Mental Health Specialist II

Mental Health Specialist II

Responsibilities Mental Health Specialist II is responsible for providing direct care to patients with psychiatric disorders, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of patients by supporting the maintenance of the therapeutic milieu. The MHS II is also responsible for providing leadership and direction to MHS I staff based upon experience and special training in various areas of mental health service delivery. Displays professional boundaries in relationships with patients at all times.

Essential Job Duties/Responsibilities

• Takes a proactive and productive role in problem solving and program development in unit meeting, and in informal and formal work groups.
• Helps identify patients' problems, needs, and strengths; provides verbal input into the development of treatment plan goals and interventions.
• Communicates regularly with the Nurse or Milieu Manager regarding patient care concerns.
• Ensures that interventions are based on familiarity with patient history, assessment, and treatment plans.
• Observes patients for changes that require immediate intervention and take appropriate action; continually assess behaviors that indicate changes in the patient behavior; adheres to guidelines for patients on special status i.e. suicide, sexual, assaultive behaviors, or AWOL precautions.
• Assists patients with activities of daily living (such as room cleaning, personal care preparation, etc.).
• Assists patients in following community rules and guidelines and in forming positive peer relationships.
• Communicates with patients in a manner which projects empathy, helpfulness and desire to positively impact patient's treatment.
• Provides accurate information on shift-to-shift report and remains on the unit while incoming shift is in report.
• Maintains patient, program, department and related documentations ensuring documentation is timely, accurate and legible.
• Completes relevant flow sheets and other medical records forms legibly, accurately, and in a timely, continuous manner.
• Ensures documentations requiring patient and/or family/guardians' signatures are completed in a timely manner.
• Understands and implements appropriate action to avoid power struggles with patients; works as an effective team member to establish a milieu which minimizes the occurrence of aggressive behavior.
• Maintains a safe, orderly, and therapeutic physical environment for patients.
• Attends mandatory monthly staff meetings.
• Performs other duties as assigned/required by this position.