Psychiatric Technician - Ipu (Regular, Per Diem, Sr. Per Diem)

Under direction of a physician or registered nurse, performs a variety of paraprofessional nursing duties in providing care to psychiatric patients.

Distinguishing Characteristics:
This class differs from the Hospital Technician I and the Health Technician series in that a Psychiatric Technician-IPU (Inpatient Psychiatric Unit) provides both psychiatric and medical nursing care to patients within the scope of licensure as a Psychiatric Technician or Vocational Nurse in the state of California.
The Per DiemPsychiatric Technician and Per Diem Senior Psychiatric Technicians are distinguished from the regular classifications in that Per Diem are scheduled to work "as needed" to supplement staffing needs.
Per Diem Senior Psychiatric Technician differs from Psychiatric Technician in that the class requires more independent action in the promotion and utilization of effective mental health techniques.
APPROXIMATE SALARIES:
Per DiemPsychiatric Technician: $18.81 - $22.85 Hourly
Psychiatric Technician - IPU: $32.98 - $35.50 Hourly
Senior Per DiemPsychiatric Technician: $22.85 - $29.56 Hourly
EDUCATIONAL/BILINGUAL INCENTIVE:Incumbents may be eligible for an educational incentive of 2.5%, 3.5%, or 5% based on completion of an Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degree that is not required for the classification. Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational need and certification of skill.
CERTIFICATION PAY: Incumbents in this classification (Psychiatric Technician-IPU) are eligible for certification pay at a rate of $0.813 per hour based on his or her scheduled work week hours and not to exceed the scheduled work week hours for each qualified certification possessed up to a maximum of five (5) certifications.
Agency/Department: Health Care Agency - Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (IPU)
Psychiatric Technician - IPU, Per DiemPsychiatric Technician, and Per Diem Senior Psychiatric Technician are represented by the California Nurse's Association (CNA) and are eligible for overtime compensation.
NOTE: Salary placement will be determined according to the current CNA memorandum of agreement.
The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary, Fixed-Term), and Intermittent vacancies. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy and one (1) Intermittent vacancy within Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (IPU).
NOTE: If appointed as a Per Diem Psych Tech, incumbent may be promoted to Per Diem Sr Psych Tech without further examination upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with the business needs of the department.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
OPENING DATE:April 25, 2023
CLOSING DATE: Continuous and may close at any time; therefore, the schedule for the remainder of the process will depend upon when we receive a sufficient number of qualified applications to meet business needs. It is to your advantage to apply as soon as possible.
(Previously: May 9, 2023)

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:
Direct Services

• Mental Health Services: works as a member of a team to provide psychiatric and medical nursing care to patients in mental health inpatient and outpatient programs; prepares and administers medications; observes patients and identifies individual personal needs; observes patients for medical problems and refers them to appropriate medical facilities; provides evaluation, rehabilitation, collateral, crisis intervention; performs clinical charting for clients and their families in collaboration with other members of the mental health team.
• Case Management: provides case management/brokerage including linkage and consultation, placement and plan development services for clients and their families in collaboration with other members of the mental health and discharge planning teams.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Professional Support Services

• Case finding, assessment, planning, and coordination activities: uses professional skills to identify at-risk, mentally ill persons who may benefit from program participation; plans and coordinates activities that result in a plan of care.
• Early intervention and prevention: uses professional skills to prepare persons for, coordinate with other care givers, or disseminate information about growth and development and early intervention/prevention of mental disability.
• Consultation and training: uses professional skills to provide mental health consultation to persons, providers, staff of other agencies, and the community; conducts or participates in health-related training.
• Provider relations and resource development: uses professional skills in performing activities that establish, expand, and maintain the pool of eligible service providers.
• Utilization review: uses professional skills in quality management activities such as utilization review, monitoring and evaluation procedures, and the development of standards and protocols.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Administrative Support Services

• Outreach, informing, prescreening, and enrollment: provides outreach and intensive communication to persons about Medi-Cal and other state and federal programs and their benefits, and how to access and apply for these programs/benefits; performs prescreening and completion of paperwork to determining eligibility; assists persons in obtaining needed services.
• Interagency coordination: collaborates with other agencies to define program scope, improve the cost effectiveness and availability of service delivery systems, and/or focus services on specific population groups or geographic areas.
• Training activities: participates in training on patient advocacy programs for persons at risk, service delivery skills, or cultural competence.
• Program planning, development and monitoring: assists in developing goals and objectives, policies and procedures, forms, and management information systems; monitors and audits for proper and efficient County, state, and federal program administration.
• General Administration: performs general administration duties and tasks necessary for the daily operation of the program, including staff meetings, health promotion, training, budgets, etc.
• Performs other related duties as required.

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.
Education, Training, and Experience:
Per DiemPsychiatric Technician
Requires no experience.
Psychiatric Technician - IPU & Per Diem Senior Psychiatric Technician
Requires two (2) years of full-time experience as a Psychiatric Technician, mental health technician, or nurse in a mental health/psychiatric setting.

• One (1) year of the required full-time experience must have been in a community mental health program.
  

Substitution:
Completion of course work at an accredited college or university in the behavioral sciences and/or arts and crafts may be substituted for the non-community mental health experience as a Psychiatric Technician.
NOTE: Accredited institutions are those listed through the U.S. Department of Education--Office of Postsecondary Education. Also acceptable, if appropriate, are degrees that have been evaluated and deemed to be equivalent to degrees from United States accredited institutions by an academic credential evaluation agency recognized by The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services and Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc.
Necessary Special Requirements:

• Possession of a current valid California license as a Psychiatric Technician or Vocational Nurse.
• Per Diem positions, must be willing to work when called upon.
• Must possess a current, valid Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) certification issued by the American Heart Association by the first day of employment.

Desired:

• Crisis Prevention & Intervention (CPI) certified.
• AVADE Workplace Violence Prevention Training
• Experience using Cerner.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Working (Psych. Tech.) to thorough (Sr. Psych. Tech.) knowledge of:

• normal human growth and development;
• therapeutic group functioning;
• effective team functioning;
• charting, administration of medications;
• community resource agencies;
• and basic knowledge of crisis intervention.
  

Working (Psych. Tech.) to thorough (Sr. Psych. Tech.) ability to:

• identify individual personal needs and to plan and implement nursing care for individual patients;
• establish and maintain the confidence of patients and professional staff;
• maintain confidentiality of patient/client information;
• establish and maintain effective interpersonal relations with other staff members, patients, and their families;
• communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

FINAL FILING DATE: This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested.
(Previously: Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date. Applications must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.)
To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/hr. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.
Note to Applicants:It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.
NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here for additional information.
SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire will result in the application being removed from consideration.
APPLICATION EVALUATION - 100%: An application evaluation will be conducted. A score will be assigned to each application based on established criteria. Such score will be considered as the final score for placement on the eligible list.
Applicants successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.
For further information about this recruitment, please contact Vivian Merida at Vivian.Merida@ventura.org or by telephone at (805) 677-5231. Employment Type: Various