Mental Health Technician - Per Required Need

About the job

Frontier Behavioral Health is hiring a per diem (PRN, per required need) mental health technician in Spokane to cover shifts on its Evaluation & Treatment inpatient units at the Calispel and Foothills locations. As part of the inpatient team, the technician supervises and interacts with adults who have serious or chronic mental health disorders, including checking vital signs, serving meals and snacks and keeping watch on their activities and behavior.

Frontier Behavioral Health is a non-profit that has served Spokane for more than 100 years, offering evidence-based behavioral health treatment to adults, youth and seniors. Its services include outpatient, inpatient, community outreach and crisis services, along with partnerships with schools and law enforcement.

What you'll do

• Supervise the milieu, monitor client activities and behavior and complete scheduled patient rounds
• Take vital signs and serve patient meals and snacks
• Write clear, objective clinical notes on patient activities and behavior in a timely way and give feedback to clinical staff
• Report suspected changes in a patient's condition or a possible crisis to the charge nurse or unit leader
• Follow each patient's written treatment plan, redirect patients verbally when needed and model appropriate behavior, using de-escalation techniques from FBH training
• Stay alert and keep patients within direct line of sight when needed
• Do general housekeeping such as vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, laundry and sanitizing counters
• Engage patients in conversation, listen supportively and encourage or set up recreational activities
• Inventory patients' personal belongings and help with admissions as needed
• Attend required trainings, meetings and supervision sessions, work well with RNs, providers and other FBH staff and give good customer service

What you need

• A Nursing Assistant Registration or Nursing Assistant Certification, active when you apply
• High school diploma or GED
• A food handler's permit, obtained within 7 days of hire
• Active BLS certification, or BLS obtained within 90 days of hire
• Clear written and spoken communication, including objective clinical documentation, and the ability to communicate with people of varied backgrounds, education levels and socio-economic status
• Basic computer skills, including charting in an electronic medical record, electronic time tracking, Outlook, Word and the intranet
• Work generally takes place in a residential setting and may involve sitting or constant movement and lifting 10 to 20 pounds
• The job carries a chance of blood-borne pathogen exposure (Category I)

Schedule

• Per diem (PRN), covering various shifts on the Calispel or Foothills Evaluation & Treatment inpatient units
• Possible weekday shifts, Monday to Friday: 7AM to 3:30PM, swing 3PM to 11:30PM or nights 11PM to 7:30AM
• Possible weekend shifts, Saturday and Sunday: days 7AM to 7:30PM or nights 7PM to 7:30AM

Benefits

• Shift differentials for weekday swing, weeknight and weekend shifts
• Eligible for the 403b retirement plan; PRN positions are otherwise unbenefited and don't qualify for the sign-on bonus