Outpatient Psych Nurse Practitioner

St. Josephs Behavioral Health Center is a member of Dignity Health. The word dignity perfectly defines what our organization stands for showing respect for all people by providing excellent care. St. Josephs Behavioral Health Center is a licensed not-for-profit facility providing comprehensive behavioral health services for psychiatric and chemical dependency disorders. We offer a 35-bed inpatient hospital day treatment and outpatient services. Our specially trained staff of board certified psychiatrists physicians and licensed professionals are committed to providing compassionate quality care and creating an atmosphere that fosters communication trust and personal growth.

Position Summary:

The Nurse Practitioner is a registered professional nurse with advanced skills, employed by Behavioral Health medical center, for the purpose of enhancing the quality of care for behavioral health patients. The Nurse Practitioner is accountable for ensuring high quality cost-effective care for behavioral health patients. This responsibility includes the utilization of specialized advanced clinical nursing skills and knowledge in the areas of direct and indirect patient care, clinical nursing research, consultation, and the education of patients, families, and personnel. The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in collaboration with physicians is responsible for performing medical examination, diagnosis of medical conditions, Psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and managing all phases of care for adult and adolescent patients. The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner primary area of service will be to the outpatient center, but may occasionally float to the inpatient area. The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who is Master's prepared focuses on the care of all phases of care. The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner has extensive experience and expertise in assessing behavioral health patients. The attending physician supervises the nurse practitioner's clinical practice. Responsibilities include the coordination of care with other members of the health care team to provide quality care and patient education and to minimize system variances. The Nurse Practitioner participates in collecting, collating, and analyzing data to identify trends and opportunities to improve care, patient information, and/or programming enhancements. The Nurse Practitioner is a mentor who demonstrates ability in providing educational experiences and communicating knowledge of patient care to members of the interdisciplinary team, patient, and families. This position requires providing care/service to patients in all levels of treatment through rehabilitating patient population in a manner that demonstrates an understanding of the functional/developmental age of the individual served. This position requires the full understanding and active participation in fulfilling the Mission of the Organization. It is expected that the employee will demonstrate behavior consistent with the Core Values. The employee shall support the Organization's strategic plan and the goals and direction of the Performance Improvement Plan.

Minimum

• Master's degree preferred & required if graduating after 2002

• Certification/Eligibility as Nurse Practitioner by a recognized national certifying body that has established standards for nurse practitioners

• Minimum 2 years of experience in psychiatric/mental health nursing as an R.N. Satisfactory completion of a formal Nurse Practitioner Training Program at an accredited institution

• Demonstrates excellent communication skills with patients, staff, and physicians

• Demonstrates proficiency in problem solving and critical thinking skills

• Demonstrates excellent organizational skills and self-direction using sound judgment

• Current, valid California licenses as a Registered Nurse and as a Nurse Practitioner.
• Current BLS  through the American Heart Association.
• Possession of a furnishing number from the State of California Board of Registered Nursing and DEA number.

Preferred

• Master's degree preferred & required if graduating after 2002

• Prefer graduation from a program using ACNP curriculum