Unit Support Associate - I/P Psychiatry

Kids Are Our Everything.

Department

Pay Range

Who We Are:

The inpatient Child Psychiatric Unit is a 12-bed unit. It is a short-term child-oriented program designed to provide crisis intervention and stabilization to ages 3yrs-13ys (Children) and 14yrs-17yrs (Adolescent). One of the primary goals of the treatment team and therapeutic community is to teach and encourage children and adolescents to use positive behavioral strategies and skills to cope better with stressful situations or overwhelming emotions. Our aim is that our patients will then use this more effective way of coping in their home and community following discharge from the hospital.

What You'll Do:

In collaboration with and under the supervision of a Registered Nurse the Unit Support Associate will assist in activities directly related to the care of patients and operation of the unit. This will include but is not limited to providing direct 1:1 observation of patients related to safety or behavioral issues. Support the unit function by assisting in the maintenance of supplies, operations

What You'll Bring:

Minimum Education:

• High School Diploma/GED (Required)

Minimum Experience:

• Previous pediatric or childcare experience (Preferred)

Certifications/License Requirements:

• Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider (BLS) (Required)

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Basic computer skills preferred
• knowledge of child development preferred

Functional Abilities:

Maintain Patient Safety

• Maintain environmental safety through room sweep and checklist
• Adhere to principles of pediatric safety through use of handrails, seat belts and direct observation.
• Never leave patient unattended
• Intervene quickly to calm, redirect, reorient patient, or guide patient to prevent harm to self or others.
• Remain in patient room unless relieved by nurse or another Unit support associate
• Accompany patient for any procedures off the unit

Meet/Satisfy Patient Needs

• Engage patient in distracting, age appropriate goal oriented behavior, provide activities and conversations that are distracting and therapeutic (discuss with bedside RN)
• Reinforces positive behavior
• Assist with linen changes and room stocking
• Assist in activities of daily living, including but not limited to washing, toileting, position changes and assistance with meals
• Maintain universal precautions
• Assist with providing breaks as directed by Charge Nurse

Maintain a Clean and Safe Environment

• Keep room clean and tidy
• Maintain a calm environment
• When not responsible for direct patient observation stock unit, nurse servers, carts etc as directed by charge nurse.
• Monitor common unit areas for cleanliness, stock par levels and supplies
• Reports on safety hazards to staff i.e. broken furniture/broken equipment
• Assist in a variety of unit support activities as directed by Charge Nurse i.e. room set up, answer call bells, customer service activities.

Effective Communication with Other Staff

• Reports pertinent patient information and call for assistance if the patient develops destructive behaviors i.e. pulling lines.
• With RN establishes priorities for individual patient communicates with team members in establishing priority tasks.
• Maintains regular communication with RN related to assigned duties and patient behavior; preforms activities within prescribed scope, seeks clarification when needed
• Immediately report escalating behaviors to RN
• Confers with RN when confronted with unfamiliar patient care issue.
• Ensure information sharing when handing off to new Safety attendant

Organizational Commitment/Identification

• Reports pertinent patient information and call for assistance if the patient develops destructive behaviors i.e. pulling lines.
• With RN establishes priorities for individual patient communicates with team members in establishing priority tasks.
• Maintains regular communication with RN related to assigned duties and patient behavior; preforms activities within prescribed scope, seeks clarification when needed
• Immediately report escalating behaviors to RN
• Confers with RN when confronted with unfamiliar patient care issue.
• Ensure information sharing when handing off to new Safety attendants

Customer Service

• Anticipates and responds to customer needs; follows up until needs are met

Teamwork/Communication

• Demonstrate collaborative and respectful behavior
• Partner with all team members to achieve goals
• Receptive to others' ideas and opinions

Performance Improvement/Problem-solving

• Contribute to a positive work environment
• Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to change
• Identify opportunities to improve clinical and administrative processes
• Make appropriate decisions, using sound judgment

Cost Management/Financial Responsibility

• Use resources efficiently
• Search for less costly ways of doing things

Safety

• Speak up when team members appear to exhibit unsafe behavior or performance
• Continuously validate and verify information needed for decision making or documentation
• Stop in the face of uncertainty and take time to resolve the situation
• Demonstrate accurate, clear and timely verbal and written communication
• Actively promote safety for patients, families, visitors and co-workers
• Attend carefully to important details - practicing Stop, Think, Act and Review to self-check behavior and performance

Benefits That Support You:

• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, prescription, infertility, and transgender health services.
• Generous paid time off, including vacation accrual from day one, sick leave, holidays, and a personal day.
• Financial wellness support, including a 401(k) plan and healthcare and dependent care spending accounts.
• Employer-paid life, AD&D, and long-term disability coverage, with optional supplemental plans.
• Additional perks, including tuition assistance, fitness resources, employee assistance, commuter benefits, and more.

Why Join Us:

• Nationally Recognized Excellence - Consistently ranked among the Top 10 Children's Hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
• Leading Pediatric Care - One of the largest and most comprehensive children's hospitals in the country, offering nationally ranked specialties and cutting-edge treatments.
• Innovation & Research - A premier academic medical center with a strong commitment to pediatric research, education, and advancing the future of child health.
• Mission-Driven Culture - Dedicated to providing family-centered care while fostering a collaborative, supportive environment for clinical teams.

The disclosed salary range includes the minimum and maximum rates within which Children's National believes an individual's base pay rate will fall for this position. It is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the maximum of the pay range. The exact pay rate for this position will be based on a variety of factors in alignment with the Children's National compensation philosophy. These factors are legitimate and non-discriminatory including, but not limited to, the current market conditions; organizational needs; the individual's combination of prior work experience, level of education, knowledge, skills, and other qualifications. Children's National is committed to providing a fair and competitive total rewards package to each of our employees. This base salary range does not include our comprehensive benefits package or any additional compensation for which this position may be eligible.

Childrens National Hospital is an equal opportunity employer that evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, identity, or other characteristics protected by law. The "Know Your Rights" poster is available here: and the pay transparency policy is available here:Know Your RightsPay Transparency Nondiscrimination Poster.

Please note that it is the policy of Children's National Hospital to ensure a "drug-free" work environment: a workplace free from the illegal use, possession or distribution of controlled substances (as defined in the Controlled Substances Act), or the misuse of legal substances, by all staff (management, employees and contractors). Though recreational and medical marijuana are now legal in the District of Columbia, Children's National and its affiliates maintain the right, in accordance with our policy, to enforce a drug-free workplace, including prohibiting recreational or prescribed marijuana.