Registered Nurse IV (PHN Option)

READ THIS ENTIRE BULLETIN FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO REAPPLY FOR THIS RECRUITMENT.  

THIS IS A REOPENING OF AN EXISTING EXAMINATION.  If you have previously applied or started an application for the Registered Nurse IV (PHN Option), Examination #19-5320-01, read this entire bulletin. There are specific instructions on how to reapply for this position.  

PLEASE CONTACT THE EXAMINATION ANALYST, ANGELICA CUEVAS AT ANGELICA.CUEVAS@ACGOV.ORG TO HAVE YOUR PREVIOUS APPLICATION RELEASED BACK TO YOU.    

The scores and dispositions of candidates for this examination will be merged with previous exam participants.  If you have previously submitted an application and choose to reapply, your new score/disposition will replace your current disposition.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

APPLICATIONS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED ON-LINE.

THE AGENCY

Alameda County's Health Services Program is administered by the Health Care Services Agency and includes the following program areas: Behavioral Health Care, Public Health, Environmental Health, and Agency Administration/Indigent Health. The ultimate mission of the Health Care Services Agency is to provide fully integrated health care services through a comprehensive network of public and private partnerships that ensure optimal health and well-being and respect the diversity of all residents.

THE DEPARTMENT

Alameda County Public Health Department has worked for over 80 years to improve the health and safety of its residents and the neighborhoods they live in. Traditional public health concerns such as disease outbreaks, environmental hazards and access to health care have been joined by contemporary concerns: bioterrorism, crime, violence, and substance abuse. Each of these poses a threat to public health and wellness and calls for short and long-term solutions that lie well outside traditional public health boundaries. For more information about our Alameda County Public Health Department, please visit the Alameda County Public Health Department Website and latest Annual Budget document found on www.acgov.org.

THE POSITION

Under general supervision, to provide program planning, development, review and evaluation of clinical and administrative activities in assigned program(s); direct, coordinate and oversee the nursing and other health care services of a program to clients across the age spectrum and/or targeted populations; to supervise a multidisciplinary team including professional, para-professional support staff, nursing students and interns; to ensure program regulations and procedures are followed; and to do related work as required.

Please CLICK HERE for the full job description.

THE VACANCY

There are currently four Registered Nurse IV vacancies within the Alameda County Public Health Department. Each of the positions are Supervising Public Health Nurses (PHNs) in the Building Bridges, Nurse-Family Partnership, Special Start and Communicable Disease Control and Prevention programs. However the eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies in other program areas.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications below, these positions require possession of a current and valid Public Heath Nursing (PHN) certificate issued by the California Board of Registered Nursing.

ACUTE COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

The Acute Communicable Disease Section is a multidisciplinary team in the Division of Communicable Disease Control & Prevention and is responsible for overseeing communicable disease control, surveillance & prevention including outbreak investigations for >80 mandated reportable diseases excluding HIV, TB, and STDs. 

BUILDING BRIDGES

Building Bridges provides home and community visits to pregnant and postpartum women, women of reproductive age and their family members including fathers, partners, caregivers, infants, and toddlers who voluntarily accept services. Families have both medical and psychosocial challenges which require consistent family support services for one year. Services are family centered, relationship-based and culturally responsive.

NURSE-FAMILY PARTNERSHIP

Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based home visiting program that partners nurses with low income first-time moms in Alameda County, in order to give babies the best start in life. Case management services begin in pregnancy and continue until the child reaches two years old. During that time, parents are provided with health education, support, and child development information so that families can create better lives for their child and themselves. There are two teams of nurses and one nurse manager is needed.

SPECIAL START

Special Start is an intensive case management support to families with medically fragile babies who experience psychosocial need for up to three years. Special Start infants have complex medical and psychosocial needs and are supported by nurse home visitors who meet regularly with families via home visits, clinic or hospital visits and in the community. Special attention is provided to the developmental needs of the child and support to parents to address the child’s complex medical care.  The Special Start team is comprised of nurses, a medical social worker and outreach staff. 

