Psychiatric Technician PositionUTHealth Houston's John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center is hiring a Psychiatric Technician to join our behavioral health team on the General Psychiatry Unit (2D). This 12-hour night shift position (7:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.) provides direct patient care and support to an adult co-ed population receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment. We are seeking compassionate, dependable, and safety-focused individuals who are committed to providing therapeutic care and creating a structured environment that promotes patient recovery, dignity, and safety. The General Psychiatry Unit (2D) is a 24-bed adult inpatient psychiatric unit that provides care to a diverse patient population with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses and behavioral health needs. As one of the hospital's general psychiatric units, 2D serves patients with varying levels of acuity, requiring staff to be adaptable, engaged, and responsive to changing patient needs. Working on 2D is both rewarding and challenging. Team members play a vital role in supporting patients through psychiatric stabilization while maintaining a safe, therapeutic, and recovery-focused environment. Staff are expected to be consistently involved in patient care, therapeutic engagement, observation, and the day-to-day support of individuals experiencing acute psychiatric symptoms. This fast-paced behavioral health setting emphasizes teamwork, communication, professionalism, and patient safety. Psychiatric Technicians work closely with nurses and the interdisciplinary treatment team to provide patient observation, therapeutic interactions, crisis intervention support, and assistance with daily unit Psychiatric Technician works as part of a multidisciplinary behavioral health team that typically includes:2 Registered Nurses (RNs)2 Psychiatric Technicians (Psych Techs) This collaborative staffing model supports patient safety, therapeutic engagement, communication, and coordinated responses to patient and unit needs. Night Shift: 7:00 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.12-hour shifts Matrix scheduling pattern with alternating weekends: 2 days on, 2 days off, 3 days on, repeating cycle Required to work every other weekend Scheduled for a minimum of 84 hours within a two-week pay period Mandatory Orientation: Two-week onboarding process for all new hires Hospital-Wide Education Orientation: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM (first two weeks)
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Team members may be required to float to other behavioral health units throughout the hospital based on staffing needs and patient census to support patient care and operational requirements. The Psychiatric Technician focuses on safety, performing patient care activities or tasks for psychiatric patients as well as maintaining a therapeutic and safe environment under the direction of the licensed staff. Must be comfortable working with mental health patients, many of whom have experienced trauma, in a compassionate and professional manner while promoting a safe environment. The Psychiatric Technician provides inpatient and outpatient non-skilled nursing for psychiatric patients. Provides supervision of patients on suicide or other critical precautions, 1:1 or 2:1, which requires a staff member to be within continuous arm 's length of a patient. Responsible for operating equipment such as IVAC, Sphygmomanometer and Scale. Assists patients with activities of daily living i.e. bathing, shaving, hygiene, toileting, and grooming, while respecting the patient's privacy, to the extent possible. Interacts and engages with patients in a therapeutic manner using Trauma informed care and therapeutic communication strategies. Participates in implementing and formulating patients' treatment plan based on experience and close observation of patients. Helps maintain a therapeutic milieu. Assists with milieu management and uses crisis de-escalation and trauma informed care strategies to reduce destructive and disruptive patient behavior and ensures the safety of patient, self, and others. Facilitates patients' groups and participation in therapeutic activities (i.e. community meeting, transition, and wrap-up groups etc.). Implements crisis management skills (de-escalation skills) as directed by licensed staff, including situations where the patient could be in danger, suffer self-inflicted harm, or harm others. Must be able to restrain an adult, adolescent, or pediatric patient within the guidelines currently in use at HCPC, including circumstances where the patient is violent or aggressive towards staff and others, including other patients. In certain circumstances, must be able to maintain initial physical control of an adult, adolescent or pediatric patient individually until assistance from other team members arrive. Escorts patients on and off campus for medical emergencies and diagnostic procedures when required. Conducts patient Q15 and Q30 minutes observation rounds with appropriate documentation, and one to one observation. Observes patient condition for signs/symptoms consistent with illness or mental status change; reports observations about patient condition to the nurse. Conducts environmental rounds on unit for safety. Performs other duties as assigned. NoneWork may involve handling biohazardous, chemical, and radiological materials, as well as operating associated equipment. Required safety training and appropriate engineering and administrative controls including the use of personal protective equipment must be followed. Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by American Red Cross or American Heart Association (AHA) required Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) by Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) preferred orCertified Clinical Medical Assistant (MA) by National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) preferred orEmergency Medical Technician (EMT) by National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) preferred High School Diploma or equivalent required 1 year of experience as a Mental Health Technician/Psychiatric Technician or successful completion of the Psychiatric Technician Internship program required Exerts up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 20 pounds frequently and/or up to 10 pounds constantly to move objects. This position is a security-sensitive position pursuant to Texas Education Code §51.215 and Texas Government Code §411.094. To the extent that a position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Texas Business and Commerce Code §117.001(2), the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired for and to continue to be employed in that position. Personnel in such positions, and similarly situated state contractors, will be routinely reviewed to determine whether things such as criminal history or continuous connections to the government or political apparatus of a foreign adversary might prevent the applicant, employee, or contractor from being able to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure. A foreign adversary is a nation listed in 15 C.F.R. §791.4.Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.
