Houston Methodist

Nonprofit academic medical center with hospitals

Mental Health Technician

Nursing & Frontline Patient CareConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeUnited StatesNo salary listed

About the Job

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent education is required.
One year of previous experience as a Mental Health Technician in a psychiatric or substance abuse setting, or three years of experience as a nursing or patient care assistant with specialized training and experience in crisis management prevention in a hospital setting.
BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor certification from the American Heart Association is required.
NVCRISIS - Nonviolent Crisis Intervention or Instructor certification from the Crisis Prevention Institute is required within 30 days.
Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, as determined through ongoing skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations.
Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing English to perform essential job functions, especially those related to patient or employee safety or security.
Ability to communicate effectively with patients, physicians, family members, and co-workers in a manner consistent with customer service and positive language principles.
Demonstrates knowledge of court processes for detaining patients.
Progresses organizational and problem-solving skills, including prioritizing multiple tasks and role components.
Progresses time-management skills.
Ability to progress toward independence and exercise judgment when interacting with physicians, the interprofessional care team, patients, and their families.
Ability to access information in the department and hospital system to support the department and interprofessional healthcare team as appropriate.
Basic computer knowledge; operates multiple computer systems, including electronic health records such as Epic and Microsoft Office applications including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, to maintain patient information.

Responsibilities

Provides care, communicates effectively, and carries out delegated tasks for population-specific patients under the guidance and supervision of the registered nurse, addressing patients’ physiological and psychosocial needs using therapeutic communication techniques.
Records data and performs treatments and procedures according to established policies and procedures, and reports observations and patient problems to the nurse.
Performs assigned non-nursing functions and relationship-centered care in accordance with Houston Methodist values.
May travel to conduct home visits.
Interacts with peers, staff, and visitors supportively and respectfully; encourages open communication and communicates clearly and professionally to promote work efforts and resolve problems.
Collaborates with all members of the interprofessional care team by actively communicating and reporting pertinent patient care information and data comprehensively.
Responds positively to requests for assistance, collaborates to foster healthy workplace relationships, contributes to the overall work effort, and facilitates problem resolution.
Follows patient- and family-centered care standards as directed by the registered nurse; performs treatments, activities, and procedures according to established policies and procedures and reports observations and patient problems to the registered nurse.
Assists physicians, patients, visitors, and staff as appropriate, using progressive knowledge and hospital databases such as Epic; accesses department and hospital-system information to support the department and interprofessional care team.
Assists with maintaining and cleaning equipment, stocking supplies, positioning patients, and transporting patients.
Uses progressive skills and peer-to-peer accountability to improve the department’s patient-satisfaction score on the unit-based scorecard.
Accurately records all aspects of administered care in the patient medical record according to established procedures; maintains and updates patient records, ensuring forms are properly identified and filed correctly.
Organizes workflow, solves problems, and manages multiple ongoing priorities with minimal supervision; promptly inputs errors into the patient safety reporting system to improve processes and identify trends.
Works toward quality and safety targets on the unit-based scorecard through peer-to-peer accountability, focus on assigned tasks, and reporting near misses.
Manages time effectively, prioritizes daily tasks, and uses resources efficiently.
Contributes toward department financial targets on the unit-based scorecard through timely care documentation, minimizing incidental overtime, optimizing efficiency, and other departmental measures.
Participates in department projects and shared governance activities.
Seeks guidance and validation of knowledge, skill level, and decision-making as needed, particularly when questions arise, from the preceptor and assigned licensed personnel.
Seeks opportunities to expand learning beyond baseline competencies and continue development as a Technician.

At Houston Methodist, the Mental Health Technician (MHT) position advances in skill and ability to care for, communicate effectively and carry out delegated tasks for population-specific patients. This position functions under the guidance and supervision of the registered nurse in meeting the physiological and psychosocial needs of the patient, utilizing therapeutic communication techniques. The MHT position records data and performs treatments and procedures in accordance with established policies and procedures and reports observations and patient problems to the nurse. This position is responsible for assigned non-nursing functions and practices, relationship-centered care in concert with the Houston Methodist Values. The MHT position may involve travel to conduct home visits.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

High School diploma or equivalent education (examples include: GED, verification of homeschool equivalency, partial or full completion of post-secondary education, etc.)

EXPERIENCE

One (1) year of previous experience as a Mental Health Technician in a psychiatric/substance abuse setting
Three (3) years’ experience as a nursing/patient care assistant with specialized training and experience in crisis management prevention in a hospital setting.

