PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER

MONTANA WOMEN’S PRISON

BILLINGS, MT

The Montana Department of Corrections (DOC) is creating a safer Montana through Accountability, Rehabilitation, and Empowerment. If you want to work making positive changes in your community, the Montana Department of Corrections is the place for you!

The Rehabilitation and Enterprise Division ensures the physical and mental well‑being of inmates, delivers educational and vocational opportunities within prisons, and oversees community facilities dedicated to successfully reintegrating offenders into Montana communities. Join the team responsible for building better tomorrows today!

As a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner working within a secure correctional environment, you will play a critical role in addressing the complex medical and psychiatric needs of an incarcerated population. Your clinical expertise will directly support institutional safety by stabilizing acute conditions, improving mental health outcomes, and helping residents develop healthier, more adaptive behaviors.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Conduct comprehensive psychiatric assessments by reviewing and interpreting patient histories, symptoms, physical findings, and diagnostic information to develop accurate clinical diagnoses.
• Diagnose and treat acute medical and behavioral health conditions, including illnesses, infections, injuries, and psychiatric disorders.
• Develop and implement individualized treatment plans utilizing evidence‑based practices and clinically appropriate interventions.
• Prescribe medications in accordance with legal and regulatory guidelines, considering safety, efficacy, cost, and patient response.
• Recommend diagnostic and therapeutic interventions with attention to risk, invasiveness, client acceptability, adherence, and overall effectiveness.
• Provide patient education on managing acute and chronic conditions, ensuring instructions are tailored to individual learning needs and circumstances.
• Coordinate care through timely referrals to physicians, psychologists, chemical dependency counselors, mental health centers, social services, and other professionals or agencies as required.
• Assist in emergency psychiatric interventions, which may include participation in emergency commitments and crisis stabilization procedures.
• Maintain accurate, timely, and compliant clinical documentation in accordance with DOC standards, medical regulations, and facility protocols.
• Collaborate effectively with a multidisciplinary team—including security, medical, and behavioral health staff—to support institutional safety, continuity of care, and rehabilitation goals.
• Ensure adherence to security protocols and maintain professional boundaries while providing patient‑centered psychiatric care in a correctional environment.

Your impact extends far beyond the facility itself. By providing high‑quality psychiatric care, promoting self‑management of chronic conditions, and referring individuals to appropriate internal and external resources, you help support successful reentry and reduce the likelihood of future incarceration. Your work will strengthen communities across Montana and contribute to long‑term public safety.

QUALIFICATIONS

The knowledge, skills and abilities for this position are typically acquired through a combination of education and experience equivalent to:

• Masters degree from an accredited APRN program as an Advanced Practice Nurse-Psych
• Two years of job related experience.
• Alternative combinations of education and experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

BENEFITS

Your service is rewarded with competitive compensation and generous State of Montana Benefits.

State of Montana employment may qualify for student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Only online applications are accepted. By applying online, you are able to receive updates and monitor the status of your application.

To initiate an application and be considered, you must attach your resume, cover letter, and mark the attachments as a “Relevant File”. In your cover letter, state why you are applying for the position and anything that makes you uniquely qualified. Applications missing required documentation may not be considered.

Successful applicants will be subject to:

• Criminal history check
• Child/patient/offender abuse registries
• Reference checks

The Department of Corrections participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. After accepting a job offer and completing form I-9, your information will be submitted to the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration for verification. For more information about E-Verify, please visit the E-Verify website found here, https://www.e-verify.gov/.

NOTICES

Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) - Any person who has 1) engaged in sexual abuse in a prison, jail, lockup, community confinement facility, juvenile facility, or other institution; 2) been convicted of engaging in or attempting to engage in sexual activity in the community facilitated by force, overt or implied threats of force, or coercion, or if the victim did not consent or was unable to consent or refuse; or 3) been civilly or administratively adjudicated to have engaged in activity as described in the latter, are not qualified for this position.

Tobacco Free - The use of all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco products and tobacco substitutes is prohibited in Department of Corrections buildings. In secure care facilities possession of tobacco products is prohibited.