Job Description

The Clinical Educator plays a vital role in enhancing the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals within the organization. This position involves developing, implementing, and evaluating educational programs that align with clinical best practices and regulatory standards. The Clinical Educator will work closely with nursing staff, and other healthcare disciplines to ensure that all team members are equipped with the necessary knowledge to provide high-quality patient care.

Requirements

Duties

• Develops, implements, and evaluates orientation programs for new nursing and direct care staff.
• Conducts ongoing education and competency assessments in areas such as seclusion/restraint, suicide risk assessment, trauma-informed care, medication administration, and documentation standards. Ensures all nursing education aligns with state and federal regulations, Joint Commission standards, Title 22, and hospital policies.
• Maintains documentation of training compliance and prepares reports for surveys and audits.
• Serves as a clinical resource to nursing staff, providing real-time coaching, mentoring, and support in patient care, safety practices, and crisis intervention. Supports nursing leadership with performance improvement initiatives and remediation plans.
• Participates in quality initiatives such as fall prevention, zero suicide, and infection control. Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to identify trends and implement strategies to improve patient outcomes and reduce clinical risk.
• Designs evidence-based educational content, including in-person trainings, skills fairs, e-learning modules, and annual competencies.
• Customizes training based on staff performance data, audit findings, and regulatory updates. Recruits, trains, and supports nurse preceptors and champions.
• Facilitates leadership workshops and mentorship activities to support professional growth and succession planning.
• Leads trainings in CPI, emergency response, active shooter, and disaster preparedness specific to psychiatric settings.
• Ensures staff readiness in clinical and behavioral emergencies.
• Assists staff in navigating and utilizing the electronic health record system (e.g., BestCare or similar).
• Provides refresher training on accurate and timely documentation of patient care and events.
• Stays current with psychiatric nursing best practices, adult learning strategies, and regulatory changes.
• Represents nursing education on hospital committees as assigned.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of psychiatric medical terminology is essential.
• Experience working in a psychiatric facility
• Familiarity with medical documentation processes and HIPAA regulations is required.
• Previous experience in a teaching hospital or similar environment is advantageous.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage diverse audiences effectively.
• Proven ability to develop educational materials and conduct training sessions.
• A degree in nursing or a related healthcare field is required; additional certifications in education or clinical practice are desirable.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) – Required
• Master’s degree in Nursing (MSN) or Education – Preferred
• Must have active Registered Nurse (RN) license in the state of California
• Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification – Required
• Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) or similar – Required, or must obtain within 30 days of hire
• Certification in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing (PMHN-BC) – Preferred

Benefits

At Vista del Mar Hospital, you will find yourself in a position with great growth potential. We make it a priority to provide advancement opportunities and ongoing education for our entire team, in both clinical and non-clinical roles. This helps us ensure ongoing patient safety and quality care across our facility.

Each of our professionals is compassionate and committed to the goal of excellence in the mental health care industry. Because we bring on the most reputable and experienced healthcare professionals to fill our open behavioral health jobs, our goal is to keep them long-term. This is better for patients and our own staff, as it allows everyone to feel more comfortable in their environment.

Although a mental health career with Vista del Mar can be extremely rewarding in its own right, we understand the importance of employee benefits. Vista del Mar offers the following:

• Health Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• 401K Retirement Plan
• Healthcare Spending Account
• Dependent Care Spending Account
• PTO Plan with Holiday Premium Pay
• Discounted Cafeteria Meal Plan
• Life Insurance (Supplemental Life, Term and Universal plans are also available.)
• Short and Long-Term Disability (with additional buy-in opportunities)