NEW HOPE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LLC
Job Description – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
Outpatient Behavioral Health Services
Position Title: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
Department: Outpatient Behavioral Health Services
Reports To: Medical Director / Clinical Director / Executive Leadership
Employment Status: Full-Time / Part-Time / Per Diem
Location: Worcester, Massachusetts / Telehealth as authorized
FLSA Status: Exempt, as applicable
POSITION SUMMARY
The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) provides comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, medication management, and ongoing behavioral health care to individuals receiving outpatient services through New Hope Behavioral Health LLC.
The PMHNP works collaboratively with psychiatrists, therapists, nurses, care coordinators, primary care providers, community-based providers, and other members of the interdisciplinary treatment team to ensure coordinated, person-centered, culturally responsive, and clinically appropriate behavioral health services.
The PMHNP is responsible for assessing psychiatric needs, developing individualized treatment recommendations, prescribing and monitoring psychotropic medications within the practitioner's authorized scope of practice, evaluating treatment effectiveness and adverse effects, addressing safety concerns, and coordinating appropriate levels of care.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Psychiatric Assessment and Diagnosis
The PMHNP will:
- Conduct comprehensive initial psychiatric evaluations.
- Obtain and document psychiatric, medical, psychosocial, developmental, family, substance-use, trauma, and medication histories as clinically appropriate.
- Perform mental status examinations.
- Assess presenting symptoms, functional impairment, strengths, risks, and treatment needs.
- Develop differential diagnoses and establish psychiatric diagnoses consistent with current diagnostic standards.
- Review available medical records, previous psychiatric treatment, laboratory findings, hospital records, and collateral information when clinically appropriate.
- Identify conditions requiring additional medical, neurological, substance-use, or specialty evaluation.
2. Individualized Treatment Planning
The PMHNP will:
- Develop individualized, person-centered psychiatric treatment recommendations based on assessment findings.
- Establish measurable treatment goals in collaboration with the patient and, when appropriate, family members or caregivers.
- Participate in interdisciplinary treatment planning.
- Periodically reassess treatment effectiveness and modify the treatment approach based on clinical response.
- Coordinate psychiatric treatment with psychotherapy and other behavioral health or community-based services.
3. Psychopharmacology and Medication Management
The PMHNP will:
- Prescribe psychiatric medications within the practitioner's licensure, credentialing, organizational privileges, and applicable laws and regulations.
- Educate patients and caregivers regarding the purpose, expected benefits, risks, potential adverse effects, and appropriate use of prescribed medications.
- Monitor therapeutic response, medication adherence, side effects, drug interactions, and relevant clinical indicators.
- Complete medication reconciliation as clinically indicated.
- Order and review appropriate laboratory tests and other diagnostic studies within scope of practice.
- Modify, continue, taper, or discontinue medication when clinically indicated.
- Document informed decision-making regarding psychiatric medications.
- Coordinate with pharmacies, PCPs, specialists, and other prescribers when appropriate.
4. Risk Assessment and Crisis Management
The PMHNP will:
- Routinely assess for suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, self-injurious behavior, aggression, psychosis, substance-related risks, abuse/neglect concerns, and other significant safety risks when clinically indicated.
- Determine the appropriate intervention and level of care when acute safety concerns are identified.
- Participate in safety and crisis planning.
- Facilitate referral to crisis stabilization, emergency departments, inpatient psychiatric treatment, substance-use treatment, or other higher levels of care when clinically necessary.
- Follow applicable mandatory reporting requirements and organizational policies.
5. Patient and Family Education
The PMHNP will provide education regarding:
- Psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms.
- Medication benefits, risks, and potential side effects.
- Medication adherence.
- Recognition of worsening symptoms.
- Coping and symptom-management strategies.
- Healthy lifestyle practices that may support behavioral health treatment.
- Available community and behavioral health resources.
- When and how to obtain urgent or emergency assistance.
The PMHNP will encourage patients and families to actively participate in treatment decisions.
6. Care Coordination and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The PMHNP will collaborate, as clinically appropriate and with required authorization, with:
- Primary Care Providers
- Psychiatrists and other psychiatric prescribers
- Therapists and counselors
- Nursing staff
- Care coordinators and case managers
- Hospitals and emergency departments
- Substance-use treatment providers
- Community-based behavioral health programs
- Schools and educational providers
- State and community agencies
- Other members of the patient's treatment team
The PMHNP will support continuity of care during transitions between inpatient, emergency, outpatient, and community-based services.
7. Documentation and Medical Records
The PMHNP will:
- Complete accurate, timely, and clinically appropriate documentation for all services provided.
- Document psychiatric assessments, diagnoses, treatment plans, medication decisions, patient response, risk assessments, education, coordination activities, and follow-up recommendations.
- Maintain medical records consistent with organizational policies, payer requirements, professional standards, and applicable federal and Massachusetts requirements.
- Complete prior authorization and other clinical documentation required to support medically necessary psychiatric treatment when applicable.
8. Quality Assurance and Compliance
The PMHNP will:
- Participate in clinical supervision, consultation, peer review, quality improvement, and utilization-management activities as required.
- Participate in chart reviews and corrective-action activities when applicable.
- Maintain required professional licenses, certifications, continuing education, credentialing, and payer enrollment.
- Follow HIPAA requirements and organizational confidentiality and information-security policies.
- Practice within professional scope, organizational privileges, and applicable state and federal requirements.
- Participate in organizational trainings, clinical meetings, and competency-development activities.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
The successful candidate should possess:
- Master's or doctoral degree in nursing from an accredited graduate nursing program.
- Current Massachusetts Registered Nurse (RN) license.
- Current Massachusetts Advanced Practice Registered Nurse authorization appropriate to the position.
- Current national board certification as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), as required for the position.
- Appropriate prescriptive authority and controlled-substance registrations when required for assigned duties.
- Current professional liability coverage as required by New Hope Behavioral Health LLC.
- Current CPR/BLS certification when required by organizational policy.
- Ability to successfully complete credentialing and payer enrollment requirements.
- Ability to successfully complete required background screening.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Preference may be given to candidates with:
- Experience providing outpatient psychiatric services.
- Experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and/or families, depending upon assigned population.
- Experience treating depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD and trauma-related conditions, ADHD, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and co-occurring behavioral health and substance-use conditions.
- Experience with psychopharmacology and complex medication management.
- Familiarity with Massachusetts behavioral health systems and MassHealth requirements.
- Experience collaborating with community-based behavioral health programs.
- Experience with electronic health records and telebehavioral health.
- Strong culturally responsive and person-centered clinical skills.
CORE COMPETENCIES
The PMHNP should demonstrate:
- Strong psychiatric assessment and diagnostic skills.
- Sound clinical judgment.
- Knowledge of psychopharmacology.
- Effective risk-assessment and crisis-management skills.
- Trauma-informed and person-centered practice.
- Cultural responsiveness.
- Strong written and verbal communication.
- Interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Professional boundaries and ethical decision-making.
- Accurate and timely clinical documentation.
- Commitment to patient safety and quality improvement.
Pay: $120,000.00 - $200,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Parental leave
Work Location: In person
