Mental Health Technician (MHT) Sitters Department (D)

Mental Health Technician (Sitter) - Day shift (7a-7p)

Are you looking for a rewarding career with family-friendly hours and top-notch benefits? We are looking for a qualified Mental Health Technician like you to join our Texas Health family.

Position Highlights:

• Work location: Texas Health Dallas, 8200 Walnut Hill Ln. Dallas, TX 75231
• Department: Sitters Department
• Work hours: Full-time; Day shift 7:00 am – 7:00 pm; (flexibility to float to multiple units)

Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas is an 898-bed, Magnet-designated hospital and recognized clinical program leader, having provided compassionate care to the residents of Dallas and surrounding communities since 1966. A full-service regional referral center, Texas Health Dallas has approximately 3,500 employees and 1,100 physicians on its medical staff, and offers a full range of services, including cancer care, cardiology, neurosciences, orthopedics, senior care, women's services and a renowned Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Texas Health Dallas has been recognized as a U.S. News and World Report Best Hospital in multiple specialties and is an accredited Cycle IV Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The hospital is also a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, a certified Emergency Stroke Care center and was named “Best Place to Have a Baby” in Dallas County in 2012.

Education:

• High School Diploma and 1 year of experience required or
• High School Diploma and CNA - Certified Nurse Aide certification required or
• Associates Degree in healthcare field required.
• Bachelor’s Degree in healthcare field preferred
• Other – CLIAFE; Must comply with CLIA regulations regarding foreign education equivalency required.

Experience:

• 1 year of experience in the behavioral health field as a MHT, PCT, CNA, or related position highly preferred.

Licenses and Certifications:

• BCLS – Basic Cardicac Life Support prior to providing independent patient care and maintained quarterly required and
• CPI – Crisis Prevention Intervention Training upon hire required and
• ACPI – Advanced Crisis Prevention Intervention Training within 6 months of hire; maintained annually or
• CPI – Crisis Prevention Intervention Training within 30 day of hire and
• ACPI – Advanced Crisis Prevention Intervention Training within 12 months of hire; maintained annually required.

Position Responsibilities:

Assists with and helps coordinate patient care:

• Assists with all patient care provided by the multidisciplinary team.
• Encourages team members.
• Provides instruction to team members.
• Greets and receives patients admitting/arriving to the unit/area.
• Orients patient to surroundings, reviews safety procedures, and unit rules/guidelines while coordinating with the nurse.
• Prepares patient to be discharged/transferred.
• Assists with gathering belongings and making sure all belongings are returned to the patient (with the exception of medication).
• Meets and exceeds the standards of care and safety.
• Serves as resource in recognizing potential complications and takes action proactively by reporting to nurse.
• Is proactive in addressing potential patient needs/issues and takes action to meet those needs.
• Consistently monitors patient activity and collects patient data according to unit standards.
• Document data legibly, per unit standard, and relays to nurse.
• Communicates any changes in patient status immediately to the nurse.
• Consistently provides care as delegated by the nurse.
• Conducts rounds, documents close observation rounds per unit standards, completes environment of care rounds.
• Reports hazards to proper department if they cannot be immediately corrected (i.e. entering work orders).
• MHT led groups performed on time.
• Assist with alerting patients to group schedule and encouraging group attendance.
• Proficiently identify escalating behavior/signs and symptoms in patients and immediately report to nurse.

Teamwork and collaboration; the ability to work effectively and productively with co-workers and other disciplines.

• Therapeutic communication:
  • Interacts well with other members of the health care team.
  • Communicates appropriately by demonstrating the following:
    • active listening
    • therapeutic communication skills (to include but not limited to open-ended questions, paraphrasing, restating, summarizing, focusing, clarifying, reflecting, silence
  • Recognizes role of culture, language, and ethnicity in communication.
  • Utilizes non-verbal elements of communication to enhance congruent message:
    • Tone, rhythm, inflection
    • body language, stance
    • kinesics (eye contact, facial expression, smiling, head nodding)
    • proxemics (respecting personal space of 12-18 inches)

• Recognizes patient by name and avoids words of endearment (sweetie, honey, etc.)
• Evaluates educational level of patient, family for appropriate communication.
• Timely, complete, and accurate documentation with facts, avoiding opinion.

• Safe Patient Care
  • Organizes workload and effectively collaborates with nursing staff to prioritize care.
  • Anticipates patient/family/visitor needs and takes action to meet those needs.
  • Identifies and considers all workable alternatives before making decisions.
  • Demonstrates ability of effectively manage multiple tasks and/or directions.
  • Helps others use reasoning and evidence rather than unsupported opinions.
  • Anticipates problems based on patient behavior and acts accordingly.
  • Proactive multidisciplinary approach in caring for the patients.
  • Serves as a resource for addressing treatment issues.
  • Proactive in identifying and reporting complex patient needs to the nurse.
  • Assists peers with workload without prompting.
  • Assists physicians without prompting (i.e. getting patients, etc.)
  
  

Maintains and provides service recovery acts as a positive representative in the workplace as well as the community.

• Presents as a positive representative of the entity.
• Practices appropriate telephone etiquette.
• Practices confidentiality and privacy and complies with HIPAA guidelines.
• Promotes and maintains a safe environment.
• Reports hazards to proper department if they cannot be immediately corrected (i.e. entering work orders).
• Anticipates and accommodates customer needs, putting patients first.
• Is a patient advocate.
• Consistently maintains professional atmosphere on unit.
• Role model for service excellence.
• Encourages other to prevent breach in confidentiality.
• Seeks and corrects safety issues, encourages other to make corrections.
• Anticipates needs and seeks opportunities to assist others and is a role model for the team.
• Always asks "What is best for the patient?"
• AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explain, Thank)
• HEART (Hear, Empathize, Apologize, Respond, Thank) and service excellence

Why Texas Health? As a Mental Health Technician, you’ll enjoy top-notch benefits including 401(k) with match, paid time off, competitive health insurance choices, healthcare and dependent care spending account options, wellness programs to keep you and your family healthy, tuition reimbursement, a student loan repayment program and more.

At Texas Health Resources, our people make this a great place to work every day. Our inclusive, supportive, people-first, excellence-driven culture make Texas Health Dallas a great place to work.

Here are a few of our recent awards:

• 2021 FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For®” (7th year in a row)
• Becker's Healthcare "150 Great Places to Work in Healthcare" (4 years running)
• “America’s Best Employers for Diversity” list by Forbes
• A “100 Best Workplaces for Millennials" by Fortune and Great Place to Work®

Additional perks of being a Mental Health Technician:

• Gain a sense of accomplishment by contributing to a teamwork environment.
• Receive excellent mentorship, comprehensive training, and dedicated leadership resources.
• Enjoy opportunities for growth.

Explore our Texas Health careers site for info like Benefits, Job Listings by Category, recent Awards we’ve won and more.

Do you still have questions or concerns? Feel free to email your questions to recruitment@texashealth.org.