Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at Wellnest in Los Angeles, CA

ROLE SUMMARY

The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner provides outpatient client care to children, adolescents, and adults with mental health issues. They work collaboratively with the psychiatrist to provide client assessment and diagnosis, formulate treatment plans, prescribe medications, order laboratory tests, interpret test results, provide patient education, prepare medical records, and refer patients for inpatient care per statutes, regulations, and protocols regulating the profession. The NP will work out of one or more Wellnest office sites in the greater Los Angeles area. The NP will collaborate with a Medical Assistant to coordinate client care and assist with insurance pre-authorization and caseload management.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for providing psychiatric services to clients in a community mental health setting. The scope of services includes outpatient psychiatric evaluations and medication management services.
• Assess, diagnose, and treat children, adolescents, and adults experiencing chronic and episodic mental health disorders.
• Prescribe, recommend, or discontinue drugs and treatments to treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.
• Under established protocols, reviews and analyses patient records to evaluate the usage of psychotropic drugs and the quality and appropriateness of the care of clients.
• Assumes ongoing responsibility for each patient from discovery of the disorder to recovery and discharge.
• Responsible for the timely and accurate completion of medical records, including assessment, treatment plan, progress notes, outcome measures, and billing entries.
• Collaborate with therapists and other providers to coordinate client care.
• Counsel clients during appointments, as necessary.
• Design or participate in developing individualized treatment plans, incorporating best and leading practices into treatment interventions.
• Examine or order laboratory or diagnostic tests for clients to provide information on general physical conditions and mental disorders.
• Establishes and documents the mental health service plan and prognosis, maintains records of each case that are detailed and complete.
• Collaborate with parents/guardians, relatives, and significant others on the client’s condition and treatment when clinically appropriate.
• Prepare and submit assessments, progress notes, and reports as required.
• Responsible for making independent decisions based on protocols developed utilizing national guidelines for treatment interventions.
• Responsible for maintaining customer relations with all agency staff and clients.
• Maintain medical records and submit them to the supervising Psychiatrist for review as necessary.
• Records all services performed for accurate billing of services in compliance with DMH or other local, state, and federal laws, as well as payor rules and regulations. Submits billing documents in a timely fashion.
• Looks for ways to improve and promote quality. Provides teaching and education to clinical staff, if requested.
• Follow all procedures and protocols per Wellnest policy, federal and state regulations, and standard practice.
• Actively participate in all agency and department education, training, and in-services to confirm understanding of new information or changes to established clinical policies and procedures.
• Attends and participates in staff meetings and appropriate professional activities, including but not limited to Quality Improvement meetings and staff meetings, as required.
• Continuously meets minimum required hours of direct services to clients each week, allowing the remainder of work hours for documentation, meetings, trainings, and supervision.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:

• A graduate degree in Nursing from an accredited college or university. A focus on Psychiatric Nursing or Mental Health is required.
• Graduation from a state-certified advanced practice program specializing in psychiatry/mental health.
• A minimum of one to two years of experience providing direct client care to individuals receiving treatment for psychiatric disorders is required. The ability to work with both adult and youth/child populations is required.

Certificates, Licenses and Registrations:

• Must be Board Certified as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC)
• Must have an active and current license to practice as a Registered Nurse issued by the California Board of Registered Nursing.
• Must have an active and current Nurse Practitioner medication furnishing number issued bye the State of California Board of Registered Nursing.
• Must have an active and current Controlled Substance Registration Certificate issued by the United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
• Must possess and maintain a valid CA driver’s license and insurable driving record.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• A strong commitment to advancing Wellnest’s mission.
• Ability to navigate and document EHR independently.
• HIPAA
• Ability to effectively communicate and interact with individuals involved in all aspects of programming, including children, parents, school faculty and staff, grantors, funders, partner agencies, community members, and Wellnest team members.
• Ability to work effectively on a multidisciplinary team
• Possess the ability to make independent decisions when circumstances warrant such action
• Excellent organizational skills, including working productively and making independent decisions.
• Comfortable talking about identities such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, ability, or gender in plain, specific terms to reach diverse audiences.
• Knowledge and understanding of the historical context of racial inequality and its present-day implications with the ability to use references and examples that speak to the experiences of a diverse audience, particularly the communities we aim to reach.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to effectively present information in one on one and small group situations. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite (i.e., MS Word, Excel, PPT, and Outlook).