LVN/LPT Opportunity At River Vista Behavioral Health
River Vista Behavioral Health, a new 128-bed facility along the San Joaquin River bluffs, is dedicated to providing high-quality behavioral health services to Central Valley residents and visitors. This hospital will employ over 250 professionals, including clinicians, nurses, mental health technicians, support staff, and administration. We are looking for a forward-thinking and compassionate LVN/LPT to join our nursing team.
The LVN/LPT will administer nursing care to designated patients under the supervision of a Registered Nurse. They will perform a variety of direct and indirect patient care duties.
Job Requirements:
- Education: Graduate from an accredited Vocational School of Nursing or Psychiatric Technician program required; Current licensure as a Licensed Vocational Nurse or Licensed Psychiatric Technician with the State of California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians.
- Experience: Clinical experience in a psychiatric setting preferred.
- Knowledge/Skills: Ability to communicate effectively; Ability to perform concentrated and/or complex mental activity with frequent involvement in complex and/or highly technical situations; Ability to work successfully under highly stressful conditions; Ability to make sound, independent judgments based on scientific and/or ethical principles; Ability to comprehend and perform oral and written instructions and procedures; Ability to collaborate with other multidisciplinary team members in an appropriate fashion; Ability to adapt to varying workloads and work assignments on a constant basis; Effective comprehensive reading skills, strong communication skills, written and verbal. Math skills to enable calculation of drug dosages and infusion rates.
General Working Environment:
- Psychiatric hospital setting; Some risk involved in the event of aggressive patient(s); Work load may include day, evening, night, weekend and/or holiday shifts.
- Occasionally exposed to outdoor weather conditions, toxic or caustic chemicals, blood borne pathogens, and loud noise levels.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to communicate effectively with patients, their families, staff and others; Ability to utilize communication equipment; Physical agility to manage patients (ambulatory, non-ambulatory and physically aggressive); Ability to read (i.e. patient charts, written communication, regulations, written policies and procedures, etc.); Ability to write (i.e. manual charting, written communication, etc.); Ability to perform Handle with Care techniques.
- Must occasionally utilize physical ability for walking, fingering or manual dexterity, lifting/exerting force up to 25 lbs, reaching or stretching, crouching or stooping, and smelling.
- Must frequently utilize physical ability for standing and see with correction for color discrimination and depth perception.
- Must regularly utilize physical ability for sitting, speaking, hearing, and seeing with correction for close, distance and peripheral vision, and focusing ability.
Equipment/Materials Used:
- Telephone, computer, tape player, copier, fax machine, video player, small hand tools and writing instruments, as well as all clinical equipment, including but not limited to, syringes, blood pressure equipment, etc.
Job Specifications:
- Assists in the delivery of patient care in an acute psychiatric setting for patients experiencing a wide range of psychiatric conditions.
- Provides nursing care, within the scope of practice, to meet the unique needs of each patient.
- Assists the Charge/Staff Nurse by collecting data related to the patient's condition.
- Reports data findings related patient's condition to the Charge Nurse.
- Assists the Registered Nurse in assessing for pain, utilizes pain scale and documents accordingly.
- Assists the Charge/Staff Nurse to organize and deliver patient care, and to supervise staff.
- Documents patient activity and behavior in an accurate, timely and legible manner.
- Recognizes when patient is in need of 1:1 intervention and interacts therapeutically.
- Informs Charge/Staff Nurse of significant developments and documents in progress note.
- Provide 1:1 interventions as directed.
- Reports significant developments to Charge/Staff Nurse.
Service Excellence Criteria:
- Treats everyone as a guest. Makes a positive first impression and continues that positive impression through ongoing efforts.
- Anticipates the needs and expectations of all people encountered.
- Displays service recovery skills; is responsible for resolving dissatisfaction without assigning blame.
- Demonstrates professionalism and excellence in all things.
- Demonstrates professionalism in look, what to do, and what to say.
- Holds self accountable – Is a positive role model.
- Delivers excellence that goes beyond departmental and individual job responsibility.
- Practices teamwork.
- Participates in decision-making and process improvement, regardless of level in the organization.
- Communicates effectively within and beyond assigned team.
- Focuses on the problem or issue, not the person.
Behaviors:
- Always says "please" and "thank you".
- Makes a good first impression by projecting a positive attitude; greets patients, guests and staff warmly.
- Always wears name badge.
- Demonstrates a professional image through manner of dress, respectful communication, and adherence to hospital badge policy.
- Holds self accountable for getting the information needed to know to do job.
- Responds to client and customer questions, concerns and grievances in a timely manner, informing complainant of process and expected time of resolution.
- Reads all hospital related written communication, i.e. memos, flyers, posters, etc.
- Uses language appropriate to the situation and to the guest.
- Is a team player, showing respect for peers, supervisors, patients and guests, demonstrated through verbal communications and commitment to the work group.
- Greets guests with eye contact and a smile.
- Staff is timely when responding to patient needs and requests by making eye contact and verbal contact when patient presents self at nurse's station or any other area where staff is located.
- Always end an interaction with the guest by asking, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
- Provides service to patients and families that is prompt, caring, efficient and effective.
- Demonstrates respect for the hospital environment by keeping work areas organized and clean, and taking pride in the facility as a whole.
General Criteria:
- Attendance: Consistently reports to work on time and is ready to work at start of shift. Appropriately utilizes personal days/sick time. Clocks in/out per policy and procedure; begins/returns from meal periods and rest breaks within established policy time frame. Uses only approved overtime.
- General Safety: Follows all departmental and hospital safety, security and infection control policies.
- Self-Development: Maintains required licensure/certification for position; renews by expiration date; Maintains CPR; renews by expiration date. Maintains HANDLE WITH CARE training; renews by expiration date. Completes all required mandatory inservices/training at hire and annually and in a timely manner. Gains additional formal qualifications beyond the minimum requirements of the job; as well as additional job duties and skills. Follows up on any personal development plan. Maintains current knowledge of policies and procedures, protocols, and practices. Attends inservice programs.
- Professional Appearance and Attitude: Complies with the Personal Appearance policy. Consistently demonstrates a self-directed, mature and disciplined approach to completing work duties. Demonstrates emotional capacity to perform within position responsibilities. Maintains and respects patient and employee confidentiality. Follows proper lines of authority and organizational structure.
The following is the minimum knowledge, skills and behaviors necessary to provide care and service for the patient population served:
- Age Group Encountered: Adolescent – (12-17 yr. old) Adult – (18 - 61 yr. old) Geriatric – (62 or above)
- Must be able to demonstrate knowledge of patient rights, advanced directives and ethical issues for all age specific groups.
- Must be able to demonstrate the skills and knowledge to provide appropriate interventions based on the needs of various age groups.
- Must be able to demonstrate knowledge and ability to advocate, communicate and educate patients of all age groups served, including those with physical, emotional, social, mental, language and cognitive impairments.
- Must be able to demonstrate knowledge and ability to collaborate with medical staff, other health professionals to achieve desired outcomes for age specific groups served.
- Must be