Psychiatric Technician

• Participates as a member of a treatment team in developing and implementing individual and group treatment programs for patients.
• Provides professional general and psychiatric nursing care to patients; monitors patient activities; assists patients to follow prescribed treatment plans.
• Observes patients' physical conditions and behavior; evaluates patient progress; reports significant changes to professional staff; records clinical notes on patients.
• Assists patients with feeding, habit training; keeps living areas clean; protects patients from personal injury; motivates patients to develop self-reliance in daily living.
• Monitors and administers medications and treatment, including hypodermic injections, catheterizations, enemas and oral medications; takes and charts temperatures, pulse and respiration; assists families and care providers in monitoring and administering medications.
• Admits and orients patients to inpatient facilities; acts as Court liaison through and admission process.
• Counsels family; explains patient's illness, medications and treatment; assists family to prepare for patient's discharge.
• Orders supplies, keeps records, and prepares reports.
• Participates in in-service training programs.

License: Completion of an accredited training program for Psychiatric Technician is required for entrance to testing. Possession of a valid license as a Psychiatric Technician issued by the Board of Vocational Nurse and Psychiatric Technician examiners of the State of California is required prior to employment.

Special Requirement: The Psychiatric Health Facility will perform a background investigation on prospective employees to include criminal background information from State and Federal information banks.

Basic concepts of mental illness and mental health; the physical, emotional and social needs of emotionally disordered individuals; fundamentals of psychiatric terminology; principles and techniques involved in the care and treatment of individual or groups of mentally ill, or emotionally disturbed patients.

Apply routine psychiatric nursing care to mentally ill or emotionally disturbed patients; recognize symptoms indicative of adverse patient reactions; analyze situations accurately and take effective action; participate in treatment programs for patients; understand and follow written and oral directions; express ideas clearly and concisely, orally and in writing; establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Mobility-Occasional operation of computers, sitting for long periods of time and driving; frequent walking, pushing/pulling and bending/squatting; Lifting-Ability to constantly lift 5 pounds or less and frequently up to 70 pounds; Vision-Constant overall vision, color/depth and eye hand coordination and peripheral vision; frequent reading and close-up work; Dexterity-Constant repetitive motion, writing, holding, reaching, grasping and writing; Hearing/Talking-Constant hearing normal speech, talking in person, talking on the telephone/radio; Emotional/Special Conditions-Constant decision making, public contact, concentration, working weekends/nights or overtime, exposure to trauma, grief and death; frequent working alone; Environment Conditions-Constant exposure to noise, dirt, dust, smoke, fumes, poor ventilation, cold, heat and hazardous materials;  Special Requirement-Constant exposure to assaultive behavior.

San Joaquin County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, upon request, will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Employees hired into this classification are members of a bargaining unit which is represented by SEIU Local 1021. 

Health Insurance:  San Joaquin County provides employees with a choice of three health plans:  a Kaiser Plan, a Select Plan, and a Premier Plan.  Employees pay a portion of the cost of the premium. Dependent coverage is also available. 

Dental Insurance:  The County provides employees with a choice of two dental plans:  Delta Dental and United Health Care-Select Managed Care Direct Compensation Plan.  There is no cost for employee only coverage in either plan; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

Vision Insurance:  The County provides vision coverage through Vision Service Plan (VSP).  There is no cost for employee only coverage; dependent coverage is available at the employee’s expense.

For more detailed information on the County’s benefits program, visit our website at www.sjgov.org under Human Resources/Employee Benefits. 

Life Insurance:  The County provides eligible employees with life insurance coverage as follows: 

 1 but less than 3 years of continuous service:                   $1,000
 3 but less than 5 years of continuous service:                   $3,000
 5 but less than 10 years of continuous service:                 $5,000
10 years of continuous service or more:                           $10,000 

Employee may purchase additional term life insurance at the group rate.

125 Flexible Benefits Plan:  This is a voluntary program that allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to pay for health-related expenses that are not paid by a medical, dental or vision plan (Health Flexible Spending Account $2550 annual limit with a $500 carry over); and dependent care costs (Dependent Care Assistance Plan $5000 annual limit). 

Retirement Plan:  Employees of the County are covered by the County Retirement Law of 1937.  Please visit the San Joaquin County Employees’ Retirement Association (SJCERA) at www.sjcera.org for more information.  NOTE:  If you are receiving a retirement allowance from another California county covered by the County Employees’ Retirement Act of 1937 or from any governmental agency covered by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), you are advised to contact the Retirement Officer of the Retirement Plan from which you retired to determine what effect employment in San Joaquin County would have on your retirement allowance.

Deferred Compensation:  The County maintains a deferred compensation plan under Section 457 of the IRS code. You may annually contribute $18,000 or 100% of your includible compensation, whichever is less.  Individuals age 50 or older may contribute to their plan, up to $24,000. The Roth IRA (after tax) is also now available.

Vacation:  Maximum earned vacation is 10 days each year up to 3 years; 15 days after 3 years; 20 days after 10 years; and 23 days after 20 years.

Holidays:  Effective July 1, 2017, all civil service status employees earn 14 paid holidays each year.  Please see the appopriate MOU for details regarding holidays, accruals, use, and cashability of accrued time.

Sick Leave:  12 working days of sick leave annually with unlimited accumulation.  Sick leave incentive:  An employee is eligible to receive eight hours administrative leave if the leave balance equals at least one- half of the cumulative amount that the employee is eligible to accrue.  The employee must also be on payroll during the entire calendar year.

Bereavement Leave:  3 days of paid leave for the death of qualifying family member, 2 additional days of accrued leave for death of employee’s spouse, domestic partner, parent or child.

Merit Salary Increase:  New employees will receive the starting salary, which is the first step of the salary range.  After employees serve 52 weeks (2080 hours) on each step of the range, they are eligible for a merit increase to the next step.

Job Sharing:  Employees may agree to job-share a position, subject to approval by a Department Head and the Director of Human Resources.

Educational Reimbursement Program:  Eligible employees may be reimbursed for career-related course work up to a maximum of $850 per fiscal year.  Eligible employees enrolled in an approved four (4) year College or University academic program may be reimbursed up to $800 per semester for a maximum of $1600 per fiscal year.

Parking Supplemental Downtown Stockton:  The County contributes up to $20 per pay period for employees who pay for parking and are assigned to work in the Downtown Core Area.

School Activities:  Employees may take up to 40 hours per year, but not more than eight (8) hours per month, to participate in their children’s school activities.