Forensic Community & Liaison Nurse at BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services

Forensic Community & Liaison Nurse, Registered Nurse (RN)/ Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN)

BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services

Nelson, BC

This Regular Part-Time (0.50 FTE) position is located out of the Nelson Community Corrections office and modifications to the work schedule can be considered.

You are a Registered Nurse or Registered Psychiatric Nurse who works with compassion and care while practicing trauma-informed care. You’re seeking a meaningful role that provides challenge, variety, and the opportunity to make an impact on others’ lives. As someone who seeking to better your own practice through others, you appreciate your interdisciplinary team members and enjoy collaborating on complex care issues, using trauma informed practice, harm reduction, and Indigenous Cultural Safety.

What is Forensics

Forensic Psychiatric Regional Clinics and Programs are for people with a mental health and/or substance use disorder who have come into contact with the law. The courts may refer them to one of our regional clinics for assessment and treatment. We believe that people, when properly supported, have the ability to manage most aspects of their lives. We focus on people's strengths and resources instead of on symptoms and problems. They are a key member of their treatment team and an active participant in their own care. We help them get the care, support, and treatment they need.

Watch this video to learn about working with BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services!

A first in Canada: minimum Nurse‑to‑Patient Ratios (mNPRs) are being introduced in B.C.! The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), alongside B.C.'s other regional health authorities, is implementing mNPRs as a transformative staffing initiative that aims to improve the working environment of nurses in order to provide better quality care to our patients. Learn more at: jobs.phsa.ca/mnpr

What you’ll do

• Conduct initial intake and ongoing biopsychosocial nursing psychiatric assessments including current mental status examinations, general assessments of physical health, special needs/precautions, and completes all related assessment tools as per policy. Identify, develop and implement an Integrated Treatment Plan (ITP) based on the evaluation of clinical risk and need through the completion of the Short-term Assessment of Risk & Treatability (START).
• Provide community case coordination and advocacy services for clients by methods such as communicating and monitoring client contacts with mental health teams, private psychiatrists, family physicians, probation, other specialists, and social service agencies that are involved in the provision of services to the client to ensure continuity of care and sharing of pertinent information; establishing and maintaining excellent working relationships with all resources; communicating closely with treating psychiatrists/psychologists to ensure ongoing evaluation and effective treatment; and working in collaboration with other community resources to meet the client’s need for assistance including financial, housing, medical and psychiatric care, substance abuse intervention, family support, employment/skills training opportunities, life skills training, transportation, and prosocial/recreational programs.
• Maintain concise and accurate documentation of relevant information on client files in accordance with FPSC policy standards to meet regulatory requirements and provide evidence and rationale to support findings and treatment plan such as compiling pertinent background information for clinical case planning and collecting information to assist psychiatrists/psychologists in the preparation of reports for the Courts. Provide written reports and summaries as per FPSC policy, standards and guidelines.
• Provide nursing services, information and support, and short-term, time-limited follow-up as required by methods such as addressing immediate social or mental health needs, providing counseling/therapeutic support to individual clients and their families, and acting as a group co-facilitator as required; assisting with finding shelter, food, financial assistance, medication or referral to other appropriate resources; administering medications and assessing their effectiveness, monitoring client for presence of side effects such as extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), tardive dyskinesia and other movement disorders related to psychoactive medications, providing information on medication management, including teaching the client about benefits and possible side effects; and giving advice and information about mental illness, personality disorders, range of treatment options available, court process, community options, and resources and education on mental illness.
• Facilitate access to psychiatric and social services, by methods such as receiving referrals as per FPSC policy, accompanying clients to community resources as clinically appropriate as part of their community transition plan; and conducting home visits as per the ITP and FPSC policy, and meeting with clients outside of the office environment to assess and assist with their community reintegration and prosocial development.

What you bring

Qualifications

• Graduation from an approved School of Nursing with current practicing registration as a Registered Nurse or Registered Psychiatric Nurse with the British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives (BCCNM).
• Two (2) years recent, related experience working with individuals in the community with severe and persistent psychiatric illness.
• Valid BC Drivers License. Local area travel may require the use of a personal vehicle.
• Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the historic and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism and systemic racism on Indigenous Peoples within social and health contexts. This includes understanding how these factors contribute to current health disparities and barriers to care. Show a clear commitment to identifying, challenging, and eradicating Indigenous-specific racism and all forms of discrimination impacting equity-deserving groups within healthcare settings. This involves recognizing personal biases, institutional barriers, engaging in anti-racism education and training and advocating for systemic change.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of legislative obligations and provincial commitments within BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services contexts found in the foundational documents including Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study, BC Human Rights Code, Anti-racism Data Act and how they intersect across the health care system.

Skills & Knowledge

• Broad knowledge of nursing theory and Forensic Psychiatric Nursing practice
• Broad knowledge of British Columbia College of Nurses & Midwives (BCCNM) standards of professional practice and Code of Ethics.
• Broad knowledge of other facilities and community resources.
• Broad knowledge of other health care disciplines and their role in client care.
• Broad knowledge of Bill C30 and the Provincial Court system.
• Broad knowledge of psychopharmacology (indications and side-effects).
• Demonstrated ability in nursing practice related to assessment of behaviour, risk and to assisting clients to regain/improve their coping abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct biopsychosocial psychiatric assessments, provide treatment planning, and to apply knowledge of theory and practice to a case management process.
• Demonstrates a commitment to beginning and continuing their personal learning journey related to Indigenous-specific racism and dismantling systems of oppression, as well as addressing racism more broadly. Shows willingness to articulate and share their learning experiences to contribute to a culture of motivation and inspiration among peers.
• Demonstrates foundational knowledge of the social, economic, and political realities of settler-colonialism and its impacts on Indigenous peoples and equity-deserving groups within social and health contexts. Understands the impact of social determinants of health-on-health outcomes. Shows a commitment to learning about and upholding legislative obligations and provincial commitments outlined in foundational documents such as the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan, Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study, the BC Human Rights Code, Anti-Racism Data Act, and the Distinctions Based Approach.

What we bring

Every PHSA employee enables the best possible patient care for our patients and their families. Whether you are providing direct care, conducting research, or making it possible for others to do their work, you impact the lives of British Columbians today and in the future.

Job Type: Regular, Part-Time (0.50 FTE)

Wage: $42.34 - $56.83 per hour

Location: 310 Ward St, Nelson, BC V1L 5S4

Hours of Work: Tuesday – Thursday; 0830-1630

Requisition #

190530E

** Please indicate in your cover letter why you are interested in joining our team at the Forensic Psychiatric Nelson Regional Clinic!