Nurse Manager - Behavioral Health Unit

Behavioral Health Nurse Manager

The Nurse Manager Behavioral Health is responsible for the operational, clinical, and administrative leadership of the Behavioral Health unit. This role ensures the delivery of safe, high-quality, patient-centered psychiatric care while promoting a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement. The Nurse Manager oversees daily unit operations, staffing, regulatory compliance, budget management, quality outcomes, and professional development of nursing staff.

Job duties include:

• Providing leadership and oversight for the daily operations of the Behavioral Health unit.
• Recruiting, hiring, onboarding, coaching, mentoring, and evaluating nursing staff.
• Developing staffing plans and managing scheduling to ensure appropriate staffing levels and fiscal responsibility.
• Fostering a positive work environment that supports employee engagement, retention, and professional growth.
• Ensuring compliance with hospital policies, regulatory agencies, accreditation standards, and behavioral health best practices.
• Monitoring patient safety initiatives, including suicide prevention, violence prevention, restraint and seclusion compliance, and de-escalation practices.
• Leading performance improvement initiatives using quality metrics, patient satisfaction data, and clinical outcomes.
• Collaborating with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, case managers, therapists, security, and interdisciplinary teams to coordinate comprehensive patient care.
• Reviewing incident reports and implementing corrective action plans to improve patient and staff safety.
• Overseeing medication management processes and ensuring adherence to psychiatric treatment protocols.
• Managing departmental budgets, productivity, and resource utilization.
• Ensuring completion of annual competencies, mandatory education, and staff performance evaluations.
• Participating in strategic planning, policy development, and hospital committees.
• Serving as a clinical resource and leader during emergencies, patient escalations, and crisis situations.
• Promoting evidence-based practice and supporting staff education and certification.

Qualifications include:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) required.
• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Healthcare Administration, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 35 years of Behavioral Health nursing experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of progressive leadership or management experience in an inpatient behavioral health setting preferred.
• Experience with psychiatric crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, and patient safety initiatives.
• DC RN License required.
• Current BLS certification required.
• CPI (Crisis Prevention Institute) or equivalent crisis intervention certification preferred.
• ANCC Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification (PMH-BC) preferred.

EEO Statement: All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Wellington Regional Medical Center