Kat Russell

Team-oriented psychiatric nurse with 12 years of experience in psychiatric emergency room, inpatient psychiatric units, and Behavioral Emergency Response Team. Extensive background with San Francisco’s most vulnerable behavioral patients in crisis, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, and utilizing the resources available to provide safe and supportive care. Expert in managing behavioral emergencies with a calm demeanor, psychotropic medication administration, caring for acute patient caseload, and assessing patients with complex needs.

Registered Nurse - San Francisco General Hospital

(2014)

• Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) 2014 - Current
• Provide nursing care to patients in psychiatric crisis. This includes admission and history, medication management, assessment, medical interventions, and patient education
• Work closely with a team of MDs, NPs, SW, Nursing Leadership and PES staff for patient treatment planning
• Communicate with – and collect information from – patient families and outpatient teams to assess patient risk, needs, and next steps in their behavioral health journey
• Verbal de-escalation of patients in crisis using CPI methods
• Safely work with PES staff in administration of emergent IM medications, restraint and seclusion as necessary
• Inpatient Psychiatric Units (7B, 7C, 7L, H52) 2014 - Current
• Provide clinical nursing care to patients on 4 inpatient psychiatric units, including high acuity unit, forensic psych and a Covid psychiatric unit
• Charge Nurse:
• Oversee staff and flow on forensic and Covid psychiatric units
• Provide report to multidisciplinary department staff meeting, including department leadership, MDs, OT and SW
• Coordinate with Jail Health Services and Officers in the flow and management of forensic patients
• Behavioral Emergency Response Team (BERT) 2018 - 2023
• Responded to perceived and impending behavioral emergencies throughout the hospital, including Medical Emergency Room, Urgent Care, ICU and Med-Surg
• Lead verbal de-escalation of patients and visitors, evaluation of needs of patients and primary teams, assist with containment and restraint of patients when necessary
• Lead debrief sessions after behavioral emergencies
• Provided recommendations to patient’s care team to enhance safety and minimize risk

Clinical Practice Group - San Francisco General Hospital

(2018 - 2020)

will resume when group reconvenes

• Participated in nurse led group to improve clinical practices in the department of psychiatry
• Initiated improvement ideas, performed research on implementation of new practices and presented to the department education team

Psychiatric Safety Training - San Francisco General Hospital

(2021 - 2022)

• Partnered with the psychiatry nurse educator to teach safety classes to staff on verbal de-escalation, managing behavioral crises, and debriefing after crises

MSN - Clinical Nurse Leader - University of San Francisco (2013)

RN - University of San Francisco (2013)

BA - East Asian Languages & Literature - University of Oregon (2007)