, and behavioral disorders.

Qualifications include a Master's or Doctoral degree in Nursing, graduation from an accredited Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program, national board certification as a PMHNP, eligibility for unrestricted nurse practitioner licensure in the practicing state, and DEA registration or eligibility.

Skills and competencies required include strong clinical assessment and diagnostic skills, the ability to manage high-acuity psychiatric conditions, excellent communication and interdisciplinary collaboration skills, a commitment to patient-centered, trauma-informed care, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced inpatient environment.

The work environment is hospital-based inpatient behavioral health, with a multidisciplinary, team-based care model focused on safety, stabilization, and recovery.