Registered Nurse - Addiction Specialist

Job Summary:

Addiction Specialist RNs are RNs who specialize in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, or other addictive substances. Substance abuse nurses help to educate patients and their families and caregivers about the dangers of substance abuse.  They also provide emotional support to patients along with their families or caregivers. They’re also responsible for administering patient medications and performing the appropriate assessments.    Because substance abuse treatment is a collaborative effort, it’s important for nurses to work effectively with physicians, therapists, and other professionals who play a role in the treatment process. Addiction nurses must have excellent interpersonal skills and strong communication competency to discuss sensitive material clearly and concisely. They must have solid critical thinking and decision-making skills, as they may have to make quick judgment calls to handle sudden treatment issues.

Job Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Assess and monitor patients with substance use disorder
• Perform intake nursing assessments on new patients to assist in developing a plan of care in coordination with medical providers and clinical staff
• Obtain vitals, understand parameters of normal readings for blood pressure, heart rate, respirations, pulse, and temperature
• Evaluate patients using the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS)
  • Complete higher level of training on this skill if necessary
• Evaluate patients using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal from Alcohol Assessment (CIWAA)
  • Complete higher level of training on this skill if necessary
• Maintain a knowledge of ASAM’s continuum of care and treatment recommendations
• Coordinate with Medical Assistant (MA) and other appropriate staff to complete prior authorizations for injections, medications, and other miscellaneous needs. 
• Dispense and/or deliver medications per prescriber’s orders 
• Complete medication count with another qualified employee (Nurse practitioner, Registered Nurse), report any discrepancies to appropriate management, file incident reports if needed 
• Facilitate with MA timely review and documentation of urine drug screens, breathalyzer, and mouth swab results, relate illicit results or questionable results to appropriate staff (counselors, providers, etc)
• Provide individual nursing visits when necessary and adjunct crisis intervention with clinical staff when warranted. 
• Adjunctly assist case management when needed to coordinate higher level of care for patients in need
• Respond to all medical emergencies appropriately, call emergency services when appropriate, notify appropriate staff (counselors, medical providers)
• Promote an efficient and welcoming environment in the medical wing of the facility and during all encounters with patient
• Call medications to pharmacy of choice for patient, order must be accurate and include pertinent information as follows:
  • Nurse’s name, first and last

- Facility name and phone number

- Patient’s name, first and last

- Patient’s birthdate

- Medication name, strength, route of administration, frequency, and indication, # of medication (ex: #30 tabs, #8 films), # of refills

- Provider’s name, NPI (if necessary), DEA X Waiver #, and regular DEA #

- Coordinate obtaining medications/injections from outside pharmacies when necessary

- Thoroughly document all patient encounters, including but not limited to:

- Intake assessments

- Nursing visits

- Ambulatory detox

- Patient phone calls

- Medication administration/therapeutic effect of medications

• Maintain patient confidentiality and maintain HIPAA guidelines at all times
• Adjunctly coordinate with Case Management referrals to PCP, Dental, or specialty physicians when needed
• Research, coordinate, and present education materials for nursing groups three to five days a week on topics such as nutrition, hygiene, medication management, and other appropriate topics for our patient population. 
• Attend any required trainings such as CPI and Narcan training when available
• Attend all staff meetings, providing input, insight, and feedback to improve overall safety and quality of care to our patients
• Run OARRS reports for each new patient as needed, provide material to appropriate prescriber.  Run OARRS if it is suspected the patient is acquiring controlled medications outside of Basecamp Recovery Center, review with  the appropriate provider.
• Completes required nursing competencies with supervisor on an annual basis.
• Miscellaneous duties to promote office cleanliness and safety. 

Salary : $38