Street Medicine Nurse

We are excited to begin providing care to people experiencing homelessness and living unsheltered through our Street Medicine team in 2026. This position is a Public Health Nurse I (PHN I) that works as part of an interdisciplinary Street Medicine outreach team that includes a community health worker, with a physician available for consultation. This role provides culturally appropriate and compassionate medical care for people in our community. From a clinical standpoint, you will provide a broad scope of primary care services in the field, with a substantial focus on substance use care. This is a Project, Full-Time (1.0 FTE) funded through 12/31/2027.

This is a professional nursing classification that provides healthcare services to high-risk community members and families using knowledge from nursing, social and public health sciences, and best practices. This role serves in a variety of settings, including in-home care, mobile sites, and community organizations. A nurse in this role assesses client needs, develops individualized care plans, and recommends support services to work in partnership with provided treatment. Public Health Nurse (PHN)I works with team members and other community-based service providers to support the health and well-being of clients. Nursing services include maternal and child health, communicable disease control, immunizations, sexual health, and refugee health.

Distinguishing Characteristics
This is the first level in the PHN series. This professional role works semi-independently under the direction of a supervisor. The PHN I differs from the PHN II in level of responsibility and scope of work. The work of the PHN I is closely supervised. Employees are given some latitude indecision-making ability, with complex situations discussed with their supervisor. Work is sensitive and confidential, requiring a high level of discretion. This position may provide input in the development and evaluation of program services.

Position Series

• Public Health Nurse I
• Public Health Nurse II

Career Path Options
Options to continue your career at theHealth Department depend on your interest, education, and training. Possibilities beyond the position series include:

• Clinic Coordinator
• Nurse Supervisor
• Program Manager

Essential Functions

• Provide high-quality, culturally competent direct services to community members involved in disease investigations and outreach services.
• Provide technical assistance to healthcare partners, schools, businesses, and other organizations on immunizations, disease investigations, and other public health topics.
• Maintain a detailed understanding of Department standing orders in order to provide appropriate services.
• Demonstrate appropriate clinical judgment in seeking leadership consultation and/or medical direction for unusual or high-consequence situations that fall outside standard practice under standing orders.

Examples of Key Duties
The items in this section are the key duties and responsibilities for this job and do not represent anexhaustive list. Our organization is dynamic, and duties may change based on business needs. Any new duties will remain within the scope of the job.

• Care coordination and case management services, such as: Wraparound health services and referrals, including referrals to appropriate clinical (e.g., primary care providers) and non-clinical services including behavioral health providers and substance use disorder clinics, to establish long-term care. Medical and psychosocial case management. Work will also include a minimum of 1 additional day focused on documentation, operations, and administration of the Street Medicine "SM" team.
• Participation in regular trainings for the SM team to cover key SM protocols such as clinical guidelines, infection and infestation prevention, skills to prevent and de-escalate crises, situational awareness and safety precautions in a range of settings, understanding boundaries between street medicine and law enforcement, street medicine 911 protocols, safety precautions for transporting individuals and staff well-being that includes self-care and burnout prevention.
• Clinical consultation to help determine needed supplies for the SM team.
• Utilizes nursing expertise to perform comprehensive individual and family assessments to develop a comprehensive plan of care that will address physical, developmental, and environmental health, psycho-social, substance use, and domestic violence issues, basic needs, and access to health care.
• Develop and review Street Medicine policies and procedures, including standing orders if needed.
• Provides skilled nursing care, case management, and health education in a variety of settings for vulnerable populations and high-risk groups. Suggests referrals for additional services when needed.
• Offers in-home care and support to clients in alignment with department patient care models.
• Provides skilled nursing care and health education to high-risk clients in a variety of settings.
• Provides nurse case management, care coordination, referrals, and follow-up to individuals and families who are members of a vulnerable population and/or high-risk groups.
• Accurately documents patient assessment and intervention data in medical records.
• Engages and educates clients and families in a plan of care that will address their identified health needs.
• Participates in the development of educational materials and/or policies related to the field of work as a nurse subject matter expert.
• Provides training, orientation, education, and instruction for clients or groups about health care and preventive medicine issues. Participates in the development of educational materials.
• May assist in responding to communicable disease outbreaks.
• Provides skilled nursing services in response to public health emergencies.
• Uses motivational interviewing and therapeutic communication techniques to drive trauma-informed care and provide individualized support for clients navigating behavior change.
• Advocates for vulnerable clients and populations. Acts as a liaison between community agencies and professionals to raise awareness of the availability of programs and services.
• May participate intraining and mentoring new employees and students to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to be successful.
• The work you do might require you to participate in the Title XIX Medicaid Claiming Program.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Safety & Emergency Preparedness

