Psychiatric Technician - Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center/HCPC at UTHealth Houston at UTHealth in Houston, Texas

Job Description:

Position Summary:

Focuses on safety, performing patient care activities or tasks for psychiatric patients as well as maintaining a therapeutic and safe environment under the direction of the licensed staff. Must be comfortable working with mental health patients, many of whom have experienced trauma, in a compassionate and professional manner while promoting a safe environment.

Position Key Accountabilities:

1. Provides inpatient and outpatient non-skilled nursing for psychiatric patients.
2. Provides supervision of patients on suicide or other critical precautions, 1:1 or 2:1, which requires a staff member to be within continuous arm's length of a patient.
3. Responsible for operating equipment such as IVAC, Sphygmomanometer and Scale.
4. Assist patients with activities of daily living i.e. bathing, shaving, hygiene, toileting, and grooming, while respecting the patient's privacy, to the extent possible.
5. Interact and engage with patients in a therapeutic manner using Trauma informed care and therapeutic communication strategies.
6. Participates in implementing and formulating patients' treatment plan based on experience and close observation of patients.
7. Helps maintain a therapeutic milieu. Assists with milieu management and uses crisis de-escalation and trauma informed care strategies to reduce destructive and disruptive patient behavior and ensures the safety of patient, self, and others. Recognizes early warning signs of worsening patient behaviors and intervenes appropriately.
8. Facilitates patients' groups and participation in therapeutic activities (i.e. community meeting, transition, and wrap-up groups etc.).
9. Implement crisis management skills (de-escalation skills) as directed by licensed staff, including situations where the patient could be in danger, suffer self-inflicted harm, or harm others.
10. Must be able to restrain an adult, adolescent, or pediatric patient within the guidelines currently in use at HCPC, including circumstances where the patient is violent or aggressive towards staff and others, including other patients.
11. In certain circumstances, must be able to maintain initial physical control of an adult, adolescent or pediatric patient individually until assistance from other team members arrive.
12. Escorts patients on and off campus for medical emergencies and diagnostic procedures when required.
13. Conducts patient Q15 and Q30 minutes observation rounds with appropriate documentation, and one to one observation. Observes patient condition for signs/symptoms consistent with illness or mental status change; reports observations about patient condition to the nurse.
14. Conducts environmental rounds on unit for safety.
15. Performs other duties as assigned by the nurse.

Certification/Skills:

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent

Minimum Experience:

One (1) year of experience in a patient care environment, Mental Health Technician/Psychiatric Technician Certificate, CNA Certification, MA Certification, EMT Certification, Sixty hours of college credit in a related discipline, or successfully completed the Psychiatric Technician Internship program.

Physical Requirements:

Exerts up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 20 pounds frequently and/or up to 10 pounds constantly to move objects.

Security Sensitive:

This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code § 51.215

Residency Requirement:

Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.