Registered Nurse (RN)

Registered Nurse (RN) – Psychiatric / Behavioral Health

Mississippi State Hospital | Whitfield, MS (15 miles southeast of Jackson)

State Classification:

Nurse III [confirm. See note on levels below.

Unit:

[Adult Psychiatric / Forensic / Adolescent / Substance Recovery / Jaquith Nursing Home / Whitfield Medical Surgical Hospital]

Lead care where it matters most

At Mississippi State Hospital, RNs lead the nursing care for people living with serious mental illness, helping them stabilize, recover and return to their communities. We're a publicly funded behavioral health program of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. Our 282-bed hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission. Our campus also includes a 198-bed nursing home and Whitfield Medical Surgical Hospital, which provides acute medical care, lab and X-ray services, and outpatient clinics.

Our nursing team is led by a Nurse Executive on the hospital's leadership team. Nearly 1,000 professionals work here around the clock. If you're an experienced RN who wants to lead, mentor and make a real difference, we'd like to meet you.

What you'll do

Patient care

• Give medications and prescribed treatments, and watch for reactions and side effects
• Assess patients, take vital signs, and record their physical and mental health status
• Handle complex or sensitive care, and respond to changes in patient condition or behavior
• Use approved protective interventions, following hospital policy and training.

Teamwork and care planning

• Serve on the medical treatment team alongside psychiatry, behavioral health, social services and recreation therapy
• Develop and carry out care plans, and coordinate assessments from other disciplines
• Review medical records, and document care in the hospital's new electronic health record
• Help with discharge planning, and teach patients and families about their care

Leadership

• Oversee, mentor and delegate work to LPNs, CNAs and Mental Health Technicians
• Review the work and documentation of nursing staff on your shift
• Report and help investigate incidents
• Serve as shift supervisor when assigned

What you'll need

• Current, unrestricted Mississippi Registered Nurse license [confirm whether multistate compact licenses are accepted]
• At least 2 years of experience as an RN
• American Heart Association BLS certification [confirm whether it's required at hire, and whether ACLS is preferred]
• Psychiatric, behavioral health, long-term care or charge nurse experience is a plus
• Crisis prevention training is a plus
• A calm, steady approach and respect for people living with mental illness
• Strong leadership, communication and organizational skills, and a willingness to learn and grow
• Male applicants ages 18–26 must be registered with Selective Service

Why you'll love working here

Pay and benefits

• Competitive state salary, plus possible extra pay based on job type, duty and location
• Health and prescription insurance, plus wellness benefits
• Optional discounted dental, vision and cancer insurance, plus flexible spending accounts
• Personal leave, sick days, building from your first month, paid holidays
• State retirement plan (vested after 8 years) and deferred compensation
• State Credit Union membership
• [Confirm: tuition reimbursement for nursing education]

Room to grow

• A clear nursing career ladder: Nurse I, II and III, then Nurse Team Lead, Nurse Supervisor and Nurse Manager
• Variety in one place: acute and long-term adult psychiatry, forensic services, adolescent care, women's substance recovery, nursing home care and acute medical care
• A teaching setting with a psychiatry residency program and nursing students from partner schools
• CPR and AED training through the hospital's American Heart Association Training Center
• State professional development programs through the Mississippi State Personnel Board
• Eligibility for promotions after 6 months of service

A culture that recognizes you

• Nurse Appreciation Week celebrations honoring our nursing team
• Monthly MSH STARS celebrations for Employees of the Month, service milestones, promotions and new certifications
• Annual Employee of the Year awards, including a Clinical Service category
• Perfect attendance awards, plus campus traditions like MSH Day and National Hospital Week
• An on-campus employee dining room

A great place to work

• A 350-acre wooded campus just 15 miles from Jackson's restaurants, entertainment and events

Mississippi State Hospital is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. [Insert the client's full EEO statement from their careers page]