What are the responsibilities and job description for the Professional Counselor - Adult Psychiatric Inpatient - Days position at WellSpan Health Services?
Part-time (40 hours biweekly)
- Weekdays, daytime hours; 8 am to 4:30 pm
- Week 1 – (2) 8-hour days
- Week 2 – (3) 8-hour days
- Every third weekend- 8 hours on Saturday and 8 hours on Sunday When you work the weekend, you will have one or two days off during the week to total 40 hours per pay period which is every two weeks.
Sign On Bonus Eligible
Position Function: Performs clinical interventions with patients (children through older adults), families/significant others, staff, outside organizations and providers in order to coordinate patient care, implement treatment and perform discharge planning. Provides psychosocial assessments and clinical therapies (i.e., individual, couples, group, play, and family therapies) to patients of Behavioral Health Services.
Core Values: Service, Integrity, Compassion
1. Demonstrates service excellence and patient and family centered care by showing respect, honesty, fairness and a positive attitude toward all customers.
2. Maintains confidentiality.
3. Demonstrates dependability, to include attendance and punctuality.
4. Is accountable - takes initiative and ownership of issues.
5. Displays a professional demeanor. Represents hospital in a positive way. Has a compassionate working relationship with patients and families.
6. Assumes personal responsibility for 2-way communication. Communicates and listens effectively with patients, families, coworkers, other departments, physicians/providers and community.
7. Supports coworkers, initiatives and a patient and family centered philosophy; pitches in; does own part and helps others.
8. Works to continuously improve work environment/processes (Performance Improvement). Demonstrates a patient and family centered focus when considering/developing improvement solutions.
9. Represents willingness/enthusiasm to create, embrace and facilitate change.
10. Develops self and others; supports a learning environment; leads by example. Encourages patients and families to give feedback and suggestions for improvement.
11. Develops working relationships critical to the organization including patients, families, coworkers, other departments, physicians/providers and community.
12. Encourages others by providing recognition and support.
Technical Excellence
1. Thinks critically; utilizes sound judgment; promptly reports potential risks.
2. Maintains state of art knowledge of area of specialty, healthcare trends and practice, populations served.
3. Maintains a level of computer literacy appropriate to their role.
4. Meets and maintains current all unit specific and organizational skills/competencies, certifications/licensures, as required.
5. Completes hospital-required reviews, e.g. HIPAA, safety, health screening, care concerns, and others as assigned.
6. Adheres to National Patient Safety Goals.
Job Class Specifics:
1. Maintains current Child Abuse Clearance and Criminal Background checks.
2. Clinical knowledge and skills remain current to meet the needs of all age/population groups served. Demonstrates understanding of age- appropriate behavior and psychosocial development for children through older adults.
3. Communicates plan of care based on assessment of patients and family; keeps appropriate people aware of pertinent changes or problems in a timely manner.
4. Participates productively in treatment team meetings and ensures attendance on a regular basis.
5. Achieves minimum thresholds for productivity on a consistent basis.
6. Effectively performs intake assessments as scheduled and documents appropriately.
7. Ensures that admission assessments for clients contain the following documented components: Background information, current mental status, treatment recommendations, discharge planning needs, target problems for treatment, expected patient outcomes.
8. Appropriately utilizes standardized tools and scales to assess and reassess patient functioning. Uses the appropriate tool for the age/population of the patient being assessed (e.g., adolescent and geriatric depression scales, GAF, etc.)
9. Assumes appropriate responsibility and accountability for the development, review and revision of the plan of care for outpatients: completes within 2 visits.
10. Expected outcomes/target objectives and interventions measurable and are developed with recognition given to expected age-related variations in the baseline psychosocial and developmental functional capacity of the individual (child to older adult).
11. Incorporates patient/family teaching into plan of treatment; including patient identified target symptoms with severity ratings.
12. Documents discharge plan, revisions to the Plan of Care, and final discharge instructions and linkages community services, as per current policy.
13. Meets required thresholds for chart review and documentation.
14. Utilizes therapeutic communication skills with patients and family.
15. Accurately assesses interventions made and reassesses data to plan further interventions throughout the therapeutic process in a responsive and timely manner, in order to meet patient needs and third party payor requirements.
