The Associate Behavioral Health Specialist performs duties of patient care necessary to implement individual treatment under the supervision of a Registered Nurse. The Behavioral Heath Specialist provides the psychological, emotional and physical care and support required by each patient. Assists in maintaining the therapeutic environment of the clinical program with occasional guidance.
Key Responsibilities:
Performs clinical care consistent with the patient's treatment plan, including but not limited to vital signs, phlebotomy, specimen collection and point of care testing as directed by unit standards.
Collects data to contribute to the assessment of individual strengths and limitations.
Assists patients with showering, oral hygiene, laundry and other activities of daily living as directed by the assigned RN.
Provides input to the patient's assigned nurse and other healthcare professionals assigned to the patient regarding patient's progress towards treatment goals.
Promotes and maintains a safe environment conducive to healing and health promotion.
Assures orientation of newly admitted patient to the program and establishes a therapeutic relationship with the patients.
Provides immediate feedback to the charge nurse about any safety concerns on the unit.
Actively participates in gathering patients for groups and periodically assisting in co-leading groups
The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned
Department/Unit Summary:
Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital is a 106-bed facility. It has three adult units in addition to a Child and Adolescent Unit. The Adult I unit treats patients with thought disorders. These patients are typically chronically and persistently mentally ill. Our Adult II unit treats patients with addictions as well as a co-morbid psychiatric illness. Adult III is a mood-disorder unit with a small geriatric component. The Child and Adolescent Unit is one unit, but functions as two based on age; children ages 4-12 and adolescents ages 13-18. We treat patients with a variety of diagnoses, ranging from Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and autism, oppositional defiance disorder, to depression and first-break psychosis. Adult IV consists of 14 beds reserved for the voluntary treatment of primary psychotic disorders and mood disorders. The goal in Adult IV is a supportive transition plan for outpatient treatment.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is home to Vanderbilt University Hospital, The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and the Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital. These hospitals experienced more than 61,000 inpatient admissions during fiscal year 2015. Vanderbilt’s adult and pediatric clinics treated nearly 2 million patients during this same period. Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt are recognized again this year by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals as among the nation’s best with 18 nationally ranked specialties. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is world renowned because of the innovation, work ethic and collegiality of its employees. From our health care advances to our compassionate care, Vanderbilt owes its accomplishments and reputation to staff and faculty who bring skill and drive and innovation to the medical center day after day. World-leading academic departments and comprehensive centers of excellence pursue scientific discoveries and transformational educational and clinical advances across the entire spectrum of health and disease.As t...he largest employer in middle Tennessee, we welcome those who are interested in ongoing development in a caring, culturally sensitive and professional atmosphere. Most of us spend so much of our lives at work, we want to be part of maintaining a workplace in which people support one another and encourage reaching for excellence. Many high-achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt because of the professional growth they experience and because of their appreciation of Vanderbilt’s benefits, public events and discussions, athletic opportunities, beautiful setting and, above all, sense of community and purpose.Vanderbilt and its employees share a set of mutual expectations that have been created with productivity, legality, fairness and safety always in mind. We believe that our investment in training and compensating employees multiplies in value when we enable individuals to deliver their best performance for the benefit of us all.
