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Job Description

What we do here changes the world. UTHealth Houston is Texas’ resource for healthcare education, innovation, scientific discovery, and excellence in patient care. That’s where you come in.

Benefits

Once you join us you won't want to leave. It’s because we reward our team for the excellent service they provide. Our total rewards package includes the benefits you’d expect from a top healthcare organization (benefits, insurance, etc.), plus:

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• The longer you stay, the more vacation you’ll accrue!
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Build your future with our awesome retirement/pension plan!
  
  

We take care of our employees! As a world-renowned institution, our employees’ wellbeing is important to us. We offer work/life services such as...

• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care
• Plus many more!
  
  

Join a growing team! With the opening of Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center/HCPC at UTHealth Houston, we will soon have the largest academic psychiatric hospital in the country, serving the region with an 500+ bed facility. Our dedicated health care employees will have the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of mental health specialties and cutting-edge research. With exposure to a variety of specialties such as Acute, Subacute, and Intensive Outpatient, Continuum of Care, Mood Disorders, ECT, Early Onset Treatment , Adult General Psychiatry, Competency Restoration, Child and Adolescent, Juvenile Justice, Geriatric Psychiatry, Treatment Mall and Unit-Based Programming.

This dedicated team will work in an integrated campus to bring world class resources to the community. Apply today to be a part of this committed team serving the mental health needs of the area.

Position Summary

Focuses on safety, performing patient care activities or tasks for psychiatric patients as well as maintaining a therapeutic and safe environment under the direction of the licensed staff. Must be comfortable working with mental health patients, many of whom have experienced trauma, in a compassionate and professional manner while promoting a safe environment.

Location: Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center/HCPC at UTHealth Houston

Dept.: BSC Acuity Management Biweekly

Status: Full-Time

FLSA: Non-Exempt

Position Key Accountabilities

Essential Functions

• Provides inpatient and outpatient non-skilled nursing for psychiatric patients.
• Provides supervision of patients on suicide or other critical precautions, 1:1 or 2:1, which requires a staff member to be within continuous arm 's length of a patient.
• Responsible for operating equipment such as IVAC, Sphygmomanometer and Scale.
• Assist patients with activities of daily living i.e. bathing, shaving, hygiene, toileting, and grooming, while respecting the patient 's privacy, to the extent possible.
• Interact and engage with patients in a therapeutic manner using Trauma informed care and therapeutic communication strategies.
• Participates in implementing and formulating patients' treatment plan based on experience and close observation of patients.
• Helps maintain a therapeutic milieu. Assists with milieu management and uses crisis de-escalation and trauma informed care strategies to reduce destructive and disruptive patient behavior and ensures the safety of patient, self, and others. Recognizes early warning signs of worsening patient behaviors and intervenes appropriately.
• Facilitates patients' groups and participation in therapeutic activities (i.e. community meeting, transition, and wrap-up groups etc.).
• Implement crisis management skills (de-escalation skills) as directed by licensed staff, including situations where the patient could be in danger, suffer self-inflicted harm, or harm others.
• Must be able to restrain an adult, adolescent, or pediatric patient within the guidelines currently in use at HCPC, including circumstances where the patient is violent or aggressive towards staff and others, including other patients.
• In certain circumstances, must be able to maintain initial physical control of an adult, adolescent or pediatric patient individually until assistance from other team members arrive.
• Escorts patients on and off campus for medical emergencies and diagnostic procedures when required.
• Conducts patient Q15 and Q30 minutes observation rounds with appropriate documentation, and one to one observation. Observes patient condition for signs/symptoms consistent with illness or mental status change; reports observations about patient condition to the nurse.
• Conducts environmental rounds on unit for safety.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
  
  

Certification/Skills

Minimum Education:

High School Diploma or equivalent required

Minimum Experience

1 year of experience in a patient care environment, Mental Health Technician/Psychiatric Technician Certificate, CNA Certification, MA Certification, EMT Certification, Sixty hours of college credit in a related discipline, or successfully completed the Psychiatric Technician Internship program required

Physical Requirements

Exerts up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 20 pounds frequently and/or up to 10 pounds constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive

Security Sensitive: This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code

• 51.215
  
  

Veteran Information

Military occupations that relate to the initial selection criteria and registration or licensure requirements for this position may include but are not limited to: 46P1, 46P3, 46P4, 46PX, 66C, 001387, 4A0X1, 68X.

For a complete list please visit http://www.uthealth-veterans.jobs/.

Residency Requirement

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.

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If you are looking for a great healthcare career in Houston, visit http://go.uth.edu/careers!

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston)

Established in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) is Houston’s Health University and Texas’ resource for health care education, innovation, scientific discovery and excellence in patient care. The most comprehensive academic health center in the UT System and the U.S. Gulf Coast region, UTHealth Houston is home to schools of biomedical informatics, biomedical sciences, dentistry, nursing and public health and the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School. UTHealth Houston includes The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center, as well as the growing clinical practices UT Physicians, UT Dentists and UT Health Services. The university’s primary teaching hospitals are Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital.

UTHealth Houston Benefits

UTHealth Houston offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package. For more information on our benefits programs please refer to our benefits page.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

UTHealth Houston is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment-related activities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, gender identity or expression, veteran status or any other basis prohibited by law or university policy. Reasonable accommodation, based on disability or religious observances, will be considered in accordance with applicable law and UTHealth Houston policy. The University maintains affirmative action programs with respect to women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and eligible veterans in accordance with applicable law.

All UTHealth Houston employees who are assigned to work at a location that is subject to the affiliated partner’s hospital, clinical offices, or agency are required to abide by UTHealth Houston’s rules and regulations, as well as the affiliate’s rules and regulations.