Inpatient Psychologist

Summary:

The Inpatient Psychologist is responsible for providing a range of clinical duties for inpatient programs and psychology services. The Psychologist’s primary areas of responsibility include the following areas:

• Providing expertise in clinical interventions that reflects methods of best practice related to the professional practice of psychology.
• Providing expertise in the development and implementation of trauma informed care practices to milieu and behavior management.
• Providing training, consultation and supervision to inpatient staff responsible for the direct care of clients.
• Providing professional psychology direct care services for patients in alignment with minimum care standards as outlined by licensing bodies.

Duties related to the psychologist role include ensuring treatment protocols are meeting patient need, opportunities for protocol improvement, providing training and directly intervening with crisis/behavioral management, providing direct-care staff supervision, modeling and training, assisting with discharge disposition, and collaboration with physicians and other professionals in the coordination of care. The Inpatient Psychologist actively participates in quality improvement initiatives, staff training and business development presentations.

Job Duties & Responsibilities:

Collaborate to oversee patient care provided in the clinical unit or service track.

• Interact with the multidisciplinary team to learn the status of patient’s care.
• Provide regular direct services, both individual and group.
• Complete required medical record documentation and correspondence in an accurate and timely manner; monitor the same with staff, via regular chart audits.
• Promote department services by giving internal and external presentations about the department in conjunction with the Marketing department, as appropriate.
• Communicate with medical staff to promote positive relations and to provide quality services.
• Complete disenrollment forms as needed.
• Evaluate inpatient referrals for appropriateness for program.
• Assist with milieu management.
• Participate in program development.

Support and implement the clinical program in conjunction with the medical director(s) and managers of other departments.

• Promote efficient referrals for services throughout the organization.
• Suggest program revisions based upon patient and staff feedback as well as Performance Improvement data.
• Participate in Hospital committees to promote positive problem-solving and improve services.
• Use knowledge of patient rights to act as patient advocate and to respond to patient grievances.
• Participate in resource evaluation and equipment maintenance.

Provide supervision and training

• Provide clinical supervision and training for inpatient staff and for other professional members of the team as assigned.
• Develop staff trainings on interventions to manage the therapeutic milieu and/or clinical program requirements as necessary.
• Establish systems to monitor the quality and effectiveness of staff, programs and referral services to improve patient care and services, including efforts to improve continuation of the clinical pathway and minimal therapeutic dose.
• Establish documentation audits and establish improvement plans to promote effective treatment across disciplines and meet regulatory requirements.
• Propose departmental policies and procedures to the Director of Nursing and Director of Clinical Services and collaborate on their implementation.
• Support education staff with protocol initiatives.
• Fidelity monitoring of groups and ongoing protocol role out support/training.
• Behavior Specialist training.
• Support and coordinate the Mental Health components of Mental Health Addiction Recovery treatment and protocol.

Provide direct Patient Care

• Provide direct patient care with physicians and other health care professionals as necessary to meet patient/family treatment needs and expectations.
• Provide individual, family and group psychotherapy as indicated.
• Establish and monitor clinically appropriate assessment to assist with treatment planning and determining appropriate dispositions.
• Provide professional leadership concerning clinical assessment, treatment, management issues and provide consultation/supervision to direct service staff as part of daily interdisciplinary services.
• Supporting group non-attendance and treatment for protocol non-conforming patients.
• Support with complicated cases and difficult discharge dispositions.
• Request For Discharge follow ups—Motivational Interviewing meetings.

Collaboration with nursi