RNWEO

Description

The registered nurse develops, implements, and coordinates a holistic plan of care with the other health disciplines, providing an optimum‑healing environment for body, mind, and spirit. The psychiatric mental health nurse uses age‑specific guidelines to create and implement a plan of care for patients based on their level of functioning. Registered nurses are a member of the multidisciplinary health‑care team, evaluating and coordinating resources, educating patients and families, and participating in care conferences.

They report directly to the nursing supervisor and work collaboratively to provide holistic care to acute or transitional mental‑health patients and families.

• Insure maintenance of the therapeutic environment through proper use of the Teaching‑Family model of care and implementation of the treatment plan.
• Maintain a therapeutic milieu and a safe environment by continual assessment.
• Engage the patient in therapeutic communications (one‑on‑one).
• Complete the bio‑psychosocial physical assessment, develop an age‑specific and developmentally appropriate plan of care at admission.
• Assess patient/family education and discharge needs with the interdisciplinary team.
• Develop and lead interdisciplinary care conferences in collaboration with the health‑care team.
• Communicate plan of care to other members of the health‑care team.
• Document assessments, interventions and responses to care.
• Utilize leadership skills through mentoring, preventing, teaching, delegating and coaching members of the health‑care team.
• Develop, organize and facilitate group sessions.
• Use positive interpersonal skills, conflict management, problem‑solving and crisis‑management critical thinking to promote development of the health‑care team.
• Participate in quality improvement processes.
• Attend regularly scheduled in‑services to a total of 12 per year.
• Maintain all employment requirements current (e.g., TB, CPR, CPI, etc.).
• Attend mandatory nursing meetings.
• Verify and interpret pathology reports and consults, alert the physician as to changes in the patient’s condition, and activate the plan of care.
• Carry out physician orders regarding diet, medication, and treatment.
• Obtain physician orders and authorize implementation of seclusion/restraints according to hospital policy.
• Critically evaluate the clinical status of patients using the nursing process.
• Demonstrate, supervise, and assess competency for waived testing or for phlebotomy.

• Utilize Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) techniques.
• Provide care related to DSM‑V behavior diagnoses.
• Knowledge of all psychotropic medications.
• Provide education to patients/families based on identified needs and limitations.
• Provide opportunities for patients and families to question, discuss, and explore feelings about prescribed therapies, interventions, and diagnoses.
• Document in progress notes accurate and detailed descriptions of patients’ behaviors relative to the treatment plan and diagnoses.

• Arkansas Licensed Graduate of an Accredited School of Nursing.
• Current Arkansas Registered Nurse license.
• Experience with adolescents and children in a psychiatric setting preferred.
• Lift and hold at least 50 pounds for one minute.
• Requires the strength and stamina to perform clinical duties.
• Must be physically capable to receive verbal and written directions, and capable of sitting and standing for several hours.
• Must have good auditory, visual, and olfactory ability; ability to use hands and fingers to handle or feel objects, tools or controls.
• Must be able to maintain effective audio‑visual discrimination and perception needed for making observations, communicating, reading and writing, and operating office equipment and other treatment equipment.
• Must be able to use a telephone to communicate verbally and a computer to communicate through written means, to review information and enter/retrieve data, to see and read characters on a computer screen, chart or other treatment items.
• Must be willing and able to work with all patients of Methodist Family Health.
• Flu vaccination is mandatory and required for all positions (subject only to qualified exemptions).