Psychiatric Technician - Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit

Psychiatric Technician

The Psychiatric Technician functions under the direction of the Registered Professional Nurse and is responsible to the Behavioral Health Manager. This position provides direct care and maintains a safe and therapeutic milieu for patients on the Behavioral Health Unit. Provides services to the adult population. Brown University Health employees are expected to successfully role model the organization's values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence as these values guide our everyday actions with patients, customers and one another. In addition to our values, all employees are expected to demonstrate the core Success Factors which tell us how we work together and how we get things done. The core Success Factors include: Instill Trust and Value Differences Patient and Community Focus and Collaborate.

Responsibilities:

• Actively participates in the treatment planning process by collaborating with the Professional Nurse to develop the initial problem list and treatment plan.
• Communicates individual treatment plans with other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Implements the treatment plan in accordance with unit policies and procedures and demonstrates the ability to set consistent and supportive therapeutic limits within unit and department standards.
• Assists in the evaluation of care by providing input at team meetings.
• Documents significant patient/family interactions on flowsheet in a timely manner.
• Observes patients in activities of daily living in accordance with the treatment plan (personal hygiene, ambulation, shaving, etc.).
• Establishes therapeutic relationships with patients and encourages their participation in recreational and other therapeutic activities and all treatment groups.
• Consistently models appropriate and therapeutic interpersonal staff/patient interactions to other patients/families.
• Conduct patient rounds to observe and record patient's behavior and reports any unusual behavior to nursing staff.
• Initiates formalnformal supervision and incorporates feedback for improvement in job performance.
• Organizes and participates in recreational activities and some groups. Demonstrates analytical skills and an understanding of psychiatric illnesses and organizes recreational activities and groups to meet psycho-social and intellectual need of patients.
• Responsible for maintaining cleanliness of the group room and reporting any safety hazards to the Charge Nurse.
• Demonstrates interpersonal and communication skills to effectively interact with patient/families as well as other members of the healthcare team.
• Manages aggressive/destructive behavior by providing timely therapeutic interventions. Assists in placing patients in seclusion and/or restraints according to policy and procedures. Assists in patient and room searches.
• Maintains patient confidentiality and respects patient right to privacy.

Minimum Qualifications:

Basic Knowledge: Baccalaureate in Psychology or related field or CNA license with experience working with the behavioral health population. Current CPR certification. Current Brown University Health Crisis Management certification or current enrollment. Demonstrated knowledge and skills necessary to provide care to patients throughout the life span, with consideration of aging processes, human development stages and cultural patterns in each step of the care process.

Experience: Preferred in health care field.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements: General hospital environment with occasional stressful conditions associated with patient care. Must be able to walk and be on feet a minimum of 4 hours to perform continuous rounding safety checks on patients and safety of the unit. Independent Action: Responds to individual patient-care situations demonstrating knowledge and skills acquired through education, certification and work experience. Abnormal situations are referred to direct supervisor.