• MQ and KSAO's have been updated. 
• Any editable section on the Exam Bulletin has been updated.

Please note that only online applications submitted through CalCareers will be accepted for this exam. This exam is accessible only online when applying for it electronically through CalCareers.

Upcoming Filing Cutoff Dates:

• 8/31/2026
• 10/30/2026
• 12/30/2026

Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) must be received by the filing date indicated above. Applications postmarked, personally delivered or received via interoffice mail after the filing date will be processed in the next group.

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):

• NURSE CONSULTANT III (SPECIALIST) - Open

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

Exam Code(s):

5005

For NURSE CONSULTANT III (SPECIALIST), once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-05005

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.

The following items must be submitted with your Examination/Employment Application form. Failure to submit these items may result in rejection of your application.

• Transcript (Official or Unofficial)

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.

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

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

License Requirement

Possession of a valid, active license as a registered nurse in California.

Applicants who do not meet this requirement may be admitted to the examination, but they must obtain the required license before appointment. 

AND

Education – Nursing Degree

Possession of a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing from an accredited institution.

For purposes of this requirement, an accredited institution is a school, college, university, or other institution of higher education that is accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state regulatory authority responsible for oversight of institutions of higher education.

The nursing program in which the degree was earned must have been accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education or approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing for purposes of nursing education and licensure at the time the degree was awarded.

A degree in nursing obtained outside the United States or its territories meets this requirement if it is evaluated as equivalent to a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing that meets the requirements described above, as determined by an approved credential evaluation service.

Applicants who obtained a baccalaureate degree in a health-related field before 1990 may substitute a California State Public Health Nurse Certificate for the baccalaureate in nursing (BSN). After 1990, the baccalaureate or higher degree must be in nursing as described above. 

AND 

Education -Master’s Degree

Possession of a master's degree in a health-related field such as nursing, public health, health care services, health care administration, or hospital administration from an accredited institution.

For purposes of this requirement, an accredited institution is a school, college, university, or other institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state regulatory authority responsible for oversight of institutions of higher education, or for a foreign institution, evaluated as equivalent by an approved credential evaluation service.

AND 

Registered Nursing Experience

Either I

Two years of experience performing the duties of a Nurse Consultant II in the California State Service.

Or II

Broad and extensive (at least five years) professional registered nursing experience, at least four years of which shall have been in an administrative, consultative, teaching, or supervisory capacity.

One year of health-related postmaster's graduate work, beyond degree requirements, may be substituted for one year of the required professional registered nursing experience, but may not substitute for the required four years in an administrative, consultative, teaching, or supervisory capacity.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Components that are due with your application will be scored and will count toward your final examination result. Failure to submit these items may result in disqualification or elimination from the examination.

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

The Training and Experience Evaluation examination is designed to elicit specific information regarding each candidate’s training and experience relative to the testing classification. Responses to the examination will be assessed based on pre-determined rating criteria. In appraising the relative qualifications of candidates, consideration will be given to the extent and type of pertinent training and experience over and above that which is required under “Minimum Qualifications”

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. Principles, techniques, methods, and procedures of current nursing practices
2. Epidemiology and methods of health promotion and disease prevention
3. Concepts and methods of communicable diseases
4. Philosophies and trends of nursing education
5. Principles and methods of consultation
6. Group process, problem solving, and conflict resolution
7. Research principles and methodology
8.  Roles, responsibilities, and interrelationships of the various health disciplines and health agencies

9. Functions of social and health agencies
10. Health care delivery systems
11. Social determinants of health affecting the population
12. Cultural and sociological patterns as they affect health programs
13. State and Federal laws, rules and regulations related to health services
14. The administration, organization, and trends in health care delivery systems
15. Techniques of program planning, development, monitoring, and evaluation
16. Methods of data mining and analysis, including the application of quality improvement methods and evidence-based models
17. Quality assurance principles and methodology, including the ability to develop recommendations based on findings
18. Program design, implementation, and management;
19. Problem-solving methods
20. Research principles and methodology;
21. Data-driven and evidence-based strategies
22. Current trends in the fields of population health and management, health care delivery systems, nursing education, and health care services policies and clinical standards
23. lnteragency and interdisciplinary relationships;
24. Health care needs of vulnerable, underserved, and diverse populations including physical and behavioral health
25. Skilled nursing needs of the aged, chronically ill, and persons with disabilities
26. Residential care facilities for children, youth, adults, and older adults
27. Pharmaceuticals and their side effects

Ability to:

1. Effectively provide consultation and technical assistance
2. Establish and maintain the confidence and cooperation of those personnel within the department and in other social and health agencies
3. Analyze situations accurately and use data-driven information to take effective action
4. Apply flexibility and collaboration in problem solving
5. Communicate effectively
6. Prepare reports
7. Provide and receive constructive feedback
8. Independently type and use basic computer programs
9. Research, interpret, and apply applicable federal and state statutes, regulations, and administrative policies governing health care programs and services
10. Read, write, and speak English proficiently.
11. Apply principles of administration of nursing and health care services in various administrative patterns
12. Assist administrators in planning community health programs
13. Facilitate and lead groups
14. Develop recommendations for quality improvement and service delivery
15. Manage complex projects independently
16. Apply current evidence-based practices, clinical standards, and corresponding technologies in delivering quality health care
17. Critically appraise complex issues and their impact on the department
18. Make sound program recommendations from valid data sources while adhering to the federal and state laws, rules, and regulations;
19. Collaborate and forge partnerships to improve care delivery

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the NURSE CONSULTANT III (SPECIALIST) Classification will be established for:

• Department of Health Care Services

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 24 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

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.

• Department of Health Care Services

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

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.

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.

Department of Health Care Services 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.