Behavioral Healthcare Psychiatric Nurse

Psychiatric Nurse

Arlington County's Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking a Psychiatric Nurse to provide professional nursing services for the Behavioral Health Care (BHC) Division. The BHC Division provides outpatient psychiatric services including health and wellness assessments, education and targeted intervention to seriously mentally ill adults and their families. The employee will be a collaborating member of a team which includes a physician, case managers, mental health therapists, and coordinated service providers. The Psychiatric Nurse will provide clinical nursing care with specific consideration of external factors impacting the client's overall health condition. They will also receive cross training to serve in Behavioral Health Care programs including Adult Outpatient Services, Clarendon House Psychosocial Rehabilitation Day program, Child and Family Services Program, Same Day Access, and Office Based Opioid Treatment (OBOT) clinic.

Responsibilities

Specific duties include:

• Performing comprehensive health needs assessments and coordinating primary care integration;
• Conducting health screenings and administering direct care, including administration of injectable medications (IM);
• Referring clients to appropriate resources to promote client well-being;
• Documenting client records to meet local, state, federal and agency requirements;
• Providing nursing services for psycho-social day program activities;
• Documenting and communicating verbally with insurance companies as needed for prior authorization medications;
• Facilitating linkages with other service providers; and
• Coordinating Psychiatric clinic operations in collaboration with the psychiatrist.

The ideal candidate will possess assessment skills, critical thinking skills and a working knowledge of comorbid medical conditions in the chronically mentally ill and/or dual diagnosed. The candidate must also be able to work independently, have effective communication skills and be able to work well with a variety of professional staff.

Qualifications

Minimums Education : Bachelor's degree in nursing from an accredited college or university. Experience: Considerable experience providing nursing care in a psychiatric setting serving clients with mental health, substance abuse or developmental disabilities. Substitution: Education may be substituted by additional directly related experience on a year-for-year basis Licenses/Certifications : Must be licensed as a Registered Nurse in the Commonwealth of Virginia or by endorsement from another state to practice professional nursing in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Desirables: Preference may be given to candidates with experience in one or more of the following:

• Performing technical nursing procedures such as administering treatments and medications;
• Working with a multidisciplinary team in an outpatient setting; and/or
• Providing services in community or inpatient psychiatric settings.

Special Requirements

Background Check: A pre-employment criminal records check will be conducted. It may include checks of the following: criminal record, driving record, education, professional licensure, and credit history. You may be required to sign a release authorizing the County to obtain your background information. A pre-hire federal background check and State of Virginia Central Registry check will also be completed before hire.

Employment restrictions: To ensure that dual relationships are avoided and that employees who are also clients do not relate to their service provider as co-professionals, employees will not be hired by the County to provide or support services to the team or program in which they are current clients:

• You cannot concurrently receive behavioral health services from Arlington County Community Service Board (CSB) programs while employed in an Arlington County CSB program (exception Crisis Intervention services).
• At least 24 months must have passed between receipt of CSB services from Arlington County and employment in an Arlington County CSB program.

Required Skills

• Interpersonal Skills
• Mental and Physical Evaluations
• Problem Solving
• Reading and Writing