ACT Nurse

Act Nurse/Nurse

The Act Nurse, supervised by the Act Team Leader/Clinical Supervisor, provides culturally competent and appropriate mental health nursing care to people served by Community Counseling Solutions (CCS) in the Act program. The position provides the treatment in accordance with the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR's) and the mission and values of CCS. The position works closely with other involved community partners and is professional in all aspects of service delivery. Provides mental health nursing care, medication oversight and treatment to participants of the Act program. Along with the multidisciplinary Act team, the nurse Act will provide recovery, treatment, and support to clients.

Supervision Received: This position is supervised by the Clinical Supervisor.

Supervision Exercised: This position does not exercise any formal supervision.

Responsibilities:

• Administers oral medications and injections, following physician's prescriptions and procedures.
• Takes and records measures of patient's general physical condition such as pulse, temperature and respiration to provide daily information.
• Leads prescribed individual, group therapy and/or education sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.
• Consult with community agencies and families to maintain coordination in the treatment process.
• Assist Act participants in taking medications successfully on their own using behavior tailoring techniques, coaching, reminders and other strategies.
• Issues medications from dispensary and maintains records in accordance with specified procedures.
• Educates and trains staff on medication administration, ensures documentation is kept according to policies.
• Actively participate in joint case planning and coordination with agency employees and relevant agency contractors. Act as a liaison between clients and other agencies. Act as a client advocate when appropriate.
• Maintain client records using an electronic medical record. Must be documented as required by program standards and funding requirement including documentation of client's interactions, behavioral health assessments & individual service plans.
• Triage and assess clients for medical concerns and make referrals to hospital and other agencies.
• Formulate individualized nursing care plans and participate in patient care meetings.
• Consult with other health team members to lend guidance as necessary.
• Monitor patient condition, note changes in status, utilize judgment and take appropriate action.
• Complete all paperwork in a way that is professional, clinically sound and timely as prescribed by the OAR's and other pertinent guidelines. Required to ensure that all paperwork is present, and/or the client record is well maintained.
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements:

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required.

Education and Experience: Requires sufficient education to qualify as a registered nurse. Additional related experience or training is helpful.

Must have a current registered nurse license issued by the state of Oregon.

Individual must be able to pass a criminal history background check.

Preference given to individuals who have worked with individuals who have mental illnesses in a residential or psychiatric hospital setting.

Other Skills and Abilities:

• Must possess, or have the ability to acquire, knowledge of symptoms and challenges faced by people with mental illness and addictions.
• Must have, or possess the ability to acquire, knowledge about relevant OAR's.
• Must have the ability to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing and have the ability to work independently and complete all responsibility in a thorough and timely fashion.
• Must have skills to professionally work with the public and the ability to coordinate services across various agencies and community groups.
• Must be able to develop cooperative and respectful relationships with clients and their families.
• Must have knowledge, or the ability to acquire knowledge, about the recovery model.
• Must possess the ability to represent the interest of the customer and the agency in a favorable light in the community.
• Must have the ability to work well with teams and other groups of individuals.
• The position requires the handling of highly confidential information. Must adhere to rules and laws pertaining to client confidentiality.
• Must posses, or have the ability to possess functional knowledge of business English and medical terminology.
• Must have good spelling and basic mathematical skills.
• Must have the ability to learn assigned tasks readily and to adhere to general office procedures.
• Good organizational and time management skills are essential.
• Must have in depth knowledge of standard office equipment.

Must be able to communicate effectively in both written and oral formats. Must have the ability to present and exchange information internally across teams and co-workers, and externally with customers and the public.

Must hold a valid drivers license and be insurable or carry insurance for client service purposes and for travel between business offices, the community, and to attend required meetings and/or trainings. Must pass all criminal history check requirements as required by ORS 181.536-181.537 and in accordance with OAR 410-007-0200 through 410-007-0380.

Pre Hire Drug Screen Required

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, smell or feel. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and distance vision.

Personal Auto Insurance:

Must hold a valid driver's license as well as personal auto insurance for privately owned Vehicles utilized for CCS business such as client service purposes, travel between business offices and the community, to attend required meetings and trainings.

Must show proof of $300,000 or more liability coverage for bodily injury and $100,000 or more in property damage, and maintain said level of coverage for the duration of employment at CCS.

The employee's insurance is primary with CCS insurance being secondary. CCS reserves the right to deny any employee the use of a vehicle owned by CCS.

Work Environment:

Work is performed in an secure facility. May perform follow-up duties in the community. The noise level in the environment is usually moderate, but occasionally one may be exposed to loud noises. The noise in the community, including the homes of customers, is often difficult to predict. Occasional out of area travel and overnight stays will be required for attendance at meetings and/trainings.

Handicap access may not be available at all places where this position must go. There are some situations where this position may be required to respond to environments where a client is in crisis. The environments in these situations are difficult to predict and may be in uneven terrain.

This position exposes the employee to the everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as an office or home environment.

Community Counseling Solutions is an equal opportunity employer member of National Health Services Corporation.