Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

POSITION: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (Part-Time)

POSITION SUMMARY

The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner provides direct psychiatric care to adults with severe and persistent mental illness across the Hume Center’s Full-Service Partnership (FSP), outpatient, and Intensive outpatient and/or partial hospitalization (IOP/PHP) programs. The NP works as part of an interdisciplinary treatment team within a multicultural community mental health setting, under the clinical supervision of the Medical Director or designated Consulting Psychiatrist, and in accordance with the Hume Center’s Nurse Practitioner Standardized Procedures for Psychiatry Services.

SUPERVISORY STRUCTURE

Clinical Supervisor: Medical Director, or designated Consulting Psychiatrist, serving as the supervising physician under California Business and Professions Code § 2836.1 and the Hume Center Nurse Practitioner Standardized Procedures for Psychiatry Services.

Administrative Supervisor: Program Director, or designated Administrative Supervisor, for administrative, HR, and job-responsibility supervision.

Documentation and Compliance Oversight: Director of Compliance.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

1. Current Registered Nurse license with the State of California.
2. Current certification as a Nurse Practitioner with the California Board of Registered Nursing.
3. Certification as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP).
4. Current DEA registration and CURES (Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System) access, or the ability to acquire and maintain both upon hire.
5. Four years’ clinical experience in behavioral health/psychiatry preferred.
6. Knowledge of the Contra Costa Health System is helpful but not required.
7. At least two years of experience in training and supervision preferred.
8. Valid California Driver’s License; willingness to use own vehicle with valid car insurance for work-related travel.
9. Willingness to remain reachable through the Hume Center’s secure communication channels to respond to occasional urgent clinical situations.
10. Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Google applications (Calendar, Docs, Drive), and Electronic Health Records (InSync)

SCOPE OF PRACTICE

The Nurse Practitioner practices in accordance with the Hume Center’s Nurse Practitioner Standardized Procedures for Psychiatry Services and applicable clinic policies — including those governing physician consultation, clinical supervision, prescribing and the referenced formulary, sentinel-event reporting, documentation timeliness, quality assurance and peer review, and transition of care. Those documents, rather than this job description, set the detailed clinical and operational standards for the role; the supervising physician may determine the extent of supervision necessary in the furnishing or ordering of drugs and devices pursuant to § 2836.1(c)(2), based on clinical circumstances.

Nurse Practitioners who hold, or are pursuing, 103 NP certification under AB 890 are encouraged to discuss the implications for their scope of practice with the Medical Director and Human Resources. NPs pursuing certification may track qualifying supervised hours through their employment at the Hume Center, with the Medical Director or Consulting Psychiatrist serving as attesting physician upon verification of completed hours and clinical performance.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

1. Provide psychiatric services to adult patients with severe mental illness across FSP, outpatient, and PHP settings.
2. Perform initial assessments, psychiatric evaluations, brief physical examinations, medical-necessity follow-ups, annual assessments, and appropriate lab monitoring.
3. Provide psychotropic medication management and psychotherapeutic interventions.
4. Collaborate with outside psychiatric providers and other treating clinicians.
5. Provide treatment plan updates as necessary.
6. Collaborate regularly with the psychiatry team, therapists, case managers, housing specialists, administrative staff, community partners, caregivers, and patients’ families.
7. Complete clinical documentation in accordance with agency, Medicare, Medi-Cal, county guidelines, and the standardized procedures.
8. Supervise the licensed psychiatric technician supporting patient care delivery and administrative duties.
9. Participate in weekly treatment team meetings to coordinate patient care.
10. Provide emergency phone coverage after program hours as assigned.
11. Oversee on-site storage and dispensing of psychiatric medications. This does not include oversight of general medical care or general medical medications.
12. Participate in weekly clinical supervision, clinical case conferences, and staff meetings, presenting cases during supervision and case conferences.
13. Participate in quality assurance, utilization review, and peer review activities.
14. Acquire and maintain CURES access and DEA registration.
15. Represent the agency in the professional community.
16. Perform other duties as needed.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

1. Sound clinical judgment appropriate for patients with severe mental illness, complex psychiatric presentations, and high-risk behaviors.
2. Maintenance of professional boundaries, confidentiality, and ethical practice.
3. Effective, respectful, and timely communication with supervising physicians, treatment team members, patients, and families.
4. Constructive engagement with supervision, feedback, peer consultation, and quality improvement.
5. Cultural humility and effectiveness across diverse patient populations, consistent with the Hume Center’s multicultural and multilingual continuum of care.
6. Current clinical knowledge and ongoing professional development.
7. Initiative, flexibility, strong organizational skills, time management, and adaptability to changing priorities.
8. Collaborative work with agency staff, with focus on organizational and patient benefit.
9. Commitment to community mental health and to caring for individuals with severe mental illness, particularly under-served populations.

OTHER

1. Patient visits are primarily office-based appointments, with occasional telehealth, and rarely community-based visits
2. Meet monthly with the Administrative Supervisor for administrative, HR, and job-responsibility supervision.
3. Participate actively in the Hume Center’s enabling consultation model — an empowerment-based approach in which clinical work, supervision, and team collaboration occur through relationships of mutual respect and non-judgmental peer consultation. In practice this means presenting cases, engaging in supervision, contributing to and receiving peer consultation, and raising clinical questions and concerns through the appropriate supervisory and administrative channels in a timely manner.
4. Attend other required meetings.
5. Fulfill additional duties specified by the Supervisor (Department Head) and/or President/CEO.