Admission Nurse - Behavioral Health

Position Summary
Coordinate admissions and bed control activity. Reviews incoming clinical information to help to properly direct potential patients to correct unit and/or level of care. Directly responsible for completing the nursing admission process; including admission assessment, interview medication reconciliation and education. Facilitates patient flow into the acute care areas from the Emergency Department or from the Primary Care Physician. Assures patient placement complies with epidemiology requirements. Identifies appropriate bed location based on patient’s special needs.
Provides the prescribed medical treatment and personal care services to patients in the care of ECHN.
Education/Certification

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Certification is highly desirable.
• A current Registered Nurse license from the State of Connecticut is required.

Experience

• Five (5) years of RN experience is required. Six (6) months at ECHN in the role of an RN is highly preferred.
• Clinical and managerial competency must be retained for area of assignment including Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and De-escalation Training.

Competencies

• Ability to write routine reports and documentation in patient charts.
• Able to communicate effectively in English – both verbally and in writing.
• Interpersonal skills necessary to effectively communicate with patients, families, and health care team members.
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Basic computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite, are necessary.
• Serves as a role model in displaying initiative and assertiveness with positive problem-solving techniques and willingly performs non-assigned duties as needed.
• Consistently displays a calm, organized approach to difficult situations by using customer service skills.
• Demonstrates ability for independent problem solving.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES And RESPONSIBILITES
Disclaimer: Job descriptions are not intended, nor should they be construed to be, exhaustive lists of all responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions associated with the job. They are intended to be accurate reflections of the principal duties and responsibilities of this position. These responsibilities and competencies listed below may change from time to time.

• Promotes quality improvement initiatives relating to patient throughput, nursing and patient staff satisfaction.
• The geriatric patient
• Communicates with appropriate departments or nursing supervisor when need arises for equipment or supplies.
• Notifies the charge nurse, manager or nursing supervisor for urgent problems or occurrences.
• Coordinates with the staff RN when the nursing admission process will be initiated. If the admission nurse is completing another admission, they will communicate to the receiving RN a time frame they will be available to assist with the admission. The receiving RN will be required to initiate the vital signs and physical exam on the admission documentation form prior to the admission nurse arriving.
• Completes the admission process including, physical assessment, interview, home medication list, Fall and Braden Risk Assessments, Educational Needs Assessment, and Immunization Form in an accurate and complete manner coordinating care with the admitting provider.
• Rounds to the Emergency Departments and coordinates with crisis team and central access at beginning of the shift and throughout the shift to inform the charge nurses of their availability and assessing for any admissions on their unit.
• Performs additional duties as assigned and within the scope of practice.
• The adolescent patient
• The young-middle aged adult patient
• Initiates the nursing admission assessment and completes the documentation for the nursing admission process. The patient population may include, but is not limited to:
• Promotes patient satisfaction by completing the nursing admission process in a thorough and timely way using customer service techniques.
• Reviews Clinical from outside referral sources to help determine appropriateness of possible admission and to help coordinate appropriate unit placement and/or level of care.
• Down time in between completing admissions will be spent completing tasks to support the inpatient care units.
• Communicates with the staff nurse caring for the patient by giving a report on the admission assessment findings and patient needs or concerns.