Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner - Behavioral Health (APTA - New Grad)

APTA OVERVIEW:

• The Behavioral Health Advanced Practitioner Training Academy (APTA) is a 13-week intensive program for newly graduated Advanced Practice Providers (PAs or NPs) who have recently joined Neighborhood Healthcare.
• The program includes in person and telehealth clinical shadowing experience, supervised clinical practice with preceptors at continuity care clinics, specialty rotations (child, addiction, and geriatric psychiatry), didactics, and self-driven learning

Why is this important?

Neighborhood Healthcare serves a complex patient population. Newly graduated Advanced Practice Providers are offered postgraduate training

to enhance their acclimation to our patient population. Upon joining, APPs must quickly adapt to the EMR system, manage patient messages and lab results, handle administrative tasks, and interact with primary care providers in a managed care team model.

The APTA program aims to:

• Enhance clinical expertise (skills and knowledge)
• Improve communication with support staff
• Master system navigation to reduce stress and increase efficiency

Importance of Shadowing Specialists

Addiction Medicine: Most patients with mental health diagnosis struggle with co-morbid substance use. By shadowing these specialists,

APPs in the APTA program gain deeper insights and understanding of addiction and learn when to refer to these specialists. APPs will also get experience with our Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program and have the opportunity to provide MAT management if they so choose.

Geriatric Medicine:

NHC has a Program for All-inclusive Care for Adults or PACE. Its mission is to provide a medical, social, and

home care program exclusively for seniors. Through their various clinical rotations, APPs will learn the nuances of and become more

comfortable providing psychiatric care to our elderly patients.

Child Psychiatry:

Childhood lays a foundation to adulthood experience and most psychiatric conditions start during this period of time. As such, it is important for APPs to get experience working with children and teenagers. APPs will

rotate with child psychiatrists to better understand nuances in psychiatric management in children.

Primary care:

NHC has developed a care team model, which allows psychiatric providers to work closely with their primary care colleagues. When assessing for psychiatric disorders, it is important to rule out potential medical causes. Additionally, most psychotropic medications prescribed can cause or worsen pre-existing medical issues. As such, APPs will rotate with PCPs to help expand their differential diagnosis and understand when to order additional testing (IE: labs, imaging, etc...)

ROLE OVERVIEW and PURPOSE

The Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner works to support the mission and vision of Neighborhood Healthcare by providing excellent patient-centered care and services within a dynamic team environment. The Physician Assistant's will provide mental health evaluations and psychiatric medication management for patient under the direction and responsibility of psychiatric physicians.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provides psychiatric evaluation, diagnostic assessment, medication management, medication assisted treatments, psychoeducation, and follow-up to patients under direction and supervision of psychiatrists
• Orders, interprets, and evaluates diagnostic tests to identify and assess patient's clinical problems and health care needs
• Participates in the credentialing process with managed care companies by providing personal information, as needed
• Participates in process and program quality improvement initiatives to improve care for patients
• Participates in patient case conferences and departmental/agency meetings, as directed
• Impacts patient experience by demonstrating courteous and helpful behavior and a commitment to accuracy
• Completes patient medical record documentation according to company policies and procedures
• Shares accountability for overall patient health outcomes by working in coordination with Care Teams
• Operates to instill confidence in our care and in our facilities to patients, fellow employees, and other stakeholders

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

Nurse Practitioner:

• Master's degree in nursing required

• CA Nurse Practitioner and Registered Nursing license required

• Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner required

• Current CA DEA licensure is required and is to be maintained as a condition of employment

• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification though an American Heart Association (AHA)- Approved source is required upon hire and must be maintained as a condition of employment.

• AHA- approved courses include an in-person, hands-on skills check with a certified instructor using a mannequin to demonstrate CPR and emergency response techniques.

• Online-only BLS courses without a live skills check do not meet this requirement

• Completion of advanced pharmacology course with class II controlled substances required

Physician Assistant:

• Bachelor's degree and completion of an accredited Physician Assistant Program

• Valid CA Physician Assistant license required

• Psychiatric Certified Added Qualifications (CAQ) preferred

• Current CA DEA licensure is required and is to be maintained as a condition of employment

• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification though an American Heart Association (AHA)- Approved source is required upon hire and must be maintained as a condition of employment.

• AHA- approved courses include an in-person, hands-on skills check with a certified instructor using a mannequin to demonstrate CPR and emergency response techniques.

• Online-only BLS courses without a live skills check do not meet this requirement.

• Completion of advanced pharmacology course with class II-controlled substances required

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including superior composition, typing and proofreading skills
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
• Knowledgeable about and experience with providing psychiatric services to patients
• Ability to successfully manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• Excellent planning and organizational ability
• Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently
• Ability to work with highly confidential information in a professional and ethical manner

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift/carry 20 lbs/weight
• Ability to stand for long periods of time

COMPLIANCE (Safety & HIPPA)

• Follows all safety procedures as outlined in Neighborhood Healthcare's Illness and Injury Prevention Plan (IIPP) and report any injuries and/or unsafe conditions immediately
• Maintains current knowledge of policies and procedures as they relate to safe work practices
• Follows all safety procedures and report unsafe conditions
• Uses appropriate body mechanics to ensure an injury free environment
• Familiarity with location of nearest fire extinguisher and emergency exits
• Follows all infection control procedures including blood-borne pathogen protocols
• Maintains privacy of all patients, employee and volunteer information and access such information only on a need-to-know basis for business purposes
• Complies with all regulations regarding corporate integrity and security obligations
• Reports all behavior and/or activity that are unethical, fraudulent, or unlawful

Pay range: $135,400.00 to $211,200.00 per year, depending on experience.

Compensation Disclosure: The posted salary range reflects the designated pay grade for this position. While this range represents the broader classification of the role, actual compensation will be based on several factors, including but not limited to: the candidate's overall knowledge, skills, and experience, market data and industry benchmarks, internal equity within the organization, Budgetary considerations and organizational needs. As a result, placement within the range is not guaranteed, and the full pay grade range may not be utilized.