RN New Graduate Nurse - Dogwood Unit at UNC Youth Behavioral Health Facility

UNC Youth Behavioral Health Facility is hiring New Grad Nurses to join our team! We are seeking a New Graduate RN to work on a multidisciplinary team. The New Graduate RN will primarily be working on Dogwood Unit, a 16-bed unit comprised of adolescent in crisis with a variety of mental health diagnoses.

Seeking nursing graduates to start Winter 2026

Position Offering

Shift: Variable shifts available and will be discuss during the interview. Rotating weekends and holidays.

• Hours: Full time; 36 Hours Per Week; Three
• 12 hour shifts a week

• Entity: UNC Medical Center

• Location: Butner, NC

What we offer to eligible candidates

• Commitment incentive

• Relocation Assistance

In order to qualify for the UNC Medical Center (YBH is part of UNC Medical Center) New Graduate Residency program, candidates must currently be in their final semester of nursing school or recently graduated from nursing school within the past 12 months of the anticipated start date and worked as a RN for less than 6 months. The New Graduate Residency is a yearlong program supporting transition from academia to practice for new graduate nurses. Additionally, the program provides mentored clinical relationships to support development as a professional nurse. It is required for the applicant to pass the NCLEX exam and be a licensed RN prior to the first day of employment.

Youth Behavioral Health Hospital (YBH) is a 54-bed, 24-hour, locked psychiatric facility located in Butner, North Carolina. YBH philosophy is grounded in a milieu-based, trauma-informed and therapeutic setting. This facility aims to serve patients with a complex history, including aggression and psychosis.

Safety is a key component of the care provided as well as introduction of positive coping skills, healthy living and positive leisure activities. Therapy services will work among a large interdisciplinary team including Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Social Workers, and Nursing Services. There will be four units dedicated to serving children and adolescent with mental health diagnoses, dual diagnoses, substance misuse and complex behaviors, including those with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The staff are to be cross trained on all of these units as one team.

This position qualifies for an extensive benefit package including PTO hours, which are accrued based on the number of worked hours. This position requires the ability to attend a weeklong hospital orientation in Chapel Hill, offered every two weeks in Chapel Hill, NC.

Orientation

Schedule

Monday and Tuesday - In person from 8am to 5pm in Chapel Hill; Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - Virtual.

Summary

Provides competent clinical nursing care consistent with professional standards. Reporting and accountable to the Nurse Manager/Director, the Clinical Nurse is responsible for coordinating and delivering patient care utilizing the nursing process in a hospital setting.

Responsibilities

• Education - Participates in identifying and meeting learning needs of self. Attends education programs based on identified learning needs. With assistance, uses patient education materials relevant to patient population. Assesses readiness to learn of the patient/family/caregivers. Assesses developmental level of patient and factors affecting ability to learn.

• Evaluation of Care - Identifies expected patient outcomes. Seeks guidance as needed in revision of plan of care. Participates in discussion with members of the interdisciplinary team in evaluation of patient care. Communicates relevant information to promote continuity of care.

• Implementation - Demonstrates competence in care of patients with complex problems, including population-appropriate physical, psychosocial, educational and safety aspects of care. Performs bedside point of care testing as required for patient care plan. Utilizes healthcare organization and nursing standards, policies and procedures in delivery of care. Organizes and prioritizes care according to patient/family needs. Consults with appropriate resources in a timely fashion regarding patients with complex care issues, unusual teaching needs and/or those at high risk for discharge planning.

• Leadership - With assistance, develops goals to promote professional growth or minimize limitations. Achieves goals and objectives within identified time frame or renegotiates with supervisor. Is knowledgeable about activities which facilitate intra/interdepartmental collaboration. Participates in development and achievement of unit goals and performance improvement activities. Effectively uses communication systems. Participates in promoting cost-effective care. Gives feedback to co-workers. Is aware of public policy and regulatory guidelines affecting the health care environment. Promotes a safe, clean and secure hospital environment for all

• Patient Assessment - Recognizes data from complex situations to determine priorities for care. Includes appropriate physical, psychosocial, education and safety needs. Synthesizes assessment data into meaningful whole prior to communication to others. Assesses and anticipates discharge needs of individual patients and families. Develops relationships with families that promote their ability to advocate for the patient and their own needs.

• Planning - Collaborates with patient/family to prepare or update the plan of care. Makes use of available multidisciplinary resources in planning care. Begins to use full range of communication as a means to convey planning. Identifies and addresses cultural and ethnic issues in planning patient care. Demonstrates ability to prioritize tasks for patients with complex problems.

• Research - Reads journals that contain studies or articles that may be applicable to practice. Brings ideas and questions to the staff at large for assessment of applicability.

Other Information

Other information

Education

Requirements

• Graduation from a school of professional nursing.

• If hired after January 6, 2014, must be enrolled within four years of employment, and obtain a Bachelor's degree with a major in Nursing or a Master's degree with a major in Nursing within seven years of employment date.

Licensure/Certification

Requirements

• Licensed to practice as a Registered Nurse in the state of North Carolina by the day of clinical care.

• Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Provider certification

Professional Experience

Requirements

• No prior experience required.

Knowledge/Skills/and Abilities

Requirements

Job Details

• Legal Employer: STATE
• Entity: UNC Medical Center
• Organization Unit: YBH IP Unit D Dogwood
• Work Type: Full Time
• Standard Hours Per Week: 36.00
• Salary Range: $32.23 - $41.35 per hour (Hiring Range)

Pay offers are determined by experience and internal equity

Work Assignment Type: Onsite

Work Schedule

Variable Shifts Available

Location of Job: Butner:NC:27509 Exempt From Overtime: Exempt: No

This is a State position employed by UNC Health Care System with UNC Health benefits. If, however, you are presently an employee of another North Carolina agency and currently participate in TSERS or the ORP, you will be eligible to continue participating in those plans at UNC Health.

Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran or political affiliation.

UNC Health makes reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as applicants and employees with disabilities. All interested applicants are invited to apply for career opportunities. Please email applicant.accommodations@unchealth.unc.edu if you need a reasonable accommodation to search and/or to apply for a career opportunity.