Senior Public Health Nurse - Public Health

Senior Public Health Nurses oversee and provide a variety of public health nursing services in a home, group or clinic setting, or in a specific program office, in such areas as prevention and treatment of communicable disease; child health care, growth and development; high-risk infants; home care guidance of the ill, injured and aged; pre- and postnatal care; immunization and inoculation; and, public and community health care resources. Incumbents work under general supervision of a Supervising Public Health Nurse or other professional nurse, or a higher-level program manager with medical direction as needed from a physician. The focus of duties is on serving as a program specialist and advisor, providing assistance to other staff, and performing the more difficult and complex public health nursing duties; Typical assignments of this class include the immunization assistance program, maternal/child health programs, disease control, and elderly assistance.Professional public health nursing principles, procedures and techniquesState of California laws and regulations on nursing practicesNormal course of illnesses and disabilities, and their treatmentFamily planning methodsPre-natal, pregnancy and post-natal nutrition and medical careInfant and child care, growth and development, including common illnessesCase management techniques and the care and treatment of high risk, physically impaired and developmentally disabled infants and childrenSubstance abuse symptoms and intervention techniquesMental illness symptoms and intervention techniquesSymptoms, prevention, reporting requirements and treatment of child and adult abuse and neglectNormal and abnormal family dynamicsTechniques of organizing and conducting classes and training sessions on a variety of health subjectsIndividual and group counseling techniques applicable to public health nursingCommon public and community health care resourcesSocial and economic factors influencing individual and community healthDiffering cultural, religious and social attitudes about hygiene, family planning, child care, and health treatmentProper handling and administering of biologicalsProper handling of contaminated itemsCauses, control, detection, prevention and treatment of common communicable diseases, environmentally based illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases, and food and water-borne illnessesProcedures for conducting epidemiological investigationsStandard medical record keepingAbility to:Effectively communicate with and gain the cooperation of clients, and potential clients, of various social, cultural, economic and educational backgroundsWork cooperatively with other health and social service providersEffectively conduct interviews of patients and families to gain information to evaluate their medical situationDetermine and apply effective means of intervening in cases of mental illness and substance abuseEffectively conduct and participate in in-service education and trainingEffectively demonstrate and teach care of infants, children, the disabled and chronically ill to individuals in their homesEffectively teach public group classesGain cooperation of patients and other individuals in investigating and treating communicable diseases and environmentally-based illnessesTolerate unsanitary homesLearn and comply with laws, rules, regulations, protocols, and procedures, including security requirements, applicable to the work unitRecognize and avoid or defuse potentially dangerous situations and hostile peopleAccurately evaluate cases to determine caseload prioritiesPlan routes and schedule in-home visits to make most effective use of timeOperate slide and movie projectors, and use other teaching aidsMaintain patient confidentialityEmployment QualificationsMinimum Qualifications Either: One year of experience as a Public Health Nurse in Sacramento County service. Or: Two years of experience as a licensed/certified public health nurse performing public health nursing duties. Note:Experience requirements are stated as full-time work; to convert part-time to full-time equivalency: 173.6 = 21.7 days = 1 work month.Note: The word "experience" referenced in the minimum qualifications means full-time paid experience unless the job announcement states that volunteer experience is acceptable. Part-time paid experience may be accumulated and pro-rated to meet the total experience requirements. If the minimum qualifications include an educational or certificate/license requirement, applicants must submit proof of requirements with the application. For guidelines on submitting acceptable proof of educational requirements, please click here or speak to someone in our office before the final filing or cut-off date listed in this notice.All persons appointed to these classes must possess and maintain a current Registered Nurse license and public health nurse specialty certificate issued by the state of California. Some positions in the classes of Public Health Nurse and Senior Public Health Nurse may require the ability to communicate fluently in a language other than English, in addition to English When required, the special skills may be used in the performance of typical tasks shown in the "Example of Duties" in this class specification. In addition, incumbents translate and interpret using standard English and a language other than standard English; and/or act as a consultant to others regarding the needs and problems presented by individuals of different languages and cultural backgrounds. The Civil Service Commission approved the use of selective certification for special skills for the classes of Public Health Nurse and Senior Public Health Nurse on May 12, 1989.Application and Testing InformationQualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. All applicants must complete and submit an online County of Sacramento employment application by 5:00 PM on the posted cut-off date. Employment applications and all documentation requested in this announcement must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. Your application should highlight all relevant education, training, and experience, and clearly indicate how you meet the minimum qualifications for the position as of the cut-off date. Application information must be current, concise and related to the requirements in this job announcement. Duplicate and incomplete applications will be disqualified.Supplemental Questionnaires must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. The supplemental questions are designed to elicit specific information regarding a candidate's experience, education, and training. Responses should be consistent with the information on your application and are subject to verification. For many individuals, it is more efficient to develop responses to the supplemental questions in a word processing document and then paste them into the final document to be submitted. Changes or corrections to your Supplemental Questionnaire cannot be made once your application packet has been submitted.