Mental Health Technician 1

POSITION SUMMARY: Provides basic care, teaches daily living skills and oversees the safety and security of mental health patients under the supervision of the professional mental health team. Performs basic assessments. Makes trained observations and reports to mental health team or designated member. Ensures documentation of 15 minute rounding is completed on all admitted patients. When not documenting is rounding on unit to ensure safety and surveillance of all activities related to the patients.

EDUCATION, CREDENTIALS, TRAINING and EXPERIENCE:

Minimum Required: High school diploma or equivalent.  Completion of a Nursing Assistant I course approved by the North Carolina Board of Nursing or three years previous experience as a mental health technician or a Bachelor’s Degree in a health related field. If a Nursing Assistant I you must be listed with the NC Division of Facility Services Registry as a Nursing Assistant I.  BCLS certification upon hire with recertification every two years or as required by the American Heart Association.  NCI/MH/DD/SAS Training within 3 months of hire; recertification required annually.

Preferred:                  Same

ADDITIONAL SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS: Incumbent must demonstrate an ability to apply age-appropriate principles of communication and clinical practice relevant to adolescent, adult and geriatric patients.  Incumbent must demonstrate competence in the use of equipment and application of procedures before being allowed to perform independently. Cares for mentally impaired or emotionally impaired individuals, following physician instructions and hospital procedures. Monitors patients’ physical and emotional well-being and reports changes to medical staff. Will participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, help with personal hygiene and continuous monitoring and surveillance of behavioral health patients. Manage basic group activities through hands on learning with the behavioral health patients to ensure compliance. Ensures environmental rounds are completed at the beginning of each shift. Performs other duties as assigned, requested or required.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:

Supervises:                None.

Reports To:               Receives clinical oversight and guidance from staff RNs or LPNs specific to patient care assignments.  Reports to Unit Manager for patient care, operational and administrative issues.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION:

- Demographic: patient information such as name, date of birth, address, etc.

- Clinical: patient medical record, diagnoses, discharge summary and other related data

- Organizational: unit and organizational policies and procedures

- Knowledge-based: access to Information Resource Center reference resources