Registered Nurse (RN) - OTN

Description

Days Off: Saturday, Sunday

Shift: Day (9:00am - 5:00pm)

Insurance Benefits: Dental, Life, Long-term Disability, Medical (no premiums/payroll deductions for employee coverage)

Other Benefits:   Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA),  ORCA card subsidy, Paid Time Off (34 days per year), Retirement Plan

About DESC:

DESC  (Downtown Emergency Service Center) is a nonprofit organization working  to help people with the complex needs of homelessness, substance use  disorders, and serious mental illness achieve their highest potential  for health and well-being through comprehensive services, treatment, and  housing. Our vision is a community where no person is abandoned,  ignored, or experiencing homelessness.

As the region's leading  provider of services to multiply disabled adults who have experienced  chronic homelessness, DESC serves almost 3,000 people each day. Our  integrated service model is designed to help people secure and maintain  appropriate, safe and affordable housing. DESC is recognized nationally  and regionally as an innovator in developing solutions to homelessness.

JOB DEFINITION

The Registered Nurse (RN) provides and coordinates care for individuals suffering from opioid use disorder in DESC’s low-barrier buprenorphine program. The RN acts as a member of an interdisciplinary team to provide buprenorphine services to our community’s most vulnerable population, many of which are experiencing homelessness, mental illness and a range of comorbidities. This position provides the opportunity to participate in community engagement in shelters, encampments and permanent supportive housing. The RN will provide client-centered care through the lens of harm reduction and trauma-informed care. Work is done under the supervision of the Nursing Supervisor and Nurse Manager at DESC’s 216 James St. Clinic.  

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Coordinate a low barrier office-based opioid replacement treatment program focused on a population of clients who have difficulty accessing traditional buprenorphine services. Integrate care with a multidisciplinary team of psychiatric providers, nurses, substance use professionals, peer support specialists, mental health case managers and primary care providers. 
• Participate in contingency-management and ongoing care coordination for individuals with stimulant-use disorder. 
• Assess and monitor patients in induction, stabilization, and maintenance phases of treatment with clients wanting buprenorphine or intramuscular naltrexone, using an approach that is patient-centered and includes harm reduction strategies and motivational interviewing in a non-traditional setting. 
• Provide counseling and education about treatment options to clients and work together with them to set and monitor goals. 
• Follow state and federal guidelines, as well as program-specific policies and procedures for opioid dependent patients in a collaboration with prescribing providers and dispensing pharmacies. 
• Provide screening, counseling and care coordination for both HIV and Hepatitis C.
• Ability to use critical thinking, clinical judgment, patience and flexibility in frequent contacts with clients.  
• Have strong communication and customer service skills.  
• Demonstrate leadership ability as well as using interdisciplinary team concepts. 
• Provide ongoing assessment of mental status and the positive impact and side effects of treatment. 
• Be available for drop-in clients as well as those with scheduled visits, keep posted hours, and perform community outreach. 
• Assess clients for a range of health care needs and facilitate linkage and on-going connection to relevant urgent, primary and specialty health services to ensure continuity of care. Advocate for patients’ access to a variety of community resources and services. 
• Collaborate closely with other DESC services, particularly substance use disorder staff. 
• Consult and collaborate with community providers to ensure continuity of care and that patients’ needs are being met, and rights maintained. 
• Provide nursing services and basic wound care.
• Serve as an educational resource and provide consultation for DESC staff. 
• Participate in psychiatric consultation, supervision, program meetings and in-service trainings. 
• Comply with the agency’s clinical accountability policies and procedures; maintain current and complete clinical records; participate in quality assurance reviews. 
• Participate in verbal de-escalation and crisis interventions in emergent situations and be willing and able to assist other staff as needed to maintain a safe and secure env