Indigenous Mental Health & Substance Use Outreach Nurse

Come work as a Mental Health & Substance Use Outreach Nurse (RN/RPN) – Indigenous Health with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), and you may be eligible for a financial recruitment incentive of up to $15,000. Incentives are time limited and conditions apply. Apply today to speak with a Talent Acquisition Advisor! 

Vancouver Coastal Health is committed to improving the health and access to culturally safe healthcare of the Indigenous people in our region, and we recognize that we all have a contribution to make in reconciliation and healing. VCH’s Indigenous Health team works with staff and physicians across all programs and departments to provide strategic leadership, partner collaboration and community engagement to assist VCH to become a more culturally competent and safe organization.

This position is part of the new Indigenous Crisis Response Team (ICRT) at VCH. The ICRT provides a non-police crisis response outreach services to individuals in the inner city who are experiencing a mental health and/or substance use crisis that cannot be resolved by their regular care provider or alternate crisis services. ICRT is a voluntary, non-police healthcare service that leads with cultural safety and sees individuals in encampments, shelters, or in their homes.

Work schedules and rotations can be discussed, as applicable with existing VCH policies and collective agreement requirements. While preference is given to those of Indigenous identity, we welcome all interested parties to apply. 

Vancouver Coastal Health is looking for a Mental Health & Substance Use Outreach Nurse (RN/RPN) – Indigenous Health to join the City of Vancouver Indigeous Health Support team. Apply today to join our team!

As a Mental Health & Substance Use Outreach Nurse (RN/RPN – Indigenous Health with Vancouver Coastal Health you will:

• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide crisis intervention, triage and outreach services that are inclusionary and flexible for individuals with mental illness, addictions and/or chronic medical conditions.
• Conduct mental and physical status assessments and assesses clients’ physiological, biopsychosocial, and cultural support needs to determine priority of care requirements based on client needs, availability of resources and best practices.
• Provide counseling and assists client with reducing repeated contact with and use of acute and community healthcare services/programs/resources. Assesses high risk situations and provides crisis intervention. Collaborates with interdisciplinary team to develop, implement and adjust client’s care plan and meet the client’s need for integrated services and continuity of care across the continuum. Facilitates the movement of clients between acute care, community agency support site and designated health centre.
• Participate in case conferences/meetings with members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Assist clients with attendance to needed services such as medical appointments.
• The position also works in tandem to Indigenous Health Outreach, in addition to other VCH Vancouver Community services, and liaises and works with the local First Nation community, other Indigenous serving organizations, community resources, and healthcare providers to assist Indigenous clients to access support services such as benefits or assistance as appropriate.
• Provide care within the interdisciplinary model through trauma and violence-informed practice, harm reduction, cultural safety, and a recovery-oriented care approach.
• Use a relational and strengths-based perspective to support the client to identify care goals.
• Practice in accordance with the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) standards (professional & practice) and code of ethics for registered nurses or registered psychiatric nurses. Practices within the scope of practice as set by the organization, as per VCH policies and guidelines/clinical practice documents and within own competence.
• This practice is aligned with the vision, mission, goals and values of the organization as well as with the concept of the resident/client and family centred care model.