Registered Nurse - Psychiatric – Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit

Matrix Providers is hiring a Registered Nurse - Psychiatric – IBHU Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit to join our team of talented professionals providing healthcare services to Military Service Members and their families at the Jacksonville Naval Hospital.

• Employment Status: Full-time
• Compensation: This is an hourly position, paid bi-weekly
  • $40.85/ hour plus $5.42 H&W
• Schedule: The Military Treatment Facility operates 365 days per year, 7 days a week, 24 hours per day. The contractor shall normally provide services for six 12.5-hour periods, (to include an uncompensated 30 minute meal break) and one 8.5 hour period (to include an uncompensated 30 minute meal break) per two-week period. In no instance will an individual HCW be required to provide services in excess of 80 hours per two-week period.

  • Typical work hours are 12-hour shifts with the times outlined above. Department works in a block schedule, meaning every 2 weeks an employee will work 7 shifts.

  • Contractors- 6 of those shifts are 12 hours and 1 of those shifts is 8 hours, bringing the total to 80 hours over 2 weeks. The block schedule looks like this:

    • 1st week - Monday/Tuesday (OFF), Wednesday/Thursday (ON), Friday/Saturday/Sunday (OFF);

    • 2nd week - for the second week – Monday/Tuesday (ON), Wednesday/Thursday (OFF), Friday/Saturday/Sunday (ON).

• Benefits: Competitive financial package with a comprehensive insurance package including health, dental, vision, and life coverage.
  • Accrued Paid Time Off (PTO)
  • Paid Holidays (Outlined in Handbook)
  • 401(k) Plan

Requirements:

Degree/Education: Possess a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing, a Graduate Diploma in Nursing, or an Associate Degree in Nursing, from an accredited agency such as the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Certifications: Must be through the American Heart Association or American Red Cross

• Basic Life Support
• Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)

Experience: Possess six months of experience within the preceding twenty-four months working in an inpatient behavioral health unit.

Licensure/Registration: Possess and maintain a current unrestricted license to practice as a registered nurse in anyone (1) of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Additional Requirement: Provide two (2) letters of recommendation from practicing physicians or peers attesting to his/her clinical skills. Reference letters must include name, title, phone number, date of reference, address and signature of the individual providing reference. Letters of reference must have been written within the preceding two years.

Job Summary:

• Coordinate comprehensive psychiatric nursing care with multidisciplinary healthcare teams to support safe, high-quality, and cost-effective outcomes.
• Assess and monitor patients through physical examinations, health histories, behavioral observations, screenings, and ongoing evaluation.
• Provide direct nursing care, including triage, medication administration, wound care, treatments, safety rounds, and execution of provider orders.
• Use therapeutic communication, psychiatric nursing practices, and crisis-intervention techniques to support patients and families.
• Maintain a safe therapeutic environment by managing precautions, infection-control practices, restraints, elopement risks, and emergency situations.
• Document assessments, interventions, medications, observations, patient progress, and unusual findings accurately and promptly.
• Educate patients and families on treatment plans, medications, wellness, coping skills, health promotion, and available services.
• Lead and supervise assigned healthcare personnel, delegate care based on scope and skill level, and support coordinated team performance.
• Facilitate individual and group activities, rehabilitation services, specialty referrals, and transitions to appropriate levels of care.
• Follow facility policies, clinical standards, and required training while contributing to quality improvement and evidence-based practice.

• Shift schedule: 12-hour day shifts (6:45 a.m.–7:15 p.m.) or night shifts (6:45 p.m.–7:15 a.m.).
• Work pattern: Two-week block schedule totaling 80 hours for contract employees—six 12-hour shifts and one 8-hour shift.
• Patient workload: Average daily census of approximately three patients, with at least two nurses and three technicians/corpsmen assigned per shift.
• Key responsibilities: Facilitate group sessions, conduct individual assessments, coordinate with providers, administer medications, complete safety rounds, and support admissions and discharges.
• Clinical environment: A generally steady-paced inpatient behavioral health unit focused on individualized crisis stabilization and management for patients experiencing suicidal ideation, anxiety, and occasional psychotic symptoms.
• Team culture: Supportive and highly collaborative environment where nurses, technicians, and corpsmen work together to provide safe patient care.
• Onboarding: Initial hospital processing includes base, computer, human resources, and electronic health record access and typically takes several days to one week.
• Training: Two-day Command Indoctrination, when scheduled, followed by a six-week unit orientation primarily on day shift and concluding with one week on night shift.
• Independence and support: Employees are considered fully independent after orientation, while staffing maintains at least two nurses on every shift.
• Ideal candidate: Open-minded, adaptable, and willing to learn the processes and standards of a military healthcare facility.

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