RN - Psychiatry and Behavioral Health - Asheville, NC

JOB SUMMARY:

The Psychiatric RN works collaboratively as an active member of the specialty behavioral health and psychiatry team to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care across the continuum. This role serves as a clinical resource and coordination support for patients and providers within specialty teams, including Psychiatry, walk-in behavioral health triage, and broader psychiatry triage services. Care is delivered primarily through walk-in clinical encounters, with additional support provided via telephone triage and Electronic Health Record (EHR) message management. The Psychiatric RN plays a critical role in connecting patients to the right level of care, supporting provider workflows, and partnering with the Population Health team to address care gaps and ensure continuity of services.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provides dedicated clinical support across walk-in behavioral health and psychiatry triage services, with the understanding that the scope of this role will continue to evolve in alignment with the growth and needs of the department

• Participates in telephone triage and management of EHR messages across the care continuum, utilizing evidence-based protocols for symptom-based management and clinical decision-making

• Assists with the management of urgent and emergent patient care situations, including psychiatric crises, and escalates appropriately

• Works closely with psychiatry and specialty behavioral health providers to support patient flow, clinical coordination, and care continuity across Psychiatry and specialty behavioral health services

• Participates in team huddles and team meetings; collaborates with behavioral health providers, peer support specialists, care navigators, nursing services, and other clinical and community services

• In coordination with a provider, assesses, interprets, support plan of care, provides patient education, coordinates follow-up, and communicates relevant clinical information including lab results; reviews and triages medication refill requests per established protocols

• Provides care management support in coordination with the Population Health team, including transitions of care outreach, care gap identification, referrals, and patient education

• Participates in pre-visit planning, process improvement, and annual competency training of clinical staff

• Participates in the ordering and administration of long-acting injectable in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacy

• Facilitates referrals to outside agencies as needed in collaboration with Health Information Department

• Participate in the ongoing design and implementation of nurse-led protocols and co-visits with direction from the Director of Nursing

• Actively embraces and supports divisional and organizational initiatives 

• Maintain up to date clinical process guidelines relevant to the clinical program

• Ensure compliance with NCDHHS standards, Medicaid tailored care management, HRSA standards, and value-based care contracts.

• Partner in building relationships with hospitals, community agencies, and regional partners to enhance care coordination and access.

KEY COMPETENCIES:

• Communication Skills

Effectively and respectably communicate with other individuals, whether it be a colleague, patient, or patient’s family member and appropriately enumerate information in a manner easily understood by all parties. We do this to foster a culture of understanding between all parties, especially in complex and difficult situations, to ultimately provide the best care possible to our patients and their families.

• Decision Making

Ability to make the most appropriate decision in a given situation and then taking the next steps to ensure appropriate and timely completion. This requires conflict resolution skills, critical thinking skills, confidence in your ability to make the right decision in most situations. This also includes ability to prioritize your workday appropriately to ensure the most important tasks are completed on time.

• HealthCare Knowledge

Having the drive to keep yourself abreast and up to date on the new breakthroughs in your area of expertise and communicating them to the rest of the team, as appropriate.  This also includes keeping up with your licensure and yearly training requirements within your area expertise along with MAHEC’s organizational training. Finally, the ability to apply the depth of knowledge maintained and gained through this process in real life scenarios as appropriate.

• Interpersonal Skills

Showing the ability to meet difficult situations with grace, professionalism, and understanding. Within your area of expertise, showing respect and showing empathy where appropriate with your colleagues, patients, and their family at all times, even when its most difficult to do so. This is done, in part, by effective listening, being your authentic self, showing responsibility and dependability, and being patient with others.

• Organizational Values

Adherence to MAHEC’s founding principles and incorporating them every day. This includes, among others, having integrity and accountability, reverence for other cultures and equitable practices, ability to manage change, and displaying a clear understanding of organizational dynamics. Doing these things creates a culture where people want to do the best for each other and gives personal ownership towards the goal of helping people in their time of need.

• Problem Solving

Having an analytical mind and ability to work autonomously to solve complex problems that may arise. The wherewithal to think logically through a difficult problem and come to an appropriate resolution for a given issue. This helps to drive continuous improvement by thinking through where we can improve in a novel way. Measures success by understanding where we are currently and where we want to go and then applying those new ideas to affect positive change.

SPECIFIED SKILLS

COMPUTER

• Excellent skills in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and database applications required.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

• Spanish speaking skills preferred.

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EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing preferred

• Two (2) years relevant experience or comparable combined experience and/or education preferred.

• One (1) or two (2) years of nursing experience in an ambulatory setting preferred.

REQUIRED LICENSES

• Current unencumbered North Carolina nursing license

• Current CPR certification

SCHEDULE:

• Regular attendance on-site is an essential function of this position. Typical business hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (or flexed to best meet the needs of the clients and/or the Service Line); 40 hours per workweek; weekend, holiday, or evening coverage is occasionally required. Work hours will need to be flexible in order to respond to special work assignments, or evening activities, as requested by the team leader.

COMPENSATION:

• $33.65/hour, full time + MAHEC Total Rewards package

At MAHEC, we strive to equip all team members with Total Rewards (pay + benefits) to honor their service, support their health, manage their financial security, build their career, and thrive.

MAHEC is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. Employees who meet federal requirements may be eligible to have remaining student loan balances forgiven after 10 years of qualifying payments while working full-time at MAHEC.

If you are interested in this role, and you have related experience and qualifications, we encourage you to apply or reach out to [email protected] for support in your job search process. You could be the talent we are seeking for this or other opportunities

All MAHEC employees and learners will be required to receive the Flu vaccine or have an approved exemption.

MAHEC does not provide employment-based US visa sponsorship, now or in the future. All new employees must provide valid, original I-9 documents on their first day of work.

MAHEC Talent Management is located at 121 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803. Equal Opportunity Employer.