Public Health Nurse

Job Description

GENERAL JOB DESCRIPTION: Under general supervision, the 2830 Public Health Nurse performs professional nursing duties.

Essential duties include but are not limited to all or some of the following:

1. Renders public health nursing services in the field of maternal, child and adult health; conducts home visits for birthing and postpartum people and families; interprets treatment plans and assists clients in understanding; provides health education related to nutritional needs, hygiene and safety measures; guides clients after delivery regarding postpartum and newborn care and explains how to  access emergency medical assistance; assesses the health, safety, and development of newborn infants and supports clients within infant care.
2. Renders direct nursing services to vulnerable populations including children, adults, and older adults with disabilities, special health care needs, clients with chronic illness, mental health, and/or substance use disorder; assists priority populations with access to medical care as needed; links/refers cases to appropriate human services, community, and safety net resources; maintains supervision of cases and keeps appropriate records of nursing and other services rendered.
3. Renders nursing services and care in connection with the control of infections and non-infectious diseases; interviews cases and those suspected of active infections in their homes, in the assigned district or at the district health center; interprets medical advice in regard to care and treatment and instructs patients how to assist themselves.
4. Applies concepts of community organization and collective impact strategies when working with communities to meet their health needs. May utilize community engagement and quality improvement strategies to improve health outcomes for clients and communities.
5. Performs case finding in a variety of settings, maintains nursing documentation in the health record, and makes such information available to medical and administrative staff as needed.
6. Provides coordination and facilitation of community health and public health nursing services to assigned clients in accordance with program guidelines. Ensure follow up assessment and linkage to services from programs.
7. Conducts comprehensive health, psychosocial, educational, and environmental assessments/screenings in the home, within and outside San Francisco City and County.
8. Provides care coordination of complex medical and health needs of these population including accessing and coordinating services identified in the individualized service plan.
9. Prepares and maintains individual client records in individual charts; uses required forms for referrals, consents, and narrative and statistical records; prepares various statistical information and reports related to client outcomes.
10. Assists with health promotion/risk reduction intervention and provides health education, screening, advocacy, and counseling for clients of all ages, including children and adolescents from marginalized populations. Utilizes harm reduction principles in education and interventions.
11. Utilizes a race equity framework and lens to address health and racial inequities in populations served by the Department of Public Health.

Please note that incumbents in this classification may be required to perform duties as listed in the class specification, which can be found on DHR’s website: https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications (Required)

1. LICENSE: Possession of a valid permanent/temporary California license as a Registered Nurse issued by the California Board of Registered Nursing; AND
2. CERTIFICATE: Possession of a valid Public Health Nurse Certificate issued by the California State Department of Health; AND
3. EXPERIENCE: One (1) year (equivalent to 2,000 hours*) of verifiable experience as a Registered Nurse in an acute hospital, primary care facility, home health agency, and/or public health agency within the last five (5) years; AND
4. LICENSE*: Possession of a valid current California Driver’s License issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. (Possession of a valid California Driver’s License is required at the time of appointment.)

Please provide proof of your licenses and certifications by uploading them to your application.

Note on Experience: One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).

SPECIAL CONDITIONS: Special conditions associated with the position(s) to be filled may differ from the standard minimum qualifications associated with this classification. Examples of possible special conditions include Pediatrics Experience and Bilingual Proficiency. Positions with bilingual special conditions can only be filed by eligible candidates who pass the bilingual proficiency assessment. Applicants should indicate the language(s) in which they claim proficiency and must clearly indicate work experience in the application.

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. 

*Applicants without a valid California Driver License may apply and participate in the selection process but will have to obtain the license prior to appointment.

Additional Information

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%)

The Training and Evaluation is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to:  

• Knowledge of: Modern nursing techniques and principles of public health nursing; community resources available to persons in need of health services; epidemiological principles; public health concepts; case management; socio-behavioral concepts; effects of illness on individuals and on home environmental conditions; mechanical, chemical and biological effects of substances on the health of individuals, families, and communities.
• Ability to: Work with the general public; plan, organize and execute public health nursing routines on own initiative and responsibility; apply time management practices; communicate effectively orally and in writing; and prepare and maintain related professional and technical reports and case histories.

Candidates will be required to respond to the training and experience evaluation must submit the completed questionnaire as directed to have it evaluated. Responses cannot be changed once submitted. Candidates will be evaluated based on their responses.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the training and experience evaluation to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

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.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights: 

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/.]  

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at https://sf.gov/departments/civil-service-commission 

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:  

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Where to Apply  

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.  

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account. 

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110. 

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues. 

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from [email protected] that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.  

Your application will be active for the duration of the eligible period listed above. You do not need to reapply during this period. 

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Diane Zhou at [email protected] or (628) 271- 6703. 

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.