ACT Nurse

General Statement of Duties:

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Nurse (Registered Nurse or Licensed Professional Nurse) will provide in-home services to clients with severe and persistent mental illness. Position is responsible for meeting the nursing service needs of agency consumers by providing competent standards of care in direct and indirect care roles. The Nurse will assist clients with medical aspects of their care through administering and delivering medications, assessing for medication side effects, educating about medications taken to ensure patient’s informed consent, and providing education about symptoms management. The Nurse will work in conjunction with others on the ACT Team to provide comprehensive services for clients in their homes and community settings. This position involves a rotation of day, evening and weekend shift coverage including overnight and weekend rotation of on-call coverage. This position includes assessing service needs, developing treatment plans and providing assistance with access to community resources. Incumbent assists in obtaining medication and monitors response to prescribed medications and ensures that the medical staff has accurate information about the consumer’s response and/or difficulties related to the medication. The incumbent is expected to exercise a high level of confidentiality regarding clients and services. Receives regular direct supervision from ACT Supervisor, however, direct oversight of medical duties is performed by ACT Psychiatric Care Provider. Assures compliance with agency policy, client rights, confidentiality, licensure regulations and Medicaid regulations as applicable.

Major Essential Functions:

• Assist in obtaining, safe storage, handling, and administration of IM and oral medications in compliance with state and federal law, department guidelines, and Community Service Board policy and procedure, as well as safe storage and handling of necessary medical supplies.
• Prepares medication for regular delivery to client, checking medication orders for accuracy. As well as filling out proper documentation as per written protocol.
• Practices good venipuncture techniques and administers intramuscular injections under the direction of the medical prescriber.
• Provides basic medical assessment to consumers, including monitoring vital signs.
• Monitors clients for development of side effects of medications, reporting this to the prescriber and documenting as such in the client case record.
• Assists with calling in medications ordered by the prescriber to pharmacies as authorized by psychiatric care provider.
• Assists psychiatric care provider with managing indigent programs and use of sample medications, as needed for clients.
• Assists with arranging and coordinating laboratory testing as ordered by the psychiatric care provider.
• Assists with obtaining prior authorizations from insurance companies for client medications as ordered by the psychiatric care provider.
• Assists with therapeutic interventions in both individual and group settings to persons who are in crisis due to their mental health status.
• Assists with admission process for individuals being admitted to the program.
• Responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of the medication room and other program areas on a routine basis.
• Provides medication, health, and wellness education on an individual and group basis to clients.
• Provides training and support with activities of daily living, performs crisis intervention, and facilitates prescreening/hospitalizations when necessary. Assists and participates in all hospital diversion, hospital care coordination, and hospital discharge/re-integration services.
• Documents client contacts and maintains client records in accordance with established board policy and procedure.
• Assists with discharge planning and process, which includes ensuring clients are discharged with adequate supply of medications and the resources to obtain continued needed supplies.
• Makes effective use of technology available to use.
• Maintains effective relationships with co-workers and clients based on courtesy, compassion, and respect.
• Participates in team meetings, clinical staffing and supervision.
• Participates in professional development training, seminars, and conferences.
• Is responsible for the duties as assigned that are consistent with established Board policy.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of nursing;
• Adherence to the code of ethics of the nursing profession;
• Knowledge of principles, practices, and techniques involved in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with mental health, and co-occurring disorders both individually and in a group setting.
• Knowledge of mental health, substance abuse and co-occurring, treatment interventions both individually and in a group setting.
• Ability to problem-solve and respond quickly to crisis situations. Ability to function calmly in stressful situations.
• Basic knowledge about mental illness and the use of psychotropic medication in its treatment.
• The ability to assess both general health problems and medication side effects.
• Ability to organize and attend to detail in the delivery of medication.
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to deal positively and constructively with changes and new challenges.
• Demonstrated good judgment, and the ability to work with considerable autonomy. The ability to work comfortably with a wide diversity of both professional staff and clients is required.

Physical Requirements:

• May be exposed to allergenic environments in client’s homes, including extreme heat, humidity, dust, smoke, pet contamination, cleaning supplies, etc.
• May be exposed to clients with infectious diseases.
• Must be able to drive for long periods of time to visit clients in and out of the catchment area as needed.
• Must be able to walk distances, climb and descend stairs, maneuver in and out of agency vehicles.
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift/push/pull up to 25 pounds at times.

Minimum Education and Experience:

Graduation from an accredited college or nursing school with a degree or diploma in practical nursing, current licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Professional Nurse (LPN) in the Commonwealth of Virginia, plus three years of nursing experience which includes experience working with mental health and/or substance use disorder clients. Must be eligible to register as a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP) or QMHP-trainee with the State of Virginia. Staff member is responsible for submitting proof of license renewal to the Human Resources office. Possession of a valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record as reported by the Department of Motor Vehicles are required for persons using a personal or agency vehicle in the performance of their duties.

Additional Requirements:

• Mandt Training
• CPR Certification and First Aid Certification
• AED Training

Other Information:

Equipment: Standard nursing equipment, telephone; computer hardware and software as required, misc. household appliances (i.e. washer/dryer, stove, dishwasher)

Work Environment: Office setting with normal lighting levels, temperature, air quality, ventilation, and noise levels. Community settings including medical offices, client homes, stores, outdoor settings, etc.

Work Location: 1241 N. Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 22802

Work Hazards: Standard hazards associated with a mental health treatment environment. Standard hazards associated with human service residential environment including hazards associated with problem behaviors; behaviors and hazards associated with necessary use of medical procedures. Use of universal precautions required. Use of protective equipment recommended.

Work Schedule: ACT is a 24-hour program and flexibility is required in order to meet and respond to coverage needs and individual residents’ needs. Shifts will vary to meet the needs of the program. Full-time employees are required to work 40 Hours each week. Monday through Friday- day and/or evening shifts. Weekends and Holidays- evening shifts on a rotating basis with ACT team members. Overnight and weekend on-call on a rotating basis with ACT team members. Regular and reliable attendance is required.

HIPAA Access Level 2: Full read/write access to protected health information (PHI), limited to the minimum necessary, for all clients directly served or assigned, as well as all clients indirectly served through case consultation, clinical supervision, program management, or coverage requirements. Staff at Level 2 are allowed to seek out client PHI as necessary to perform their assigned duties, but are expected to exercise due precautions to limit exposure to any PHI which is outside the scope of their need to know. Utilization of information will be in accordance with HIPAA regulations regarding use limitation, disclosure and requests of PHI.