LICENSES AND CERTIFICATIONS
Required

BLS - Basic Life Support or Instructor (AHA) - American Heart Association and
NVCRISIS - Nonviolent Crisis Intervention or Instructor (CPI) - Crisis Prevention Institute within 30 days

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
Demonstrates knowledge of court processes for detaining patients
Progression towards organizational and problem solving skills as evidenced by capacity to prioritize multiple tasks and role components
Progression towards demonstrating time management skills
Ability to progress towards independence and exercise judgment in interactions with physicians, interprofessional care team, patients and their families
Demonstrates ability to access information both in the department and within the hospital system to support the department and interprofessional health care team as appropriate
Possesses basic computer knowledge. Operates multiple computer systems including electronic health records, i.e., Epic, and Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, & Excel) to maintain patient information

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Interacts with peers, staff and visitors in a supportive and respectful manner. Encourages open communication to achieve mutual understanding. Communication to promote both work efforts and problem resolution is clear and professional.
Collaborates with all members of the interprofessional care team by actively communicating and reporting pertinent patient care information and data in a comprehensive manner.
Demonstrates teamwork by responding positively to requests for assistance to obtain optimal department results. Collaborates to foster healthy relationships in the work environment. Works well with others to make contributions to the work effort as a whole and facilitates problem resolution.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Follows the patient and family-centered care standards, as directed by registered nurse. Performs treatments, activities and procedures in accordance with established policies and procedures and reports observations and patient problems to the registered nurse.
Offers assistance to physicians, patients, visitors and staff as appropriate using progressive knowledge and appropriate use of hospital database such as EPIC. Ability to access information both in the department and within the hospital system to support the department and interprofessional care team as appropriate.
Assists with maintaining and cleaning of equipment and stocking supplies as established on assigned unit. Assists with positioning and transporting of patients.
Utilizes progressive skills through peer-to-peer accountability towards improving department score for patient satisfaction on unit-based scorecard.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Accurately records all aspects of care administered in the patient medical record according to established procedures. Maintains processes and updates patient records, assuring all forms are properly identified with the patient's name and contents are filed correctly.
Organizes the work flow, problem-solves and manages multiple ongoing priorities, with minimal supervision. Inputs errors promptly into the patient safety reporting system to improve processes and identify trends.
Demonstrates progressive skills towards meeting quality and safety targets on unit-based scorecard through peer-to-peer accountability, focusing on the task at hand and reporting near misses.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks. Uses resources effectively and efficiently.
Progressively contributes towards meeting department financial targets on unit-based scorecard through timely documentation of care, minimizing incidental overtime, optimizing efficiency and other areas according to departmental specifications.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Participates in department projects and shared governance activities.
Seeks guidance and validation of knowledge base, skill level and decision making as necessary, especially in areas of question, from preceptor and assigned licensed personnel
Seeks opportunities to expand learning beyond baseline competencies with a focus on continual development as a Technician.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

WORK ATTIRE

Uniform: No
Scrubs: Yes
Business professional: No
Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*

*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

On Call* No

TRAVEL**

**Travel specifications may vary by department**

May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area Yes
May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area Yes

Work Shift:

3 - Night (United States of America)



Job Category:

Non-clinical

Houston Methodist West Hospital is committed to leading medicine in West Houston, Katy and surrounding communities by delivering the Houston Methodist standard of exceptional safety, quality, service and innovation. The growing campus offers access to the most innovative medical and surgical care available, including cardiology and cardiovascular surgery; neurology and neurosurgery; comprehensive cancer care; orthopedics and sports medicine; gastroenterology; bariatrics; childbirth center with level III NICU; emergency care; and advanced imaging.


Houston Methodist is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

About the Company

Houston Methodist

Nonprofit academic medical center with hospitals

Houston Methodist is a nonprofit academic medical center and hospital system in the Houston area. It delivers fee-for-service care through eight hospitals, focusing on cancer, heart and vascular care, transplantation, neurosciences, orthopedics, and digestive disorders, and treats thousands of international patients. The system combines patient care with research, education, and philanthropy through the Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation, with its flagship at the Texas Medical Center and partnerships with Weill Cornell Medicine, Texas A&M, and Rice University that support programs like EnMed and a broad clinical trials network via the Houston Methodist Research Institute. Its goal is to improve patient outcomes by providing high-quality medical care while expanding research, education, and collaborative clinical programs.

Company size: 10,001+
Company stage: Not listed
Total funding: Not listed
Headquarters: Houston, TX
Founded: 2008

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