Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner - Level IV

Description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) – Level IV is an advanced psychiatric provider responsible for the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and medication management of children, adolescents, adults, and families experiencing complex behavioral health conditions.

Level IV represents an advanced level within the PMHNP clinical career structure and is reserved for practitioners who demonstrate significant psychiatric expertise, sound independent clinical judgment, the ability to manage complex and high-acuity presentations, and the capacity to serve as a clinical resource to other providers and interdisciplinary treatment teams.

The PMHNP – Level IV provides comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, psychopharmacologic treatment, ongoing medication management, risk assessment, and consultation within the practitioner's education, training, certification, demonstrated competencies, organizational privileges, and applicable California scope of practice.

In addition to direct clinical care, the Level IV PMHNP provides advanced clinical consultation, supports the development of other practitioners, contributes to clinical protocols and quality initiatives, and partners with psychiatric and organizational leadership to promote safe, evidence-based, integrated behavioral healthcare.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Advanced Psychiatric Practice

• Conduct comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, including psychiatric, medical, developmental, psychosocial, substance-use, trauma, medication, and family histories.
• Perform mental status examinations and comprehensive assessments of psychiatric symptoms, functioning, risk factors, protective factors, and treatment needs.
• Establish psychiatric diagnoses and differential diagnoses consistent with current diagnostic standards and the practitioner's scope and demonstrated competencies.
• Develop individualized, evidence-based treatment plans based upon diagnosis, clinical presentation, client needs and preferences, medical necessity, treatment history, and response to previous interventions.
• Prescribe, initiate, adjust, monitor, and discontinue psychotropic and other medications within applicable prescribing authority and scope of practice.
• Evaluate medication effectiveness, adherence, side effects, contraindications, drug interactions, metabolic effects, and other clinical considerations.
• Order, review, and interpret laboratory testing and other diagnostic studies necessary for safe psychiatric medication management.
• Provide education to clients and families regarding diagnoses, medications, potential risks and benefits, treatment alternatives, expected outcomes, and medication adherence.

High-Acuity and Complex Behavioral Health Care

• Provide psychiatric services to individuals with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, complex trauma, co-occurring disorders, significant functional impairment, and other complex behavioral health needs.
• Manage complex psychiatric presentations involving multiple diagnoses, psychotropic polypharmacy, previous treatment failures, significant psychosocial barriers, or complicated medical and psychiatric comorbidities.
• Assess suicide risk, self-harm, homicidal or violence risk, grave disability, substance-use risk, psychosis, medication complications, and other urgent psychiatric concerns.
• Develop and support appropriate safety plans and initiate emergency evaluation, hospitalization, crisis intervention, higher levels of care, or other protective actions when clinically indicated.
• Recognize situations requiring psychiatrist, physician, emergency department, specialist, or other advanced consultation and initiate appropriate escalation of care.
• Coordinate psychiatric treatment with primary care providers, specialists, hospitals, pharmacies, therapists, care coordinators, and other professionals involved in the client's care.

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health

• When assigned to pediatric populations, evaluate psychiatric symptoms within the context of the child's or adolescent's developmental stage, family system, trauma history, school functioning, environmental factors, and medical history.
• Collaborate with parents, caregivers, legal guardians, clinicians, schools, and other treatment partners as clinically appropriate and legally permitted.
• Apply heightened clinical judgment when prescribing psychotropic medications to children and adolescents, including consideration of developmental factors, informed consent requirements, monitoring, potential adverse effects, and applicable standards of care.
• Support integrated treatment planning for youth receiving intensive community-based behavioral health services.

Clinical Leadership and Consultation

• Serve as an advanced psychiatric clinical resource for interdisciplinary treatment teams.
• Provide clinical consultation to PMHNPs, nurses, therapists, clinical supervisors, program leadership, care coordinators, and other treatment professionals regarding complex psychiatric presentations.
• Provide mentoring, clinical education, case consultation, and professional support to less-experienced advanced practice providers.
• Participate in complex case conferences and multidisciplinary treatment reviews.
• Assist the Medical Director and Medical Services leadership in developing and implementing psychiatric clinical standards, protocols, workflows, medication-management practices, and evidence-based treatment approaches.
• Participate in clinical quality, medication-safety, utilization, risk-management, and performance-improvement initiatives.
• Level IV designation does not automatically confer formal personnel-management responsibilities. Supervisory responsibilities, when applicable, will be specifically assigned.

INTERDISCIPLINARY AND COMMUNITY-BASED PRACTICE

• Work collaboratively with psychiatrists, physicians, psychologists, therapists, nurses, care coordinators, case managers, peer professionals, family support professionals, and other members of the treatment team.
• Participate in interdisciplinary treatment planning and clinical consultation.
• Provide psychiatric expertise to teams serving clients in community-based and intensive behavioral health programs.
• Support integration of psychiatric treatment with psychotherapy, care coordination, substance-use treatment, physical healthcare, social services, and other interventions necessary to address the client's overall needs.

