Registered Nurse V Unit Manager

The Department of Mental Health (DMH), Tewksbury Hospital is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Nurse Manager to work with resilient patients navigating their journey on the road to recovery.

Please note: This position is 40 hours per week.  The incumbent will work 1st shift schedule 8:30am-5:00pm, Days off: Saturday/Sunday

Employees in this position will be required to perform mandatory overtime.

Duties and Responsibilities (these are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Provides direct patient care, custody, instruction, and supervision to adult mentally ill and forensic patients on locked inpatient DMH psychiatric units.
• Practices Principals of Collaboration, Assessment, Recovery and Environment (CARE), including controlled takedown, Restraint and Seclusion when necessary, to provide a safe environment.
• Identifies and provides the delivery of individualized patient care by assessing patient needs administering standard nursing treatment, planning interventions, evaluating patients' conditions, and adjusting care in conjunction with other providers.
• Works with patients by providing instruction to facilitate the independent management of their personal, hygiene and health needs.
• Identifies, evaluates, and responds to changes in patient conditions, documenting and reporting such changes to the appropriate person to ensure prompt response to patient needs.
• Performs duties of medication and treatment nurse following pertinent policies and procedures to carry out physician's orders in a safe and therapeutic manner.
• Provides psychosocial support to patients through individual counseling and group work, leading or co-leading two patient groups per week as well as patient community meeting.
• Practice’s principles of CARE utilizing early intervention and de-escalation techniques to intervene in escalating situations, utilizing controlled takedown and principles of seclusion and restraint when they are unavoidable and necessary to maintain a safe environment.
• Maintains an awareness of the DMH regulations and hospital policy and procedure regarding the use of Seclusion and Restraint, to maintain patient dignity and human rights.
• Provides nursing care for patients by following professional, hospital, departmental and certification standards to maintain quality care.
• Meets with patients to investigate complaints by patients and others regarding treatment, room assignments, etc. and attempts to resolve such complaints to enhance communication and patient satisfaction.
• Evaluates nursing activities on all shifts by reviewing patient charts, observing nursing care and visiting patients to ensure that care is carried out as directed.  Participates in IOP activities and in Quality Improvement reviews on unit to ensure continuous improvement in patient care standards are maintained.
• Supervises employees of a lesser grade through observation of staff, staff meetings, rounds, and chart reviews, and evaluation of performance to ensure continuous quality of patient care.
• Maintains and communicates to nursing staff a thorough knowledge of DMH, DPH, CMS and Joint Commission and HIPAA standards to maintain standards of care.
• Serves on various hospital committees, nursing staff meeting, patient care conferences and in-service programs as required to maintain standards of care.
• Assesses educational needs and forwards information to staff development for the purpose of developing programs to meet educational needs.<