Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Functions:

• Responds to emergency situations such as accidents, injuries, violent behavior or outbursts and safety hazards. Provides assistance, summons proper authorities and polices area to maintain order, safety and to protect patients, employees and visitors.
• Manages and participants in behavioral crises including 1:1 observation, redirection, physical restraint and team crisis interventions. Leads and participates restraints of psychiatric patients under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN).
• Monitors conduct of patients and visitors on the unit; Reports problems to the RN in charge.
• Participates in room and safety checks on every shift under the supervision of an RN. Reports safety, fire hazards or security violations.
• Assumes responsibility for awareness of behavioral management plans for acute patients in cooperation with treatment team.
• May assist in securing patient valuables or lost and found articles and in maintaining logs of items received.
• Employs all necessary equipment to include Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during situations that are deemed unsafe and during interactions with precaution patients.
• Assists the charge nurse to provide leadership on the unit. Creates and maintains a therapeutic environment through consistent structure and collaborative problem solving.
• Provides leadership that appropriate tasks are covered in the moment, communicates needs with charge nurse, and steps in to provide support with tasks as needed. Provides feedback in a supportive manner and communicates concerns to appropriate parties.
• Provides in the moment training and direct coaching to team members regarding unit practices, processes, and procedures.
• Participates in any behavioral health technician duties as needed.
• May be required by entity as needed: Must have the ability to safely initiate and use physical-hold techniques to restrain a resisting individual in either standing, seated/kneeling, or floor restraint positions for up to 20 minutes in duration.

Common Expectations:

• Demonstrates leadership through collaboration with other team members, maintaining positive solution-focused communication, taking initiative, leading by example, demonstrating open and consistent communication, understanding of diagnosis and clinical interventions, and investing in the development of growth of staff and the program.
• Demonstrates commitment to patients, visitors and other staff by complying with all applicable safety regulations; learning the impact of medical errors and methodology that will lead to reduction errors; reporting actual and potential errors, as well as hazardous conditions; identifying opportunities to standardize processes and "error proof" systems that will lead to increased safety, and participating in safety education programs and root cause analyses as required.
• Establishes and maintains positive therapeutic relationships with patients and maintains proficiency in principals of de-escalation.