Headwaters Health Care Centre. One Community, Caring Together. We are a dedicated team of professionals focused on providing the best care possible for our patients, families, and caregivers. We work together to care for the whole person from hospital to home.
We are looking for a Crisis Intervention Specialist to work with our Mental Health Department to help us continue in our mission to serve our community with Kindness, Passion, Courage, and Teamwork The Crisis Intervention Specialist will provide emergency crisis assessment and intervention to all patients presenting to the Emergency Department at Headwaters Health Care Centre with mental health and/or substance use issues. These activities include but are not limited to: suicide, violence, and risk assessments, mental status examinations, crisis assessments, clinical assessments, best possible medication history, screening for intoxication and/or withdrawal from substances, and in-depth assessments for depression and anxiety. The Crisis Intervention Specialist as an active member of the mental health team, will provide short term solution focused therapy in the moment and as a bridging activity to community referral and engage in teaching, mentoring and supporting clinical staff members and physicians in the management and care of those patients presenting in a mental health or substance use crisis. The Specialist will support the patient, their family or support network to actively explore the clinical issues and ascertain the need for medical/psychiatric intervention and management. The Crisis Specialist will continue to assess, support and consult to those mental health and substance use patients admitted to HHCC to facilitate transfer to psychiatric facilities and/or discharge to the community with resourcing and referral. Inpatient activities will also include ongoing formal and opportunistic education and mentoring in mental health and substance use care. Duties include: - The RN practices in accordance with relevant legislation/standards, meeting the legal and ethical requirements of the profession.
- Liaise with police, EMS services and community partners who are presenting with mental health and substance use patients
- Provide immediate de-escalation, and recommendations for management and safe containment within the department
- Collaborate with Emergency staff to enable safe investigation and management of all presenting medical issues
- Ensuring practice is consistent with professional standards and the ethical framework as outlined by the CNO.
- Applying knowledge of nursing science, theory, skill and critical decision making in the provision of compassionate, collaborative and competent care in accordance with the RN scope of practice and HHCC’s policies and procedures.
- Provides safe and competent care based on the RN’s scope and their personal knowledge, skill and judgement to assess the appropriateness of the treatment plan. Seeks out the training required to complete skills or treatments, as required.
- Provides nursing assessments to identify the patient’s needs on an ongoing basis and determine guidance on medical clearance.
- Administers medications in a safe, effective and ethical practice as per CNO’s Practice Standards and in accordance with HHCC’s medication administration policies.
- Establish therapeutic rapport with the patient and engage them in treatment
- Support Emergency staff to effectively identify and manage the presenting psychiatric symptoms and recommend course of treatment, observation and staffing supports and safety planning
- Complete mental status, crisis, risk (suicide/violence) and trauma assessments to inform the Emergency staff of requirements for safe management under the Mental Health Act
- Engage in brief solution focused therapy / intervention as crisis management and bridging to connect patients to community resources
- Facilitate admission to inpatient units with a focus on developing safe containment, monitoring, medication management, safety plans, and support staff to maintain
- Promotes patient/family centered care by encouraging the participation of the patient and their family in care and decision making through health teaching and sharing of relevant information.
- Develop tools and resources to manage client crisis, develop strategies to assist patients to prevent further crisis and establish personal goals that move patients towards recovery
- Connect with and obtain collateral history from hospital, community, family or support networks for a broader understanding of the clinical issues, treatment engagement, referral and resourcing opportunities
- Provide solution focused crisis intervention therapies to emergency based and inpatient patients
- Consult with psychiatrist on call with Headwaters and partner facilities or MRP to review patient situations as necessary to promote efficient patient care
- Liaise and connect with community providers to support safe discharge, follow up and crisis intervention to support transition back to the community when appropriate
- Build linkages and collaborative relationships and partnerships with local community resources
- Develops skills in mentoring and teaching others and establishes a track-record for knowledge sharing with students, nursing colleagues and other members of the health care team.
- Participation in organizational working groups, committees, task forces or HHCC structures as assigned or appropriate to role and responsibilities
- practice within the policies and procedures of the organization
- Promotes an environment that encourages and supports change using change management theory
- All employees of Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC) are responsible to contribute to a transparent culture of patient and staff safety by adhering to and abiding by patient and staff safety policies and procedures set by HHCC.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Evening/weekend working requirements. Qualifications: - Registered Nurse in good standing with the College of Nurses of Ontario
- BScN preferred, minimum completion of Diploma in Nursing
- A minimum of 5 years experience in a Mental Health/Psychiatric services environment; 3 years in an Emergency Psychiatric setting is preferred
- Advanced Crisis Intervention and Counselling Certificate or Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) and/or related certifications an asset
- Demonstrated clinical acumen with mental health diagnosis and substance use disorders
- Demonstrated experience with managing aggressive behaviour and superior de-escalation techniques required
- Demonstrated experience in mental status, suicide, violence, trauma, substance use, crisis, risk and self harm assessments
- Demonstrated knowledge of the classification of psychiatric illnesses, as outlines in the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-V)
- Demonstrated knowledge of the main classification of psychotropic medications, including their general use, expected response, and common side effects
- Demonstrated knowledge of the Mental Health Act, Mental Health Reform and the legal and ethical issues in crisis intervention and psychiatry practice required
- Demonstrated understanding of issues and needs related to individuals in crisis (e.g. decompensation, potential loss of control, support and structure)
- Experience with supporting individuals affected by a variety of crises including loss, violence, abuse, crime and traumatic events required
- Demonstrated experience with high risk populations including child / adolescent / adult and geriatric populations
- Excellent knowledge related to addictions, substance use disorders, withdrawal protocols and community resources related to addiction treatment/medicine
- Demonstrated experience in developing community linkages and liaisons
- Demonstrated evidence of flexibility and excellent relationships with others in an interdisciplinary team required
- Excellent knowledge related to addictions, substance use disorders, withdrawal protocols and community resources related to addiction treatment/medicine
- Advanced Crisis Intervention and Counselling Certificate or Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) and/or related certifications an asset
- Training in CPR, first aid and formal de-escalation protocols (eg. CPI, PMAB)
- Experience in coaching / teaching and mentoring activities
- Satisfactory work performance and attendance record required
- A proven commitment to professional development and skill acquisition
- Demonstrated ability to advocate and refer patients to appropriate resources required
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Proficiency in MS applications
Why Headwaters? Our values are more than words, they are what define and connect us. They determine how we work, how we behave, and how we relate to our patients, their families, and caregivers as well as to everyone who is part of the Headwaters community
We offer a wide range of employee perks, for information on our comprehensive benefits package, please visit Headwaters Health Care Centre - Careers at Headwaters |