Registered Nurse, Consultation-Liaison (CL)

We are recruiting for a motivated Registered Nurse, Consultation-Liaison (CL) to join our team!

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Department

Inpatient Nursing Director

Job Summary

The Denver Health Consultation-Liaison RN (CL-RN) provides psychiatric consultation for patients who have co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions and are admitted to hospital-based medical units. The role focuses on proactive care and team collaboration. The 24/7 DART role works within the Psychiatric Consult Liaison Team, reports to the Behavioral Health Services' Nursing Director and supports provider leadership. The CL-RN serves as a vital link between psychiatric expertise and bedside nursing, ensuring safe, comprehensive care for patients with complex needs. Under general supervision, the professional nurse adheres to the American Nurses Association (ANA) standards of professional nursing and performance, and the ANA Code of Ethics to provide care to all healthcare consumers. Applies critical thinking, evidence-based practices and competence to collaborate with the health care team to promote excellence in healthcare consumer safety and quality outcomes. Utilizes the Theory of Human Caring and Caritas in daily practice. "Jean Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, Founder / Director, Watson Caring Science Institute."

Essential Functions:

• Attend morning Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison (PCL) Report. (15%)
• Communicates throughout shift with PCL and primary teams re: needs for medication interventions. • Liaise with primary nursing teams to obtain clinical information to be relayed to PCL on select patients. • Help primary nursing teams administer sedations for safety PRNs, E-Meds/I-Meds, restraints, and LAIs. • When able, help patients with physical disabilities. • Check on patients in restraints to help remove them from restraints as quickly as possible. (20%)
• Proactive Chart Review & Assessment – Proactively collects comprehensive data pertinent to the healthcare consumer’s health and/or situation. • Demonstrates an understanding of assessment findings as they relate to disease process and continuum of care. • Performs daily chart reviews to identify at risk patients for aggression, delirium, and behavioral health concerns. • Checks in on patients who are high risk for agitation (history of aggression, delirium, intoxication or in withdrawal) as indicated. May join PCL in assessing high risk patients for agitation. • Conduct SBIRT intervention for Alcohol Use Disorder. • Support care for patients with Delirium. • Physically facilitate transfer of patients to Denver Health Inpatient Psychiatric Units (IPUs) and Integrated Medical and Psychiatric Care Unit (IMAP). • Helps with administering screening tools to patients when clinically appropriate. Identifies and reports any abnormalities in assessment data per healthcare consumer specific parameters. • Performs data best practices and HIPAA compliance. • Collects data to promote patient, staff, unit, and hospital improvement. (15%)
• Crisis Response - Responds to all incidents of escalation, aggression, and violence to the requested location (pavilion and room #). (10%)
• Debrief/Documentation • The CL-RN will conduct a debrief after the event, when possible, based on the primary team's clinical prioritization. • Ensures complete documentation that complies with clinical guidelines. (5%)
• Plan - Partners with patient and interprofessional team to develop a plan with measurable outcomes and goals that prescribes strategies and alternatives to attain expected outcomes. Provides Case Management to help find IPU placement, when needed. (10%)
• Collaboration/Communication - Abides by the vision, the associated goals, and the plan to implement and measure progress of an individual's health. The RN collaborates with the patient, family, and others in the conduct of professional nursing practice. • Consistently partners with interprofessional team on patient throughput by proactively solving problems related to capacity and patient flow. • Collaborates with interprofessional teams to incorporate Lean principles for quality improvement initiatives. • Care consumer or progress within the context of the healthcare organization. • Promotes positive interpersonal relationships with interprofessional teams, healthcare consumers and visitors. • Treats these individuals with courtesy, dignity, empathy and respect; consistently displays courteous and respectful verbal and non-verbal communications. • Assesses own communication skills and encounters with healthcare consumers, families, and colleagues. • Discloses observations or concerns related to hazards and errors in care or the practice environment to the appropriate level. (10%)
• Ethics/Quality of Practice - Practices ethically and utilizes the ANA Code of Ethics to guide decision-making. • Delivers care in a non-judgmental, nondiscriminatory manner that preserves the patient's rights and confidentiality for the continuum of care from birth to end of life. • Creates and maintains a secure, trusting environment by not sharing information learned on the job except, when necessary, in the performance of the job responsibilities or to improve a patient's care. • Acts as a patient advocate. • Contributes to professional nursing quality by practicing and evaluating own nursing practice in relation to professional practice standards and guidelines, relevant statutes, rules, regulations, and organizational position descriptions. • Supports compliance with national patient safety goals, accrediting agency standards, and quality initiatives. (5%)
• EBP/Research - Integrates evidence and research into professional nursing practice based on Denver Health guidelines. • Incorporates research behaviors into clinical practice by demonstrating awareness of research findings, identifying areas of practice that can be improved through research utilization. (5%)
• Professional Practice Evaluation/Leadership • Evaluates own professional practice in relation to professional practice standards, relevant statues, rules, and regulations. Participates in the peer-review process. • Demonstrates transformational leadership in the professional practices setting and the profession. • Oversees the nursing care given by others while retaining accountability for the quality of care given to the healthcare consumer. Education - Obtains knowledge and competence that reflects current professional nursing practice. • Ten (10) CEs per year preferred and encouraged or as noted as part of ProCAP applications. • Collaborates with area clinical nursing educator to identify training and care team development needs. (5%)

