Senior Psychiatric Technician

• Participates as a member of a treatment team in developing and implementing individual and group treatment programs for patients.
• Develops, supervises and encourages participation in group and individual program activities for patients; assists therapist in therapy programs; may lead therapy groups.
• Observes patient's physical condition and behavior; audits patient's clinical record charts; checks and corrects errors; monitors patient activities; evaluates patient progress; reports significant changes to professional staff; records clinical notes on patients.
• Assists patients with feeding, habit training; keeps living areas clean; protects patients from personal injury; motivates patients to develop self-reliance in daily living.
• Monitors and administers medications and treatment, including hypodermic injections, catheterizations, enemas and oral medications; takes and charts temperatures, pulse and respiration; assists families and care providers in monitoring and administering medications.
• Consults with families, care providers, staff of convalescent hospitals and other agencies as liaison to provide for continuity of care; assists care providers and others in handling patient behavior.
• Admits and orients patients to inpatient facilities; dispenses medication for new patients; acts as Court liaison through admission process; may act as shift supervisor.
• Orders supplies, keeps records, and prepares reports.
• Participates in in-service training programs.

License:  Possession of a valid license as a Psychiatric Technician issued by the Board of Vocational Nurse and Psychiatric Technician examiners of the State of California.

Experience: Two years of experience performing the duties of a psychiatric technician or mental health technician in a mental health facility.

Special Requirement:  The Psychiatric Health Facility will perform a background investigation on prospective employees to include criminal background information from State and Federal information banks.

Basic concepts of mental illness and mental health; the physical, emotional and social needs of emotionally disordered individuals; fundamentals of psychiatric terminology; principles and techniques involved in the care and treatment of individual or groups of mentally ill, or emotionally disturbed patients.

Train others in the performance of their duties in a mental health unit; apply routine psychiatric nursing care to mentally ill or emotionally disturbed patients; recognize symptoms indicative of adverse patient reactions; analyze situations accurately and take effective action; participate in treatment programs for patients; understand and follow written and oral directions; express ideas clearly and concisely, orally and in writing; establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Mobility-Occasional operation of computers, sitting for long periods of time and driving; frequent walking, pushing/pulling and bending/squatting; Lifting-Ability to constantly lift 5 pounds or less and frequently up to 70 pounds; Vision-Constant overall vision, color/depth and eye hand coordination and peripheral vision; frequent reading and close-up work; Dexterity-Constant repetitive motion, writing, holding, reaching, grasping and writing; Hearing/Talking-Constant hearing normal speech, talking in person, talking on the telephone/radio; Emotional/Special Conditions-Constant decision making, public contact, concentration, working weekends/nights or overtime, exposure to trauma, grief and death; frequent working alone; Environment Conditions-Constant exposure to noise, dirt, dust, smoke, fumes, poor ventilation, cold, heat and hazardous materials; Special Requirement-Constant exposure to assaultive behavior.

Health Insurance:  San Joaquin County provides employees with a choice of three health plans:  a Kaiser Plan, a Select Plan, and a Premier Plan.  There is no cost for employee only coverage in the Kaiser and Select Plans.  Dependent coverage is available for all plans, with the employee paying a portion of the premiums.

Dental Insurance:  The County provides employees with a choice of two dental plans:  Delta Dental and Pacific Union Dental.  There is no cost for employee only coverage in either plan; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

Vision Insurance:  The County provides vision coverage through Vision Service Plan (VSP).  There is no cost for employee only coverage; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

For more detailed information on the County’s benefits program, visit our website at www.sjgov.org under Human Resources/Benefits. 

Life Insurance:  The County provides eligible employees with life insurance coverage as follows: 

 1 but less than 3 years of continuous service:                   $1,000
3 but less than 5 years of continuous service:                   $3,000
5 but less than 10 years of continuous service:                 $5,000
10 years of continuous service or more:                           $10,000 

Employee may purchase additional term life insurance at the group rate.

125 Flexible Benefits Plan:  This is a voluntary program that allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for health-related expenses that are not paid by a medical, dental or vision plan (Health Flexible Spending Account $2080 annual limit); and dependent care costs (Dependent Care Assistance Plan $5000 annual limit).

Retirement Plan:  Employees of the County are covered by the County Retirement Law of 1937.  Please visit the San Joaquin County Employees’ Retirement Association (SJCERA) at www.sjcera.org for more information.  NOTE:  If you are receiving a retirement allowance from another California county covered by the County Employees’ Retirement Act of 1937 or from any governmental agency covered by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), you are advised to contact the Retirement Officer of the Retirement Plan from which you retired to determine what effect employment in San Joaquin County would have on your retirement allowance.