16. Effectively implements the treatment modalities appropriate to age/population served.
17. Markets the therapeutic value of therapy group participation and solicits referrals from appropriate sources.
18. Implements, facilitates and maintains therapy group(s) participation, the majority of the calendar year.
19. Effectively and consistently demonstrates the successful ability to facilitate a therapy group.
20. Accurately maintains attendance and participation documentation as required by licensors regulations.
21. Responds appropriately to emergency situations.
The following requirements are expected of all employees:
Core Values: Integrity, Compassion, Excellence, Service
Annual Health Screening with Infection Control and Blood Borne Pathogens Education Safety Awareness: Hospital Fire, Safety, and Disaster Procedures
Confidentiality: Maintains Employee and Patient Confidentiality. Attendance: Regular attendance is an essential function of the position Leadership Standards:
Character: Attitude, Integrity, Role Modeling
Job Performance: Results Orientation, Customer Focus, Decision Making, Awareness
Interpersonal Skills: Communication, Relationship-building, Team Player, Celebration
Innovation: Breakthrough Thinking, Knowledge-Building/Sharing, Coaching/Empowering, System Vision & Management
Physical and Mental Requirements: Classified as medium work by the Dictionary of Occupational Titles: May exert 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 10-20 pounds of force frequently, and/or greater than negligible (up to 10 pounds) force constantly in order to move objects.
- Stands occasionally on carpet or tile (mostly within the unit).
- Walks to and from different departments within the hospital occasionally.
- Sits frequently on a hard or cushioned chair during normal shift.
- Lifts up to 50 pounds laterally to and from waist level on an occasional basis.
- Carries up to 15 pounds for distances of up to 100 feet occasionally.
- Pushes/pulls up to 125 pounds occasionally from floor to floor; in crisis situations, throughout the hospital.
- Occasionally bends, squats, and kneels form an upright position to lower levels.
- Occasionally twists, stretches, and reaches from waist level to higher and lower levels.
- Manual dexterity and flexibility adequate for operating hand/arm controls on wheelchairs.
- Near-visual acuity necessary for deciphering fine print; must be able to observe specific patient actions from a minimum distance of 15 feet away.
- Auditory acuity adequate for hearing telephone conversations, overhead pagers, alarms, call bells, and normal voice tones when not facing the individual.
- Ability to participate in therapeutic activities.
- Ability to restrain patients who act out physically.
- Ability to respond rapidly to unpredictable emergencies while protecting self and/or patients/others. Mental Demands - Possesses good general mental health; ability to be assertive and exercise good sound judgment; ability to speak, read, and write the English language; ability to communicate effectively in both written and verbal from; ability to work under pressure while establishing priorities.
Reporting Structure:
A. Formal Reporting and Chain of Command - Reports to Nurse Manager of Behavioral Health Services or delegated supervisor.
B. Informal Reporting and Relationships - Establishes and maintains harmonious, productive relationships with all levels of mental health personnel, other hospital personnel, physicians, patients, patient’s families, and the general public.
Disclaimer: These essential job functions are requirements of the position which must be performed either with or without reasonable accommodation. The essential job function list is intended to be a guide rather than a limitation. The Chambersburg Hospital possesses the right to add new responsibilities to the list as business demands dictate. Some of the essential job functions may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat/significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or others.
By identifying essential job functions, we are in no way stating or implying that these required tasks are the only activities that are to be performed by the employee occupying this position. In addition, employees will also be expected to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties that are included in the job description. The preceding requirements represent only the minimum acceptable levels of knowledge, skills, and/or abilities that a job incumbent must possess; in order to perform the job successfully, the incumbent will possess additional aptitudes so as to perform the other duties that the job description entails.
WellSpan Health’s vision is to reimagine healthcare through the delivery of comprehensive, equitable health and wellness solutions throughout our continuum of care. As an integrated delivery system focused on leading in value-based care, we encompass more than 2,300 employed providers, 250 locations, nine award-winning hospitals, home care and a behavioral health organization serving central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. Our high-performing Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is the region’s largest and one of the best in the nation. With a team 23,000 strong, WellSpan experts provide a range of services, from wellness and employer services solutions to advanced care for complex medical and behavioral conditions. Our clinically integrated network of 3,000 aligned physicians and advanced practice providers is dedicated to providing the highest quality and safety, inspiring our patients and communities to be their healthiest.
Education : Graduate of an accredited Master's degree program in counseling, psychology, social work or other mental health field.
Experience : Experience applying customer service behaviors and communication skills required. A minimum of two 6 to 12 months clinical experience in the mental health field including the provision of psychotherapy to individuals, families, couples, and/or groups is required. Play therapy experience required as applicable.
Certifications/Licensure : Current CPR certification required. Child Abuse History Clearance and Criminal Background Check required.
Benefits Offered:
- Comprehensive health benefits
- Flexible spending and health savings accounts
- Retirement savings plan
- Paid time off (PTO)
- Short-term disability
- Education assistance
- Financial education and support, including DailyPay
- Wellness and Wellbeing programs
- Caregiver support via Wellthy
- Childcare referral service via Wellthy
For additional details: Benefits & Incentives | WellSpan Careers (joinwellspan.org)
