Nurse (Mental Health) - GS-0610-11 - Naval Medical Center San Diego
Downtown San Diego is located on San Diego Bay. Balboa Park encompasses several mesas and canyons to the northeast, surrounded by older, dense urban communities including Hillcrest and North Park. To the east and southeast lie City Heights, the College Area, and Southeast San Diego. To the north lies Mission Valley and Interstate 8. The communities north of the valley and freeway, and south of Marine Corps Air Station Mirmar, include Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Tierrasanta, and Navajo. Stretching north from Miramar are the northern suburbs of Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, and Ranch Bernado. The far northeast portion of the city encompasses Lake Hodges and the San Pasqual Valley, which holds an agricultural preserve. Carmel Valley and Del Mar Heights occupy the northwest corner of the city. To their south are Torrey Pines State Reserve and the business center of the Golden Triangle. Further south are the beach and coastal communities of La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. Pont Loma occupies the peninsula across San Diego Bay from downtown. The communities of South San Diego (an Enclave), such as San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, are located next to the Mexico-United States border and are physically separated from the rest of the city by the cities of National City and Chula Vista. A narrow strip of land at the bottom of San Diego Bay connects these southern neighborhoods with the rest of the city.
San Diego has one of the top-ten best climates in the United States and has one of the two best summer climates in the country as scored by The Weather Channel. San Diego area has been variously categorized as having either a semi-arid climate or a Mediterranean climate. San Diego's climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and mild winters, with most of the annual precipitation falling between December and March. The city has a mild climate year-round, with an average of 201 days above 70 °F and low rainfall (9–13 inches annually).
Working for the Department of Defense comes with an abundance of benefits and perks to include competitive compensation packages, paid-time off, medical benefits, and retirement package with Thrift Savings Plan to include matching employer contributions. For more information, please visit the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/
Responsibilities
1. Direct Patient Care Duties:
Oversees, reviews, interprets patient assessments and admission data to formulate a comprehensive plan of care based upon established nursing standards and protocols for mental health patients. Conducts and ensures the development, interpretation, implementation, evaluation, and documentation of a plan of care for all patients. Performs comprehensive behavioral health nursing assessment and history to plan, provide and direct nursing care. Utilizes appropriate interview skills to identify existing and potential problems, and formulates a nursing plan of care. Documents in medical record the patient's appearance, emotional status, interaction with staff and/or family, and knowledge level of disease process.
Independently develops and implements an individualized nursing care plan, evaluates and updates the nursing plan as indicated. Interprets and devises nursing care plan for deviations from baseline vital signs, assessments, and tests. Ensures documentation, reporting, and follow up on abnormal findings with the physicians, nurses, and staff. Evaluates, initiates action, and ensures documentation of patient response and outcomes to nursing interventions, evaluates both subjective and objective findings.
Collaborates with the multidisciplinary health care team in developing and providing comprehensive nursing care plans for patients. Utilizes and emphasizes discharge planning to ensure that outcome goals are based on patient and family needs and promotes patient and family involvement in the total plan of care.
Safely and effectively operates equipment used in patient care such as: vital sign machine, oxygen equipment, and contributing to a safe working environment. This includes safe practices of emergency procedures, proper handling of hazardous materials and maintaining physical security. Complies with infection control guidelines and practices universal precautions.
Demonstrates an understanding of diagnosis and treatment regiments in relation to the provision of care to the mental health patient. Ensures the prompt and accurate implementation of physician orders for quality outcomes.
Participates in patient care rounds initially and throughout the shift to ascertain problem areas, changes in level of acuity, and changes in patient needs. Demonstrates flexibility to reorganize workload to meet demands and changes in unit activities.
2. Patient and Staff Education and Leadership:
Promotes patient/family involvement in plan of care and ensures individualized teaching plans for patient/families are actualized. Provides emotional support to patients and their families throughout the continuum of health and illness.
Participates in planning, implementing and evaluating staff education and provides supervision of clinical learning for inpatient and outpatient mental health as well as outpatient clinics. Performs decisively in emergency situations, following established protocols, remaining calm, informing appropriate personnel and documenting events. Performs crash cart inventories and participates in code drills to teach staff and ensure unit readiness. Assists junior staff in developing these skills.
Assesses learning needs and provides individualized teaching for patients and significant others during hospitalization to ensure transfer or discharge objectives are achieved. These include, but are not limited to, diagnosis teaching, suicide prevention, stress management, relapse prevention, and medication teaching.
Provides psychological, spiritual, and social support and makes appropriate referral for patients and significant others. Facilitates groups and individual interactions; mentors junior professional and paraprofessional staff while developing their skills in this area.
Contributes to the development of staff training materials. Training content includes health teaching to promote wellness, management of illness, rehabilitation, preventive measures and instruction regarding diagnostic procedures. Documents instruction and response to educational activities. Updates plan of care based on analysis of patients' response to instruction. Participates in Performance Improvement (Pl) activities by identifying problems, collecting data, monitoring and evaluating unity activities. Assists in formulating plan of action and assessing results. Documents and reports PI activities and education, errors in practice standards and corrective action when appropriate.
Oversees and monitors individual work performance in terms of patient care, quality of service, level of knowledge and demonstrated skills. Provides input to performance evaluations of ancillary civilian, military and contract personnel that are technically supervised. Acts as an expert resource and provides technical supervision for other nurses, team leaders, medical residents, and para-professional members of the health care team.
Assumes responsibility for directing activities of the nursing unit including the assignment of patient care, ensures proper care is being delivered and performs evaluations, in collaboration with physician, to measure the patient's response to care and revise the plan of care accordingly. Interprets and transcribes medical orders; ensures that patient care is recorded appropriately in the medical record to include observations, treatment, and progress.
Participates in planning, implementing, technical supervision and evaluation of nonprofessional staff; providing appropriate feedback and counseling.
Participates in multi-disciplinary quality assurance program to evaluate and ensure staff proficiency, quality of patient care, environmental safety and comprehensive documentation. Keeps current in nursing practice by attending seminars, programs, or workshops for continuing education and by reviewing pertinent literature.
3. Administrative Duties:
The Nurse must report any workplace hazards, injuries, occupational illnesses or property damage resulting from accidents. Assures maintenance, cleanliness, and sterility of medical equipment in patient care areas in the clinic. Monitors clinic activity to meet Infection Control Standards.
Operates and manipulates automated data systems utilized to document patient care. Responsible for ensuring documentation accuracy is performed by all health care workers involved to ensure proper information such as past medical history, adverse drug reactions, allergies are documented. Requests updates to records from other professionals as needed. Attends information technology courses as directed by the organization to gain proficiency in documenting in the electronic medical records and assists in clerical/booking functions as indicated.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Must be a US Citizen
Degree: A graduate or higher level degree, bachelor's degree, associate degree, or diploma from an accredited professional nursing educational program is required. This education must have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.
Licensure: A current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States; and you must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination.
Foreign Degree: A degree from a Foreign Nursing School. Official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools is required for individuals who graduated from foreign nursing schools.
Education/Experience: A diploma, associate degree, or bachelor's degree in Nursing from a professional nursing program and possession of at least one full year of professional nursing experience which includes providing comprehensive nursing care to inpatient medical, operating medical equipment and assisting in developing patient care plans.
BLS Certification: Must possess and maintain a Basic Life Support (BLS) certification.