• Adheres to all workplace and trade safety laws, regulations, standards, and practices.
• Understands and properly follows established procedures in preventing and responding to unsafe or emergency situations. Identifies and reports potentially unsafe practices or conditions.
• Operates equipment, tools, machinery, and vehicles safely and understands processes for reporting an accident or injury.
• Understands and applies knowledge and skills necessary to successfully perform assigned emergency response role during an emergency.

When public health responds to an emergency, you may be assigned duties and responsibilities that are outside your regular job description. This may involve responding at any time and reporting to a location other than the department with different working conditions and physical requirements. You are expected to participate in emergency preparedness activities including our emergency notification system, WA SECURES. Drills and real-world events may take place at any time.

For a complete description of the classification specifications pleaseclick here.Knowledge and Skills

• Intermediate knowledge of standard Microsoft Office programs, Electronic Medical Records software, and other collaborative office software such as Zoom.
• Knowledge of professional nursing principles, practices, and techniques including trauma-informed, patient-centered care.
• Knowledge of community health issues and inequitable access to healthcare.
• Knowledge of epidemiological analysis and surveillance methods and concepts.
• Knowledge of both motivational interviewing and trauma-informed care to provide individualized support for clients navigating behavior change.
• Skill in analyzing, compiling, recording, and assessing data, i.e., nursing plans of action, medical records, etc.
• Demonstrated skill and ability to adapt and work effectively in a fast-paced environment and appropriately deal with stressful situations and working conditions.
• Skilled in data entry.
• Skilled in maintaining sensitive and confidential data and using discretion when sharing information.
• Skilled in communication:
  • Listens to others and communicates in an effective manner.
• Asks questions in ways that enhance the clarity, quality, and reliability of information.
  • Understands and learns from what others say, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
  • Grasps the meaning of written information and applies it to work situations.
• Conveys ideas and facts using language the audience will best understand, taking into consideration the audience and nature of the information.
• Writes in a clear, concise, and organized manner for the intended audience.

Foundational Competencies

• Knowing and managing oneself: Understands that all equity, trauma-informed, and restorative practices start with oneself. Exercises a high degree of self-reflection, personal accountability, resilience, flexibility, and adaptability. Is willing to learn, apply, and model agency values and ethical standards.
• Restorative practices and conflict resolution: Articulates through words and actions authentic commitment to create an environment in which all people are treated with dignity and respect and afforded equal opportunities and impartial treatment. Centers work inequity and trauma informed and restorative practices to achieve and maintain collaboration and teamwork and to effectively work with historically underrepresented and/or underserved populations to advance community health. Utilizes restorative practices to address harm and promote healing to strengthen relationships between individuals and social connections within communities.
• Collaboration and engagement: Provides balanced and objective information to help teammates, partners, and the public understand problems, alternatives, opportunities, and solutions. Works directly with partners within the Department, in the community, and members of the public affected by the work to obtain feedback and understand diverse points of view, concerns, and aspirations. Identifies preferred solutions together, incorporating advice and recommendations to the maximum extent possible.
• Evidence informed practices and decision-making: Applies evidence informed practices and methodologies to achieve the greatest impact in delivery of services to internal and external customers and partners. Incorporates the social determinants of health into public health work. Integrates research and evidence into the decision-making process. Seeks to systematically identify and eliminate in equities resulting in differences in health and in overall living conditions. Utilizes evidence informed practices to increase equity in systems and policy. Creates a robust culture of assessment and evaluation and continuous process improvement.
• Cross cultural communication and Engagement: Understands that cultural awareness, appreciation, and humility can only occur when you practice curiosity and open-mindedness. Operates with a high level of humility and cultural agility to achieve effective intercultural communication, engagement, and collaboration in the workplace and in the community. Is open to feedback and continuously self-reflects on one’s own actions and responses. Centers personal accountability on the Department’s mission, values, and ethical standards.

