Mental Health Specialist - AMH Psychotic Disorders

Job Summary

Under direction of the Registered Nurse, the MHS provides direct patient care and participates in therapeutic milieu.

Essential Functions

• Assists the RN in providing direct patient care.
• Accurate and timely documentation of AFS, progress notes, and observation sheets.
• Establishes therapeutic relationships with patients, maintaining professional boundaries.
• Participates in patient rounds or teams.
• Completes patient care assignments.
• Identifies patient behaviors that contribute to the development of a crisis; utilizes non-verbal and verbal techniques to de-escalate crisis situation.
• Intervenes in managing complex patient situations and patient schedules, utilizing department policies and procedures, always promoting the least restrictive alternatives.
• Communicates changes in patient status to RN.
• Follows Standards of Care and protocols for assigned patients.
• Remains awake and alert at all times while on the job.
• Performs Point of Care testing (POC).

Therapeutic Milieu

• Participates in planning and implementation of patient groups.
• Provides and supervises recreation and other off-hall activities according to needs.
• Provides patients with direction, support, and supervision as needed.
• Follows established Nursing policies, procedures, and protocols.
• Active milieu assessment while assigned to checks, particularly attuned to safety concerns.

Unit Environment

• Identifies and reports house cleaning problems to Unit Secretary/ND.
• Identifies and reports equipment problems to Unit Secretary/ND.
• Participates in the unit's inventory system, reporting when supplies are low.
• Initiates activities that assist patients in maintaining a clean environment.
• Initiates activities that promote an organized, safe patient and staff environment.

Activities of Daily Living

• Identifies patient hygiene needs; initiates and implements interventions to meet these needs.
• Provides for patients' nutritional needs according to unit procedure.
• Assists and reassures patients during tests, exams, and procedures.
• Escorts and supervises patients on and off ground, maintaining patient safety.

Professional Growth

• Completes mandatory in-service requirements.
• Identifies areas of strengths and areas in need of professional development with supervisor.
• Maintains competency for treating age-specific patient populations.
• Seeks constructive feedback, regarding work performance, from peers and professional colleagues.
• Participates in critical incident de-briefing.