Psychiatric Technician (2305) - Citywide - H00038

San Francisco Department of Public Health

place San Francisco, 94154

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Nursing, Other Behavioral, Mental, or Healthcare Field, Psychology

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Supervision

local_atm $92,092 - $111,930 a year

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PTO

Recruitment: REF6963H

Published: February 25, 2026

No recruiter found for this role, please contact the Department of Human Resources for assistance

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Department: Public Health

Job class:
2305-Psychiatric Technician

Salary range: $92,092.00 - $111,930.00
Role type: Permanent Civil Service What does this mean?

Hours: Full-time

Exam type:
Continuous

Rule:
Rule of the List

List type:
Entrance

About:
The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status.
This is a Citywide Exam posting. Your application to this posting is an application to take a citywide exam.
Application Opening - January 10, 2022
Application Deadline: Continuous
Appointment Type : Permanent Civil Service
Recruitment ID: CCT-2305- H00038
San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city, on the forefront of economic growth & innovation, urban development, arts & entertainment, as well as social issues & change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our City's commitment to heighten the quality of life for the diverse population of San Franciscans and residents of the greater Bay Area. Our employees play an important role not only in making our City what it is today, but also in shaping the future of San Francisco.
The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. SFDPH strives to achieve its mission through the work of multiple divisions - the San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers. The Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Services operates in conjunction with SFHN and provides a range of mental health and substance use treatment services.
NOTE: Part-time, evenings, nights, weekends, rotating, and/or holiday shifts may be required. **

Role description

Under the direction of a licensed physician, registered nurse, or clinical supervisor, the Psychiatric Technician performs professional therapeutic procedures in the care and treatment of individuals struggling with severe mental illness.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES:
Gives a basic level of general and psychiatric nursing care to mentally ill patients; works with an interdisciplinary treatment team to provide an overall treatment program for the patient;
Under supervision, may perform nursing procedures such as administering medications and treatments, including oral medications, injections, and enemas, taking and charting vital signs;
Observes patients’ condition and behavior; reports significant changes to supervisor or physician and documents care and/or treatments in nursing progress notes on patients; prepares patients and cares for them during treatment; gives first aid as needed;
Helps to create a safe and therapeutic environment for patients and recognizes early symptoms/signs of escalation and at risk behavior; uses appropriate interventions including crisis intervention, verbal de-escalation, and alerting other team members;
Implements therapeutic activities and documents patient participation; assists rehabilitation therapists in occupational and recreational therapies for patients;
Motivates patients to develop independence in performing activities of daily living; assists patients with feeding, clothing, toileting, activities of daily living; ensure patients follow safe practices that protect patients and others from personal injury;
Receives visitors and encourages their interest in the patients' wellbeing and treatment plan; escorts patients on the facility premises and to and from the community; orders supplies as needed; keeps records; participates in orientation and in-service training programs;
Participates in the discharge process
The 2305 Psychiatric Technician performs other related duties as required.
Nature of Positions: Positions may require considerable physical effort in controlling or restraining violent clients, with continuous exposure to conditions which may result in accidents or injuries or other uncomfortable situations.

How to qualify

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
LICENSE : Possession of a valid Psychiatric Technicians license issued by the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians.

️ IMPORTANT : License status must be " Current " according to search.dca.ca.gov . Be sure to include your license number in your application as failure to do so may result in application rejection.

REQUIRED: Requirement/Provision Possession of a valid Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certificat e issued by the American Heart Association is required as a provision to employment for all positions.
Special Condition(s): In addition to the listed minimum qualifications, some position(s) may require special conditions, including but not limited to, bilingual fluency in a variety of languages depending upon the department's bilingual needs. Only those eligible candidates who pass the bilingual proficiency test will be considered for bilingual positions. Applicants must indicate on the application form the language(s) in which they claim proficiency.

Verification of Education and Experience:
Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education or experience verification is required, information on how to verify education and experience requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/ .
Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedures :
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:
Training and Experience Evaluation (Weight: 100%): Candidates will be prompted to complete a supplemental questionnaire as part of the online employment application. The supplemental questionnaire is designed to measure knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas that have been identified as critical for satisfactory performance in this position:
Knowledge of: nursing care, general and psychiatric procedures; patient behavior, basic physio-psychopathology and treatment modalities involved in the care and treatment of individual or groups of mentally ill patients; legal requirements; administrative and clerical procedures; current first-aid methods; medical terminology; pharmacology.
Ability and Skill to: Learn and apply general psychiatric knowledge., skills and attitudes; perform basic nursing procedures; establish effective therapeutic relationships with patients; carry out occupational and recreational therapy programs for patients; follow directions; keep appropriate records; analyze situations accurately and take effective action; control or restrain violent patients, with continuous exposure to conditions which may result in accidents, injuries or other disagreeable situations.
All relevant experience, education and/or training must be included in the application to be reviewed during the scoring process. Candidate responses on the Training & Experience Evaluation cannot be changed once submitted. Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score on the Supplemental Questionnaire.
Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.
Certification

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the Rule of List.

Eligible List/Score Report :
A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.
Candidate names will remain on the list for a maximum period of 12 months . Candidates that are not selected and expire off the list may re-apply.
To find Departments which use this classification, please see the city’s Position Counts by Job Codes and Departments.