DOCUMENTATION, QUALITY, AND COMPLIANCE

• Complete accurate and timely documentation in the electronic health record consistent with professional standards, organizational requirements, payer requirements, and applicable laws and regulations.
• Document medical necessity, assessment findings, diagnoses, treatment decisions, medications, informed consent discussions, risk assessments, client response, and follow-up plans.
• Maintain compliance with applicable federal and California requirements governing psychiatric practice, confidentiality, privacy, prescribing, controlled substances, telehealth, and documentation.
• Maintain all required professional licenses, certifications, furnishing authority, DEA registration when applicable, and other credentials required for assigned responsibilities.
• Participate in quality assurance, peer review, clinical audits, utilization review, medication monitoring, and other quality-improvement activities.

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Master's degree or Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from an accredited Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner or advanced practice nursing program meeting applicable California requirements.
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) preferred but not required.

Licensure and Certification

• Current, unrestricted California Registered Nurse license.
• Current California Nurse Practitioner certification.
• Current national board certification as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) appropriate to the populations served.
• Current California furnishing authority and other prescribing authority required for the position.
• Current DEA registration when required for assigned prescribing responsibilities.
• Current BLS certification or equivalent certification required by the assigned program.
• Must maintain all licenses, certifications, registrations, credentialing, and professional requirements throughout employment.

EXPERIENCE

• Generally, seven or more years of progressively responsible advanced psychiatric practice experience is preferred for Level IV designation.
• Significant experience treating individuals with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, complex trauma, co-occurring disorders, or other high-acuity behavioral health conditions strongly preferred.
• For positions serving children and adolescents, substantial pediatric psychiatric experience is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise in psychopharmacology and management of complex medication regimens.
• Demonstrated ability to independently evaluate and manage complex psychiatric presentations.
• Previous experience providing clinical consultation, mentoring, education, or leadership to other advanced practice providers or interdisciplinary professionals preferred.

Level IV designation will consider the practitioner's total advanced practice experience, demonstrated competencies, clinical expertise, complexity of practice, specialized certifications, and organizational contribution rather than years of experience alone.

LEVEL IV DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

• The PMHNP – Level IV is distinguished from Levels I–III by demonstrated performance across several dimensions:
• Clinical Complexity: Routinely manages highly complex psychiatric presentations, including multiple diagnoses, significant risk factors, complicated medication regimens, co-occurring conditions, and treatment-resistant presentations.
• Advanced Psychopharmacology: Demonstrates sophisticated knowledge and clinical judgment in psychiatric medication selection, titration, monitoring, interaction management, and treatment modification.
• Clinical Judgment: Exercises advanced professional judgment and recognizes circumstances requiring consultation, escalation, emergency intervention, or a higher level of care.
• Clinical Autonomy: Functions with a high degree of clinical independence consistent with California law, organizational privileges, demonstrated competency, and applicable standards of care.
• Consultative Expertise: Serves as a recognized psychiatric resource to interdisciplinary teams and other advanced practice providers.
• Mentorship: Contributes to the professional development of less-experienced PMHNPs and other clinical professionals.
• Systems Leadership: Contributes to psychiatric protocols, medication-safety initiatives, clinical workflows, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and organizational clinical standards.
• Outcomes and Accountability: Demonstrates sustained accountability for clinical quality, client safety, documentation, access, continuity of care, and treatment effectiveness.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Advanced knowledge of psychiatric assessment, diagnosis, psychopharmacology, and evidence-based behavioral health treatment.
• Advanced understanding of psychiatric medications, drug interactions, side-effect profiles, metabolic monitoring, laboratory requirements, and medication-safety practices.
• Knowledge of serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, trauma-related disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, substance-use disorders, and co-occurring conditions.
• Strong clinical risk-assessment and crisis-management skills.
• Ability to effectively evaluate complex psychiatric presentations and distinguish psychiatric symptoms from medical, developmental, substance-related, and environmental contributors.
• Ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary and community-based treatment environments.
• Strong consultation, communication, documentation, and clinical leadership skills.
• Ability to provide culturally responsive, trauma-informed, person- and family-centered care.

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS

• Performance measures may include clinical quality and appropriateness of treatment; medication safety; documentation quality and timeliness; client access and continuity; compliance with prescribing and monitoring standards; productivity appropriate to assigned clinical responsibilities and acuity; treatment-team collaboration; client safety and risk management; audit results; clinical consultation and mentorship; and participation in quality-improvement activities.
• Productivity expectations should account for the complexity of the Level IV caseload and assigned consultation, mentoring, quality, and clinical leadership responsibilities and should not be based solely on encounter volume.

PROFESSIONAL EXPECTATIONS

• The PMHNP – Level IV is expected to demonstrate the highest standards of professional ethics, clinical judgment, client safety, confidentiality, cultural responsiveness, trauma-informed practice, and evidence-based psychiatric care.
• The practitioner must practice at all times within their education, training, national certification, demonstrated competencies, organizational privileges, and applicable California scope of practice.

This job description describes the general nature and level of work expected and is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of duties, responsibilities, qualifications, or working conditions. Responsibilities may change based upon organizational needs, program requirements, funding sources, regulatory requirements, and the employee's demonstrated competencies and authorized scope of practice.

South Coast Community Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.