Deferred Compensation:  The County maintains a deferred compensation plan under Section 457 of the IRS code.  You may annually contribute $16,500 or 100% of your includible compensation, whichever is less.  Individuals age 50 or older may contribute to their plan, up to $22,000.

Vacation:  Maximum earned vacation is 10 days each year up to 3 years; 15 days after 3 years; 20 days after 10 years; and 23 days after 20 years.

Holiday:  14 paid holidays per year.

Sick Leave:  12 working days of sick leave annually with unlimited accumulation.  Sick leave incentive:  An employee is eligible to receive eight hours administrative leave if the leave balance equals at least one- half of the cumulative amount that the employee is eligible to accrue.  The employee must also be on payroll during the entire calendar year.

Bereavement Leave:  3 days of paid leave for the death of an immediate family member, 2 additional days of accrued leave for death of employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parent or child.

Merit Salary Increase:  New employees will receive the starting salary, which is the first step of the salary range.  After employees serve 52 weeks (2080 hours) on each step of the range, they are eligible for a merit increase to the next step.

Job Sharing:  Employees may agree to job-share a position, subject to approval by a Department Head and the Director of Human Resources.

Educational Reimbursement Program:  Eligible employees may be reimbursed for career-related course work up to a maximum of $850 per fiscal year.  Eligible employees enrolled in an approved four (4) year College or University academic program may be reimbursed up to $800 per semester for a maximum of $1600 per fiscal year.

Parking Supplemental Downtown Stockton:  The County contributes up to $17 per pay period for employees who pay for parking and are assigned to work in the Downtown Core Area.

School Activities:  Employees may take up to 40 hours per year, but not more than eight (8) hours per month, to participate in their children’s school activities.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will go through the following examination process:

• Written Exam: The civil service written exam is a multiple choice format.  If the written exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score.  Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list.
  
• Oral Exam:   The oral exam is a structured interview process that will assess the candidate’s education, training, and experience and may include a practical exercise.   The oral exam selection process is not a hiring interview.   A panel of up to four people will determine the candidate’s score and rank for placement on the eligible list.  Top candidates from the eligible list are referred for hiring interviews.  If the oral exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score.  Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list. 
  
• Written & Oral Exam:  If both a written exam and an oral exam is administered, the written exam is weighted at 60% and the oral exam is weighted at 40% unless otherwise indicated on the announcement.  Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% on each examination in order to be placed on the eligible list.
  
• Rate-out:  A rate-out is an examination that involves a paper rating of the candidate’s application using the following criteria: education, training, and experience. Candidates will not be scheduled for the rate-out process. 

 Note:  The rating of 70 referred to may be the same or other than an arithmetic 70% of the total possible points.

Testing Accommodation:  Candidates who require testing accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must call Human Resources Division at (209) 468-3370 prior to the examination date.   

Veteran’s Points:  Eligible veterans, unmarried widows and widowers of veterans of the United States Armed Forces who have been honorably discharged and who have served during wartime shall be given veteran’s points in initial appointment to County service.  Eligible veterans receive 5 points and eligible disabled veterans receive 10 points. Disabled veterans must submit a recent award letter stating a 10% service connected disability issued by the United States Veterans Administration.  Note:  A copy of your DD214 showing the discharge type must be received in the Human Resources by the date of the examination.

San Joaquin County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer and is committed to providing equal employment to all without regard to age, ancestry, color, creed, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation or belief, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.  For more information go to Equal Employment Opportunity Division (sjgov.org).

Accommodations for those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

San Joaquin County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and, upon request, will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will go through the following examination process:

• Written Exam: The civil service written exam is a multiple choice format.  If the written exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score.  Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list. 

• Oral Exam:   The oral exam is a structured interview process that will assess the candidate’s education, training, and experience and may include a practical exercise.   The oral exam selection process is not a hiring interview.   A panel of up to four people will determine the candidate’s score and rank for placement on the eligible list.  Top candidates from the eligible list are referred for hiring interviews.  If the oral exam is administered alone, it will be 100% of the overall score.  Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% in order to be placed on the eligible list. 

• Written & Oral Exam:  If both a written exam and an oral exam is administered, the written exam is weighted at 60% and the oral exam is weighted at 40% unless otherwise indicated on the announcement.  Candidates must achieve a minimum rating of 70% on each examination in order to be placed on the eligible list.

• Rate-out:  A rate-out is an examination that involves a paper rating of the candidate’s application using the following criteria: education, training, and experience. Candidates will not be scheduled for the rate-out process. 

Note:  The rating of 70 referred to may be the same or other than an arithmetic 70% of the total possible points.

Online Written Exams:  Written exams may be administered online. Candidates will be notified of the examination date and will be responsible to complete the written exam within a given period of time (typically within five calendar days). Candidates are required to read the Online Exam Guide for Test Takers prior to taking an online written exam.