Job Summary

Senior Psychiatric Clinical Nurse providing direct, complex behavioral health care to ICE detainees at the Krome Behavioral Health Unit. Develops and implements individualized nursing care plans, performs advanced clinical procedures, and serves as a team leader with clinical and administrative responsibilities. Works under the Nurse Manager in coordination with the SBHU Program Manager. This position is only open to USPHS officers and Call to Active Duty (CAD) candidates.

Job Description

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Required to walk unaided at a normal pace for up to 5 minutes and maintain balance. Required to jog/fast walk up to 1⁄4 mile. Required to perform CPR/emergency care standing or kneeling. Must have the ability to assist sick, injured, or aging detainees or staff exiting the building (may require lifting, dragging, wheeling, or carrying someone who weighs significantly more than self). Must be able to see, hear (with aids if necessary), and smell as needed. Must easily alternate between kneeling and standing. Must be able to lift, push, or carry 30 pounds. Must have the ability to sit and/or stand for extended periods of time (6-8 hours). Must perform duties in a stressful and often austere environment without physical limitations. Hazardous duty assignment. (Continued from the Duties and Responsibilities section) Provides specialized psychiatric nursing support within the subacute behavioral health residential program and Modified Therapeutic Community model. Supports the SBHU mission by promoting patient stabilization, medication adherence, therapeutic engagement, continuity of care, and safe participation in structured programming. Contributes nursing assessment findings, behavioral observations, medication response information, chronic care needs, and functional status updates to the interdisciplinary treatment team to support treatment planning, continued stay review, discharge planning, hospital referral, and safe transition to a lower or higher level of care. Collaboration and Communication: Collaborates with site leadership, including the Health Services Administrator (HSA), NM, Clinical Director (CD), and multidisciplinary teams, to establish, support, and maintain processes and procedures that meet applicable medical and operational standards. Provides input into nursing treatment plans, assists with identification of special needs accommodations, and follows up on care as needed. Communicates nursing operational and quality issues impacting efficiency and effectiveness of care to site leadership. Able to solve moderately complex issues with minimal leadership intervention. Maintains collaborative relationships with other healthcare disciplines and outside agencies, such as CDC and state or local health departments, as appropriate to assigned duties. Demonstrates expert-level therapeutic communication skills to build trust, ensure emotional safety, and support patient engagement. Participates in interdisciplinary treatment team activities and communicates nursing observations relevant to treatment progress, safety concerns, special needs, discharge readiness, and continuity of care. Quality Assurance, Data, and Reporting: applying psychiatric nursing expertise, participates in the development and/or review of evidence-based nursing clinical guidelines, protocols, education materials, and/or practice resources with the Nursing Services Unit as assigned. Participates in team, unit, regional, or national quality improvement reviews and activities as assigned. Identifies and suggests process improvement activities at the local or regional level with a particular emphasis on psychiatric nursing care and operation of SBHU. Identifies and reports nursing care issues, clinical observations, documentation concerns, and process improvement needs to site leadership. Analyzes issues to identify contributing factors and possible solutions. Develops and/or supports corrective actions as assigned in collaboration with nursing leadership. Monitors and documents clinical activities, reviews nursing documentation for accuracy and compliance, and assists with data collection and reporting for quality assurance purposes as assigned. May prepare statistical information and special reports as necessary. Professional Development and Leadership: Demonstrates and promotes culturally competent care in all clinical areas. Maintains knowledge of current nursing research trends and applies evidence-based practices in accordance with established clinical guidelines and standards. Demonstrates expert clinical judgment and serves as a clinical resource to nursing staff, site leadership, and multidisciplinary team members as assigned. Serves as a mentor, preceptor, and resource to less experienced nursing staff by providing guidance, training, and support for clinical development. Serves in a leadership or active member role in an agency group, team, committee, task force, or similar body at or above the local, regional, or national level as assigned. Functions as a team leader for assigned nursing staff, distributes workload, prioritizes area needs, supports timely accomplishment of tasks, provides instruction related to job techniques, and exercises limited operational control over team members. May serve as acting SBHU NM in the absence of the NM to provide clinical and administrative nursing oversight. May serve as a member of the local leadership team (TRIAD) in the absence of the SBHU NM, working in partnership with the NSU and the local TRIAD to support clinic operations and nursing standards. Participates in planning, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating nursing practice activities, policies, procedures, or education initiatives in collaboration with nursing leadership with a particular focus on psychiatric nursing care. Supports nursing leadership, program management, and clinic operations through assigned education, precepting, quality improvement, committee, task force, or process improvement work with a particular focus on psychiatric nursing care. Participates in agency training as required and leadership development as recommended. Commissioned Corps nurse officers only: maintains U.S. Public Health Service requirements. Serves as a subject matter expert on psychiatric nursing care for SBHU staff and supports Nurse Manager to maintain safe staffing, continuity of care, and therapeutic program integrity. May serve as acting Nurse Manager as needed. Other Duties: Performs additional clinical, administrative, training, quality improvement, or leadership support duties as assigned in support of IHSC's mission and operational requirements. Must work rotating shifts, including holidays and weekends. Civil Service nurses only: May volunteer to support agency nursing operations via temporary duty assignments (TDY). Commissioned Corps nurse officers only: required to support agency nursing operations via temporary duty assignments (TDY), which may include travel 30 or more days per year.