Education:

• Associate's Degree Completion of an accredited nursing education program that satisfies the licensing requirements of the Colorado State Board of Nursing. Required
• Bachelor's Degree Preferred

Work Experience:

• 1-3 years experience in a direct patient care setting Required and
• 1-3 years experience in a behavioral health setting and have or assume training in verbal de-escalation, motivational interviewing, safety planning and bias Required

Licenses:

• RN-Registered Nurse - DORA - Department of Regulatory Agencies Required
• BLS-Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) - AHA - American Heart Association or American Red Cross Required

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ensures all duties, responsibilities, and competencies are conducted in a manner that is effective and appropriate to patients/clients for whom care/service is being provided.
• Demonstrates knowledge and applicability of the principles of growth and development over the life span, as well as demonstrating the ability to assess data reflecting the patient's status, and to interpret the patient's cultural information.
• Employee has completed and met their clinical competency standards.
• Ability to use medical equipment and instruments to administer patient care.
• Skilled in maintaining effective working relationships with patients, employees, and the public.
• Ability to react calmly and effectively in emergency situations. Ability to de-escalate emergency situations.

Shift

Work Type

Regular (0.9 FTE)

Salary

$37.40 - $62.22 / hr

Benefits

• Outstanding benefits including up to 27 paid days off per year, immediate retirement plan employer contribution up to 9.5%, and generous medical plans

• Free RTD EcoPass (public transportation)

• On-site employee fitness center and wellness classes

• Childcare discount programs & exclusive perks on large brands, travel, and more

• Tuition reimbursement & assistance

• Education & development opportunities including career pathways and coaching

• Professional clinical advancement program & shared governance

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) eligible employer+ free student loan coaching and assistance navigating the PSLF program 

• National Health Service Corps (NHCS) and Colorado Health Service Corps (CHSC) eligible employer

Our Values

• Respect

• Belonging

• Accountability

• Transparency

All job applicants for safety-sensitive positions must pass a pre-employment drug test, once a conditional offer of employment has been made.

Denver Health is an integrated, high-quality academic health care system considered a model for the nation that includes a Level I Trauma Center, a 555-bed acute care medical center, Denver’s 911 emergency medical response system, 10 family health centers, 19 school-based health centers, Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Safety, a Public Health Institute, an HMO and The Denver Health Foundation.

As Colorado’s primary, and essential, safety-net institution, Denver Health is a mission-driven organization that has provided billions in uncompensated care for the uninsured. Denver Health is viewed as an Anchor Institution for the community, focusing on hiring and purchasing locally as applicable, serving as a pillar for community needs, and caring for more than 185,000 individuals and 67,000 children a year.

Located near downtown Denver, Denver Health is just minutes away from many of the cultural and recreational activities Denver has to offer.

Denver Health is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). We value the unique ideas, talents and contributions reflective of the needs of our community.

Applicants will be considered until the position is filled.