Career Opportunity

Therapy Aide (2554) - Dept. of Public Health - (127960)

Recruitment: RTF0127959-01006693

Published: February 10, 2023

Accepting applications until: February 10, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

The Department of Public Health is accepting applications in class 2554 Therapy Aide.

• Application Opening: Wednesday, January 11, 2023
• Application Deadline: Amended - Friday, February 10, 2023
• Compensation: $83,200.00-$101,192.00 Yearly
• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service
• Exam Type: Entrance
• Recruitment ID: CBT-2554-127960
• Work hours: Variable; may include days, evenings, and alternating weekends.
• Employment Type: Full-Time

*Positions may work at other locations such as LHH, etc. when needed.

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. SFDPH strives to achieve its mission through the work of two main Divisions - the San Francisco Health Network and Population Health.

The San Francisco Health Network is the City's only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers.

DPH statement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the diversity of its workforce. All employees are required to participate in the Department of Public Health's work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity through: 

• Commitment to providing exceptional care and services to all residents of the City and County of San Francisco service population, with heightened awareness of responsiveness to racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse members of the service population and the DPH workforce. 
• Desire and commitment to lead and participate in anti-racism, racial justice, and equity work that improves quality of patient care and employee experiences; along with the commitment and fortitude to drive change in these areas. 
• Desire to work with, relate to, serve, and support a diverse service population and workforce. 
• Commitment to health equity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up to date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, @smartrecruiters.com, and @careers.sf.gov).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email 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.  

Role description

Under immediate supervision, the Therapy Aide assists licensed clinical staff (e.g. Registered Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, and Speech Language Pathologist) in the administration of rehabilitative treatments. The essential functions include:

• Preparing and maintaining therapy equipment and treatment areas;
• Observing patients and reporting unusual conditions/behaviors to the appropriate clinical staff;
• Transporting patients to and from treatment areas;
• Preparing and maintaining records/supplies;

The 2554 Therapy Aide also performs other related duties as assigned.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications

Experience: One (1) year of experience providing direct and indirect patient/resident care equivalent to the duties described above in a licensed health agency, acute care hospital, rehabilitation unit, home health agency, outpatient clinic or long-term care facility.

Substitution: 

Current enrollment in a Physical or Occupational Therapy program may substitute for six (6) months of the required experience described above;

OR

Completion of at least fifteen (15) semester units of the required prerequisite courses for admission into a Physical or Occupational Therapy program may substitute for six (6) months of the required experience described above.

Note: Prerequisite courses for admission into a Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy school are defined as:

• Inorganic Chemistry
• General Physics
• Human or Comparative Anatomy
• Human Physiology
• General Microbiology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Statistics
• Exercise Physiology
• Motor Learning or Motor Control
• Biomedical Ethics
• Developmental Psychology or Motor Development
• Neuroscience

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). Any overtime hours that you work above 40 hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Special Condition: The above minimum qualifications reflect special conditions associated with the position(s) to be filled. They may differ from the standard minimum qualifications associated with this classification.

• Ability to lift 50 pounds (Successful applicants are expected to perform this ability throughout the probationary and employment period).

Basic Life Support for Professional Rescuer (BLS) Certificate Requirement/Provision: Possession of a valid Basic Life Support for Professional Rescuer (BLS) Certificate issued by the American Heart Association is required as a provision to employment for all positions. Eligibles who do not possess such a certification may participate in this examination process and be appointed to a position(s) but will be required to obtain the certificate within two (2) weeks of hire date and maintain validity throughout length of employment. A photocopy of the valid Basic Life Support for Professional Rescuer (BLS) Certificate must be provided to the appropriate supervisor of the appointment within the allotted time frame. Failure to demonstrate/show proof of possession of valid certification within two (2) weeks of hire date and throughout length of employment may result in dismissal and/or termination of employment.

Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

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.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) (Weight: Qualifying): Applicants will be required to complete a Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) at any point in the recruitment process. The MQSQ will be emailed to the email address listed on the applicant’s online job application. Applicants must complete and submit the MQSQ as directed in the time frame indicated to continue in the recruitment process. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications for this position. All statements made on MQSQ are subject to verification and must be consistent with the online application.

Supplemental Questionnaire Examination (Weight: 100%): Qualified candidates will be sent a supplemental questionnaire exam that must be completed by the set date. Candidates will be evaluated on their relative knowledge, skill, and ability levels in job-related areas which may include, but not be limited to: Knowledge of proper methods of lifting and moving patients; Ability and skill to effectively work with persons from diverse backgrounds with respect and courtesy; Ability and skill to follow oral and written instructions; Ability and skill to comply with common hospital safety practices and procedures in the acute care, outpatient, and skilled nursing setting; Ability and skill to learn to administer simple therapeutic procedures under the direction of a therapist; Ability to communicate professionally and abide by organization's code of conduct; Ability to maintain, sanitize, and replace equipment and supplies commonly used in the rehabilitation setting; Knowledge of office procedures and programs such as using Microsoft Excel and Words, answering phones, checking in patients, and scheduling follow-up appointments; and Ability to demonstrate time management and prioritize tasks. A passing score must be achieved on the Supplemental Questionnaire to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List. Candidate responses on the Supplemental Questionnaire cannot be changed once submitted. Candidates will be placed in rank order according to their final score on the Supplemental Questionnaire.

Language Proficiency Exam: For positions requiring bilingual fluency, candidates deemed qualified who meet the special language condition must pass a departmentally approved language proficiency exam prior to appointment. Only those eligible candidates who pass the bilingual proficiency test will be considered for the bilingual position. Applicants must indicate on the application form the language(s) in which they claim proficiency.

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.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of six (6) months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification: The certification rule used for the eligible list resulting from this selection procedure will be Rule of Three (3) Scores. Additional position-specific selection mechanisms may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

What else should I know?

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 http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules.

Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: At the City and County of San Francisco, we share a commitment to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community. Each member of our organization is responsible and accountable for what they say and do to make San Francisco an inclusive and equitable place to live and work by employing fair and just practices to and for all.

Licensure/Certification/Registration: Valid licensure/certification/registration as a requirement to perform the job must be kept current throughout length of employment. Failure to demonstrate/show proof of possession of required valid licensure/certification/registration may result in dismissal and/or termination of employment. Valid Licensure: If appointed, eligibles possessing interim permits or temporary Licenses must present full and unrestricted Licenses prior to completion of the probationary period.

ICARE: Willingness to uphold/abide by ZSFG’s ICARE (I-Introduce, C-Connect, A-Ask, R-Respond, E-Exit) philosophy for employee and patient interactions: https://zuckerbergsanfranciscogeneral.org/about-us/.

Electronic Health Record (EHR): The Department of Public Health (DPH) utilizes a unified Electronic Health Record (EHR) system and DPH employees must demonstrate competency in the use of the system that is appropriate for their classification as a condition of employment.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Some positions in the Department of Public Health will require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), including but not limited to gloves, gowns, eye and face protection, and face-fitting respirators. The requirement for the use of PPE may come on short or no notice. Facial hair or any condition that interferes with a face-fitting respirator’s seal (i.e., weakens the seal between the respirator and the wearer’s bare skin) is not permitted when face-fitting respirators are worn, including during initial or periodic respirator fit-testing. Employees who choose not to shave and do not have either American Disabilities Act (ADA) or Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Accommodations do not have the right to alternate work assignments or the option of using a loose-fitting Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) in place of a Face Fitting Respirator.

Medical Examination/Drug Testing: Prior to appointment, at the Department's expense, applicants may be required to take a tuberculosis (TB) screening test, a medical examination and/or drug test. Medical Examination Information

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 Workers
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact Herbert Chau at herbert.chau@sfdph.org or (628) 271-6707.

All of your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

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.