The items below are the requirements for the job and are relevant to this position. The organization values work experience, lived experience, and education and realizes that people take different paths to acquire knowledge.

• Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.
• One year of experience in a healthcare or public health setting.
• Experience in public health preferred.

We will consider any equivalent combination of education and experience that provides the necessary qualifications to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Professional Certifications, Licensure, and Other Requirements
We require or prefer the below for this classification.

• Current State of Washington Registered Nurse License or multi-state license endorsement required.
• Basic Life Support (BLS)for Health Care Providers and AEDcertificationsrequiredwithin90 days of hire.
• Valid driver’s license and acceptable driver’s abstract required prior to employment.
• Immunizations and immunization screening required at hire and annually based on program area.

Work Environment

• Work is performed in a trauma informed, patient-centered environment within an office, residential, clinical, or community setting. In most environments, exposure to hazards is limited to those commonly found in office, community, or clinical environments, including communicable diseases. In entering a patient’s residence, exposure to hazards includes those normally found in entering an unknown residence.
• Exposure to communicable diseases, bloodborne pathogens, and biohazardous materials and waste.
• The potential for dealing with dissatisfied or angry customers exists, requiring skills in conflict resolution.
• Constant direct interaction with people including patients, the public, staff, and staff from other community organizations, and community partners.
• Environmental conditions may entail a stressful work climate due to the nature of the job, i.e., working with individuals that have experienced trauma such as sexual abuse, physical and mental abuse, being unhoused; and providing services such as sexual health counseling, substance use disorder counseling, etc.
• Work is up to 100% in person.

Physical and Cognitive Demands

• Regularly required to sit or stand at a desk continuously.
• Regularly communicate clearly with customers in-person, over the phone, and via written communication, including communicating with dissatisfied or angry customers, throughout the duration of a shift.
• Capable of reading physical and electronic documents and working for prolonged periods on a computer monitor.
• Fine motor skills sufficient to grip and manipulate paper and operate a telephone, a computer mouse and keyboard, and standard medical equipment.
• Reaching and gross manipulation capabilities sufficient to pick up and use standard office supplies and clinical equipment.
• Traverse from parking to residences of varying levels of accessibility.
• Operate a motor vehicle in all lighting conditions and various weather conditions, including rain. Trip durations average 15-45 minutes.
• This position may require lifting, carrying, pulling, or moving objects up to 10 pounds consistently, 20 pounds frequently, and exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally.
• Regularly maintain awareness of surroundings to identify and address potential safety issues.
• Regularly work effectively in the presence of visual, auditory, or other distractions.
• Work effectively when exposed to workplace stressors, such as emotional and/or confrontational individuals.
• Learn, recall, and apply specialized information.
• Effectively perform frequent task-swapping and work with frequent interruptions.
• Maintain concentration and attention for extended periods of time.

Tools and Equipment

• Duties require the use of standard office furniture and equipment (e.g.,desk, filing cabinet, computer, printer, telephone, copy machine, etc.).
• Duties require the use of standard medical equipment (e.g., blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, baby scales, etc.).

Travel

• Frequent travel is required for programs in the Strengthening Families division, and is typically local or regional, to meet with clients, conduct business, or attend training. Some travel may be required for Disease Prevention and Management programs.
• Position requires the use of a personal vehicle in the Parent, Child, and Family Health program.

Click Here for more details on reasonable accommodations, safety, risk management and more.