Clinician Fellow, BH (RN, BSN) - Child Adolescent II

Millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. This is nearly one in five adults. For more than 70 years, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital has been a national leader in the treatment of mental health and addictive disorders throughout the lifespan. In conjunction with the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, we continue to strive to be one of the nation’s foremost academic- based psychiatric care facilities and remain dedicated to providing professionals with state-of-the-art training and assistance.

The Clinician Fellow is an advanced nursing role focused on expert clinical practice, education, and evidence-based care. This position collaborates with leadership to promote excellence in nursing and patient outcomes. Responsibilities include delivering high-quality care, mentoring staff, coordinating clinical activities, and contributing to hiring and performance evaluations. The Clinician Fellow provides education, consults on practice issues, and ensures care is age-appropriate and developmentally informed. They demonstrate strong clinical judgment and a commitment to both the profession and the community.

The Child/Adolescent II unit is a new 12-bed unit specializing in the care of adolescent patients between the ages of 13 and 18 years old with special focus on bipolar disorder.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Change Management

• Leads clinical nursing practice improvements and drives change initiatives.
• Supports staff through transitions by addressing psychological and learning needs.
• Practices participatory leadership and contributes to shared governance.
• Holds leadership roles in quality improvement, evidence‑based practice, and onboarding.
• Assists with the peer review process.

Clinical Practice & Communication

• Uses Relationship‑Based Care and the nursing process to meet patient and family needs.
• Demonstrates strong verbal/written communication and advocates for patient care changes.
• Maintains thorough documentation that supports care team communication.
• Uses critical thinking to address clinical, social, safety, psychological, and spiritual issues.
• Aligns daily work with organizational goals for safety, quality, and patient experience.
• Shares innovations through presentations, posters, and publications.

Teamwork & Professional Relationships

• Builds strong internal/external relationships through mentorship and positive communication.
• Coaches peers on cultural diversity; addresses workplace conflict and impairment.
• Demonstrates accountability in time management, workload, and healthy work habits.

Teaching, Mentoring & Professional Development

• Mentors staff, students, and new nurses; serves as a preceptor and supports new preceptors.
• Models continuous learning and formal professional development.
• Shares expertise across the unit and broader healthcare team.

Quality Improvement & Best Practices

• Applies performance improvement tools and methods.
• Continuously enhances care quality and work environment.
• Integrates research and best practices into daily workflow.
• Spreads successful improvements across units or the system.
• Minimum 2 years experience.
• If BSN not at time of hire, must be enrolled in a program within one year of hire/transfer date and completed within three years of enrollment.
• MSN or CNL preferred.
• Demonstrated competence as a Professional Staff Nurse/Psychiatric Nurse
• The individual must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care and/or interact appropriately to the ages of the patients served by his/her assigned unit as specified below.
• They must also demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and possess the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's status and interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to his/her age-specific needs and to provide the care needs as described in the department policy and procedures.
• Ability to establish and maintain positive, caring relationships with executives, managers, physicians, non-physician providers, ancillary and support staff, other departments, and patients/families.
• Ability to work productively and effectively within a complex environment, handle multiple/changing priorities and specialized equipment.
• Exemplary clinical judgment with critical thinking, analytical and problem solving abilities required as related to various aspects of patient care.
• Critical thinking skills necessary to exercise and to lead others in application of the nursing process.
• Mobility and visual manual dexterity.
• Physical stamina for frequent walking, standing, lifting and positioning of patients

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances

CPR required based on AHA standards that include both a didactic and skills demonstration component within 30 days of hire

• Basic Life Support (BLS) OR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Comprehensive Crisis Management (CCMC)
• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Act 31 Child Abuse Reporting with renewal
• Act 33 with renewal
• Act 34 with renewal
• Act 73 FBI Clearance with renewal

*Current licensure either in the state where the facility is located or, if the facility is in a state covered by the multistate Nursing Licensure Compact (NLC) agreement, a multistate license issued by a participating NLC state. Hires and current employees working on an out-of-state NLC license who later change their residency to the state where the facility is also located will have 60 days upon changing their residency to apply for licensure within that state.