MENTAL HEALTH TECH/CNA

Supports professional mental health care professionals, provides mental health care, including safety rounding, group and individual activities, attend to patient needs, and maintain safety milieu. Generally acts as a front line caregiver in the mission of providing a safe and therapeutic environment.

DUTIES AND ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

NOTE

The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification; however, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level.

• Communicates emphatically, respectfully and effectively with mentally ill patients and their families.
• Uses exemplary interpersonal skills and works effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrates a thorough understanding of client rights for mentally ill patients.
• Assists with admissions and orientation of new patients and discharge of current patients. Prepares new patient rooms, set-up and ensure cleanliness and safety.
• Interacts with patients using therapeutic communication to alignment with care plan; reports behavior/actions to nursing staff/charge nurses that deviate from plan.
• Confers with the interdisciplinary team plan of care, collaborates, and communicates necessary information with the team.
• Facilitates and participates in group education sessions, huddles, departmental quality improvement projects, and mandatory educational sessions.
• Assists patients to and from wheelchairs and gurneys, and assists patients with ambulation. Transports patients to other areas of the hospital in wheelchair or gurneys while following the department safety policies.
• When assigned as a sitter, responsible for but not limited to protecting the patient(s) from harm and assisting in meeting their emotional and physical needs through one-to-one continuous direct observation. Provide on-going observation and basic patient care and documentation.
• Collects and documents vital signs; reports items out of range as necessary. Performs tasks of activities of daily living (bathing, grooming, other miscellaneous personal hygiene, eating, daily weights etc.).
• Intervenes and de-escalates patient physical confrontations or abusive verbal behavior using de-escalation techniques.
• Assists registered nurse in administering treatment and other nursing tasks as needed; promptly answers call lights promptly and administers to patient comfort and safety by adjusting beds, lights, bed rails, pillows, patients' clothing and bedside tables/equipment; observes and reports any deviation in patients' condition/status; keeps patient areas clean, safe and orderly.
• Conducts safety rounds/checks; confiscates unauthorized items; reports incidents.
• Able to understand and follow all policies, procedures, guidelines, rules and regulations of Nursing Service, and Seton Medical Center.
• Knowledge of legal terminologies and practices associated with psychiatry.
• Participates in promoting a healthful, safe, and therapeutic environment for patient and families; set-up the environment essential for infection prevention practices.
• Participates in the implementation of patient care standards, infection control standards and quality assurance criteria.
• Completes shift report at bedside with the patient involved to the best of their ability.
• Participates in every shift huddle report to communicate any red flags and ensure efficient patient hand-off.
• Clean and organize workstations, aware and practice safety protocols of the department at all times.
• AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, and Thank you) will be used in patient and family interactions when appropriate.
• Actively engages with all department and hospital improvement projects.
• Demonstrates knowledge of management of assaultive behavior techniques
• Participates in the orientation of new employees
• Performs other duties as Assigned

QUALIFICATIONS/JOB REQUIREMENTS EDUCATION

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• Completion of an accredited certified nurse assistant program or completion of two years nursing school.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• Training and experience in caring for geriatric or psych patients or
• Work experience in Long-term care or Dementia/Memory

CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSURE

• Current CA Certified Nurse Assistant certificate
• Current American Heart Association BLS certification required
• Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) or AB-508 certified required within the first month of hire