Psychiatric Registered Nurse (4 North)

Job Description

Job Description

Join Decypher and make a direct impact on the health and readiness of Americas service members, veterans, and their families. Since 2008 Decypher has offered healthcare industry professionals careers where their expertise is valued, and their work makes a meaningful impact. Decypher partners with the Defense Health Agency to deliver professional services, technology, and management solutions. Our mission is to provide and support quality care for our veterans, servicemembers and their families, across the United States.

Job summary: Psychiatric Registered Nurse to provide comprehensive behavioral health care, conduct patient assessments, develop and implement treatment plans, administer medications, and support crisis intervention within a multidisciplinary healthcare team. The ideal candidate will maintain compliance with DoD and Joint Commission standards while delivering compassionate, age-appropriate patient care, education, and behavioral health support across the continuum of care. This role is at Augusta Military Medical Center in Fort Belvoir, VA.

Required Qualifications:

• Education :
  • Associates Degree of Nursing
  • Graduate from a college or university accredited by Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
• Certifications and license:
  • RN with a current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.
• Experience:
  • Minimum 3.5 years of experience working as a Registered Nurse and at least 2 years of Psychiatric Nursing experience.
  • Psychiatric Nurse shall meet the qualifications for that specialty and perform essentially the same functions, within the scope of acceptable for their technical professional discipline and standard, as those required by military and/or government service technical professionals of similar experience and in similar duty assignments. Contractor personnel practices/productivity will be compared to that of other contractor personnel, civil servants and military assigned to the same medical center. The nurse will be caring for child and adolescent psychiatric patients and following skill sets will ensure safe and quality care.
  • Shall be able to read, write, speak, and understand English well enough to effectively communicate with all patients and other health care providers.
  • Possess basic knowledge of the Military Health Care System.
  • Possess knowledge of computer operations and proficiency in the use of basic word processing, data entry and automated medical records.

U.S. Citizenship is required

Key Responsibilities:

• The nurse requires the successful completion of cognitive and didactic testing through written examinations and skills checklists. Testing may vary according to the type of specialty unit but may include but not be limited to the following tasks:
  • Emergency care and emergency medication; perform emergency defibrillation; demonstrate use and operation of defibrillator; administer prescribed medications to include intravenous (IS) fluids.
• The registereed nurse shall attend and participate in: patient nursing reports, patient care conferences, team/unit/clinic conferences, discharge planning, and staff conferences as deemed appropriate by unit, department and ATAMMC.
• Maintain positive professional interpersonal relationships.
• Demonstrates competence in child and adolescent psychiatric conditions. Conduct nursing intake assessment and participate in the management of patients. The nursing process includes assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. RN will make assessments and implement the care plan and document the care provided with results. Perform head-to-toe physical and biopsychosocial assessment. Assess patient/family knowledge level and learning needs, develop and implement a plan of instruction or the patient and family, documenting the demonstrated level of understanding. Assessment plans will be individualized to target age specific learning needs, barriers to learning and cultural needs.
• Obtain patient medical and psychosocial history and pertinent family history and documents on the appropriate forms.
• Formulate a plan of care for the patient based on the patient assessment. The plan will include age appropriate evidence based nursing interventions and expected patient outcomes. The plan will be discussed with the patient and recorded in the electronic health record. The plan will include involvement of the family maintaining open communication with those individuals keeping them informed throughout the hospitalization.
• Communicate pertinent patient data to the charge nurse and/or physician as appropriate.
• Use age specific language that the patient and family will understand.
• Possess the knowledge of interpersonal relationships and the ability to maintain composure and react appropriately while relating to patients, families and other staff members; to manage distraught, irritable, unreasonable or angry individuals; and to maintain positive rapport with all individuals involved in patient care.
• Assess patients' condition for decompensation and potential or life-threatening crises. Distinguish between normal and abnormal physical findings (from physical assessment and vital sign assessment). Plan and implement appropriate nursing care.
• Demonstrate the ability to react with alertness and skill in any emergency situation. Be able to initiate lifesaving measures in the absence of a physician.
• Operate defibrillator, EKG machine and cardiac monitor when appropriate.
• Functions as an integral part of the multi-disciplinary team, facilitating and monitoring the patients plan for care to ensure the best possible outcome.
• Identify impending or existing emotional or psychiatric crisis and provide appropriate intervention (de-escalation).
• Possess knowledge of the pharmacology of most commonly used emergency drugs, anticipated results, usual dosages, and their location on crash cart.
• Administer medications with the knowledge of actions and usual dosages of commonly used psychiatric drugs. Interpret pertinent lab values, notify physician of abnormalities.
• Transcribe or verify transcription of physician orders.
• Implement prescribed physician orders and nursing care and documents in patient medical record.
• May be assigned to serve as Lead Shift Nurse duties, acting as a clinical and operational resource for the unit during a specific shift. This role does not include formal supervisory authority (e.g., disciplinary action, performance evaluation).
  • The Lead Shift Nurse is responsible for facilitating unit operations, coordinating patient flow, and escalating any personnel or management issues to the designated Government supervisor (e.g., Charge Nurse, Nurse Manager, or Nursing Officer of the Day).
• Respond to telephone inquiries regarding clinic services and/or follow-up ancillary reports.
• Perform nursing education groups and support therapeutic groups within scope of practice.
• Identify and monitor patients for the signs and symptoms associated with withdrawal and relapse.
• Teaches and reinforces health promotion and safety patterns of living. Assist patients to integrate Health coping behaviors into life-style choices.
• Utilizes appropriate interview skills and describes, in writing, the patients appearance, and emotional status, interaction with staff, family and/or command, and knowledge level of disease process.
• Prepare all records and reports as may be required in support of services rendered and as required by MTF Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Federal Law, or Service (Army, Navy, and Air Force) regulation.
• All written reports and documentation shall be legible, timely and/or entered correctly in the appropriate electronic system.
• Take part in unit Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement initiatives as required for meeting The Joint Commission standards.

Work Environment & Schedule: Onsite, Monday through Sunday, varying between the hours of 6:45am to 7:15pm and 6:45pm to 7:15am hours not to exceed 40 hours per week, to include an unpaid 30 min or 1 hour lunch. The clinics are closed on Sundays and Federal Holidays, no overtime. RNs will normally work six (6) twelve (12) hour shifts and one (1) eight (8) hour shift in a two-week period. These positions are considered Mission Essential. The contractors are required to report to work in the event of adverse weather conditions or Mass Casualty Scenarios.

Physical requirements: Required to work in an environment which usually involves exposure to infection and contagious diseases, requirement of gloves, gowns, surgical, N95 mask or PAPR for personal
precaution, as appropriate. Maybe required to work in other patient care areas within nurses scope of practice to include Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, Residential Treatment Facility, and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Unit.

Decypher is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce (M/F/D/V)