Nurse Practitioner, Addictions Services

Job Description The landscape of addiction medicine is evolving, creating space for clinicians who want to shape care in a dynamic specialty. As a Nurse Practitioner (NP), Addictions Services at Sinai Health, you’ll have a chance to broaden your clinical expertise and develop nursing leadership skills. Through comprehensive nursing assessments and addictions consultations for patients with substance-related challenges, you’ll shape care plans rooted in evidence and harm reduction. Working closely with interprofessional partners in inpatient and outpatient settings at both our Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint sites, you will deepen your clinical perspective and expand your ability to support complex decision-making with greater confidence. Your perspective will inform program development, giving patients more timely and effective access to specialized addictions support. Is this you? You are steady in the face of clinical complexity and willing to adapt your approach based on the patient’s unmet needs. Supporting patients with comorbid psychiatric, medical, pain medicine, and social determinants of health needs is a responsibility you approach with consistency and care. You bring a structured, trauma-informed, evidence-backed approach to make sense of varied patient needs. You value the growth that comes from working through challenging clinical scenarios that test and refine your judgment. In this role, this is reflected in your ability to assess layered presentations, identify immediate priorities, and adjust your approach as new information emerges. This role gives you meaningful autonomy while still working in close clinical partnership with the Addictions Physicians, giving you support without limiting your practice. This leads to more accurate, timely interventions for patients during complex moments. Do you contribute confidently in interprofessional environments where multiple disciplines shape patient care? You recognize the importance of inpatient, outpatient, and community teams working together with a shared understanding of each patient’s needs. In this role, that shows up in how you bring your clinical perspective into discussions that connect hospital care with ongoing addictions supports. Your collaborative presence helps ensure the plan remains aligned as patients move between settings. This gives individuals a more stable and predictable experience across their care pathway. If you are energized by environments where conditions change quickly, then the pace of our setting will feel natural to you. Dynamic situations don’t disrupt your ability to make sound decisions; they bring out your precision and focus. In this role, that responding to sudden changes in a patient’s condition or behaviours, responding to withdrawal or intoxication concerns, and making swift yet informed decisions when the stakes are high Regardless of the complexity of the situation, you bring consistent expertise and compassion to every patient you support. About this team: Our addictions team supports and empowers patients experiencing the effects of substance use disorders serving both the Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital campuses. Applying a harm-reduction, trauma informed approach, we work with inpatients and outpatients to develop care plans that are tailored to meet individual needs. This includes the change process, where the patient is encouraged to take responsibility for the outcomes they seek to achieve. Services include harm reduction support/supplies, medication-assisted treatment for substance use including intramuscular injections, transition pain medication, counselling, community resources, and education and support for family members and loved ones. In this role you will: Interpret, foster and maintain the philosophy, standards, goals and objectives of a Magnet© designated organization and the Department of Nursing Provide leadership in advanced nursing practice through the collaborative management of patients, families or groups for patients with substance use disorders Perform comprehensive nursing assessments and specialized and advanced nursing care for patients across Sinai Health both in inpatient settings and in a RAAM (Rapid Access Addiction Medicine) type clinic presenting with substance use disorders (SUD), addressing comorbid physical, medical, pain, psychological, and social needs Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team across the care continuum and healthcare sectors to identify treatment options, initiate and/or coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive plan of care and develop safe discharge plans in collaboration with the clinical team, the patient and family, and other inter-professional team members as necessary Offer non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapy, including opioid agonist and anti-craving therapy, prescriptions for high dose narcotics when clinically indicated, medications for substance use disorders, acute intoxication or withdrawal and associated medical or psychiatric crises Promote harm-reduction interventions and provide overdose and relapse prevention education for patients and care partners Participate in inter-professional rounds and case conferences for continuity of care Develop partnerships within Sinai Health and the community, including community services, detoxification centres, primary care specialists, residential treatment programs, multi-cultural services, etc. to enhance continuity of care for patients Support Sinai Health physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals to increase capacity to provide addictions care, including facilitating safe discharge Participate in the development and advancement of best practice standards in addictions care across the organization in alignment with the strategic direction set forth by department and organization Collaborate with the leadership team on new initiatives, service improvement, and service expansion within the organization Develop, implement, and evaluate effectiveness of clinical service programs in collaboration with psychiatry leadership Engage in scholarly activities, such as presentations, research, quality Deliver, coordinate and participate in education and professional development activities/programs Perform activities to further develop and strengthen the profession including the supervision of students Perform other duties consistent with the job classification as required Job Requirements Job Requirements: Mandatory Successful completion of a Master’s degree in nursing and a Nurse Practitioner Certificate or equivalent from a College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO)-accredited academic institution Currently registered (Extended Class) and in good standing with the CNO 5 years of recent clinical experience in hospital or community-based Addictions Programs or working with people with substance use related issues in a hospital or community setting Current Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certification Preferred Membership in Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO) and other organizations relevant to the role Eligible for cross-appointment to an academic institution Completion of specialized addictions courses Experience precepting and supporting undergraduate and post-graduate nursing students and well as clinical fellows Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certification Skills and Knowledge Knowledge and proficiency in current evidence-based mental health and substance use care and practices with an emphasis on health promotion and risk reduction Knowledge of Health Quality Ontario Quality Standards for substance use disorders Expertise in comprehensive assessments which includes a collection of both historical and psychosocial data, the pathophysiology of the disease process, recognition of risk factors, protective factors and physical examination; includes ability to assess health status, diagnosis, development of a treatment plan, implementation of plan, and follow-up and evaluation of the patient status Comprehensive knowledge and a high level of clinical competence in caring for this complex patient population Experience in the use and interpretation of screening techniques and diagnostic techniques, tests and tools Experience working effectively with communities/individuals who face barriers accessing services and experience in approaching work from an equity lens preferred. Awareness of and sensitivity to the needs of people with mental illness and/or addiction Proficiency with clinical and administrative information technology Demonstrated satisfactory work performance and attendance history