Exam Bulletin - Psychiatric Technician (Safety)

State of California

Exam Code: EX-3096

Examination Plans Included:

  • PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY) - Open

Final Filing Date: Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Classification Details

PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY): $3,845.00 - $5,882.00 per Month

View the PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY) classification specification.

Application Instructions

This is not a timed examination. If you request a Reasonable Accommodation, your account will be locked and you will not be able to proceed with the examination until the request is processed.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Who Should Apply:

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

  • PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY) - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

    3096

For PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY), once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

  • EX-03096

How To Apply:

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

Special Testing Arrangements:

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

Minimum Qualifications

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

00108253 - PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY)

Possession of a valid license to practice as a Psychiatric Technician issued by the BVNPTE. (Applicants who are within four months of completing the Psychiatric Technician curriculum accredited by the BVNPTE will be admitted to the examination, but they must secure this license before they will be eligible for appointment.)
Drug Testing Requirement

Applicants for positions in this class are required to pass a drug-screening test. Testing of current employees who are applicants in an examination or who are transferring is permitted only if the person does not have a current appointment to a class for which drug testing is a requirement.

Position Description

00108253 - PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY)

This is the journey level in this series. Incumbents work under general supervision and, in addition to their custody responsibilities, provide a basic level of general behavioral and psychiatric nursing care and are expected through their attitude, knowledge, and performance to facilitate the rehabilitation of forensic clients, patients, or inmates. Incumbents may assist in the training of Psychiatric Technician Trainees and other ancillary staff.

Special Personal Characteristics

An interest and a willingness to work at developmental centers, State hospitals, and correctional facilities or psychiatric outpatient clinics in the Department of Corrections; understanding of the behavior of forensic clients', patients', or inmates' emotional stability; patience; tolerance; tact; alertness; neat personal appearance; and hearing and vision required for successful job performance.

Special Physical Characteristics

Possession and maintenance of sufficient strength, agility, and endurance to perform during physically, mentally, and emotionally stressful and emergency situations encountered on the job without endangering the health and well being of the incumbent, fellow employees, forensic clients, patients, inmates, or the public.

Examination Information

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Component OrderComponent TypeComponent DuePercentage of Final Score
1Online ExamContinuous100%

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:
  1. Custody procedures, and public and property protection policies
  2. Fundamentals of nursing care, general behavioral and psychiatric procedures, forensic client, patient, or inmate behavior and mental health principles and techniques involved in the care and treatment of individual or groups of developmentally or mentally disordered forensic clients, patients, or inmates
  3. Current first-aid methods
  4. Medical terminology
  5. Pharmacology
  6. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
  7. Management Assaultive Behavior techniques
  8. Hospital procedures.
Ability to:
  1. Learn and apply sound judgment for situations including the protection of persons and property
  2. Apply basic nursing knowledge, skills, and attitudes
  3. Establish effective therapeutic relationships with developmentally or mentally disordered forensic clients, patients, or inmates
  4. Recognize symptoms requiring medical or psychiatric attention
  5. Think and act quickly in emergencies
  6. Work with a treatment team to provide occupational, recreational, vocational, and educational therapy programs for forensic clients, patients, or inmates
  7. Follow directions
  8. Keep appropriate records
  9. Develop clear and concise reports of incidents
  10. Analyze situations accurately and take effective action

Eligible List Information

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN (SAFETY) Classification will be established for:

  • State of California

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Resulting Eligibility List(s) will be used to fill vacancies throughout the State of California.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

  • A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
  • A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

Psychiatric Technician (Safety) Training and Experience Examination Preview

Instructions:
Rate your experience performing specific job-related tasks.

Respond to each of the following statements by indicating how the statement applies to you. You are required to respond to every question.

In responding to each statement, you may refer to your WORK EXPERIENCE, whether paid or as an intern or volunteer, your EDUCATION, and/or FORMAL TRAINING COURSES you have completed.

PLEASE NOTE: This examination is designed to gain an overall assessment of your education, training, and experience as it directly relates to the duties and the knowledge, skills and abilities required for this position. Possession of specific education is not required to be successful in this examination; however, such achievements may substitute for desirable levels of experience. All components of this examination have been carefully validated by tying them directly to job requirements and documenting their relevance to the position.

Tasks
  1. Performing basic nursing care (e.g., taking and recording vital signs, recording weight/height, documenting client’s status and symptoms, medication administration) as needed for health record keeping.
  2. Assisting with the containment of aggressive, or potentially aggressive, patient/inmate to maintain the safety and security of other patients/inmates, staff, and the facility.
  3. Responding to medical emergencies (e.g., self-harm, violent behaviors, seizures, choking, cardiac issues) by providing emergency care (e.g., CPR, First Aid, Heimlich Maneuver, therapeutic communication).
  4. Documenting patient/inmate behaviors and interactions through daily observations to record responses to treatment.
  5. Facilitating therapeutic activities (e.g., music, recreational, vocational, educational, occupational, group sessions) for patients/inmates to help maintain mental and physical well-being.
  6. Conducting inspections in patient/inmate living areas to identify and report security concerns and maintain the safety of the facility.
  7. Completing required medication forms (e.g., missing and/or expired medication, refill requests, medication refusals, noting physician orders) to address patient/inmate medication needs and update records.
  8. Gathering subjective and objective information from patient/inmate and treatment team to determine appropriate coping strategies for encouraging patient/inmate self-reliance in daily activities.
  9. Communicating hazardous/unsafe concerns (e.g., abuse, security breaches, needed repairs, unusual activities) to appropriate staff to maintain the safety of the facility and patients/inmates.
  10. Maintaining confidentiality of patient/inmate records to ensure compliance with policies and legal regulations (e.g., HIPAA, privacy requirements).

Testing Departments

  • State of California

Contact Information

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

State of California
CalCareer Service Center
1810 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: (866) 844-8671
CalCareer@calhr.ca.gov

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Drug Free Statement

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free State work place. Any applicant for State employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective, because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing civil service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

General Information

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

State of California reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.
Application Methods:
Electronic (Your CalCareer Account)