Education:

Possession of a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from a recognized four-year college or university (180 quarter-units or semester 120 units).

AND EITHER I

Experience:

The equivalent of three years of full-time, recent experience within the last five years as a Registered Nurse III in Alameda County classified service.

OR II

Experience:

The equivalent of four years of full-time, recent experience within the last five years as a Registered Nurse II in the Alameda County classified service.

OR III

Experience:

The equivalent of five years of full-time, recent nursing experience within the last five years in a clinical and/or public health setting, which has included at least one year of full-time lead/supervisory experience.

Substitution:

Possession of a master’s degree in business administration, public administration, health/healthcare management/administration, nursing or public health from an accredited college or university may be substituted for two years of experience in any pattern above.

License/Certificate: 

• Possession of a current and valid license to practice as a Registered Nurse in the State of California. 
• Possession of a valid Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers certificate, which includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training.
• Some positions may require possession of a current and valid Public Health Nursing (PHN) Certificate issued by the State of California Board of Registered Nursing.
• Some positions may require a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator’s license.

Special Requirements:

1. In compliance with the Administrative Simplification provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), employees in this classification are required to possess a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number prior to their first day on the job.
2. In Compliance with Medicare regulations, employees in this classification are required to complete the “Medicare Enrollment Process for Physicians and non-Physician Practitioners” through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, prior to their first day on the job. Active enrollment in Medicare is a condition of employment. Failure to attain or maintain active enrollment will result in termination.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

• Wellness to illness continuum, including major disease processes to evaluate the condition of clients or community.
• Nursing Practice Act rules and regulations and other related health care disciplines and procedures.
• Local, state and federal codes and regulations governing the field of nursing and public health nursing practices.
• Principles and theories of modern methods, principles, procedures, techniques, standards and practices of public health nursing, including understanding of medical terminology and documentation.
• Current principles, best practices and trends in service delivery systems, quality assurance and quality improvement.
• Principles and processes of personnel management which include leadership, supervision, coaching, performance evaluations, development and counseling.
• Disparities in health outcomes for vulnerable populations including socio-economic and environmental factors that affect health equity.
• Principles and practices of effective organization, management, monitoring, quality assurance and quality improvement indicators.
• Principles and practices of public health education and teaching. Interviewing, assessment, and counseling techniques.
• Ten Essential Public Health Services.
• Health systems, agencies community resources and patterns of referral.
• Principles, practices and methods of safety and infection control and prevention of communicable and chronic disease.
• Methods of prevention of accidents and abuse and neglect of children, spouses and the elderly.
• Methods of evaluating normal and abnormal behavior patterns.
• Complex health care systems and techniques of collaboration.
• Basic budgetary and financial record-keeping techniques.

Ability to:

• Plan, monitor and evaluate program and service delivery effectiveness in the programmatic area to which assigned.
• Analyze effectiveness of policies, procedures, operations and interventions; modify as needed to meet/improve programmatic objectives.
• Assess the health status and concerns of clients and communities.
• Exercise interpersonal sensitivity, political astuteness and group interaction skills to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Facilitate and model effective written and oral communication with attention to linguistic preferences and cultural proficiency.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Supervise staff and program operations.
• Exercise independent judgment within the scope of authority and practice.
• Prepare, analyze and monitor program budget and other data.
• Prepare clear, accurate and effective reports, correspondence, policies, informational brochures and other written materials.
• Utilize basic modern office equipment and technology related to work.
• Incorporate departmental core values and ethical standards of practice into all interactions with individuals, organizations, and communities.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps:

1. A review of candidates' applications and supplemental questionnaires to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
2. An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments many be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Notices will be sent from Noreply@jobaps.com.  Please add @jobaps.com and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page and clicking on the link 'last notice sent' for the respective recruitment.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box NoReply@jobaps.com are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions, please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Angelica Cuevas, HR Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

(510) 271-5154 or email Angelica.Cuevas@acgov.org

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.