NURSE PRACTITIONER / PSYCHIATRIC MH - EMERGENCY APPOINTMENT HOMELESSNESS

Position/Program Information

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT:

OPEN COMPETITIVE- EMERGENCY

FILING DATES:

Applications will be accepted from Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 9:00 AM (PT)

This opportunity will remain open until the needs of the position are met

EXAM NUMBER:

b5121A-EA

The LA County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency for homelessness , and the County is working to revise and expand our response to help all who are affected. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to help us in the mission of addressing issues like housing, mental health, and substance use. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.

The Department of Mental Health is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner vacancies related to the homelessness crisis.

Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.

During your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighted 100%.

Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

DEFINITION:
A Nurse Practitioner is an advanced practice registered nurse who possesses the advanced education, knowledge, clinical skills, and expertise beyond their initial professional registered nurse preparation to provide proficient higher-level health care in their area of specialization, who works in collaboration with physicians and other members of the health care team following established standardized procedures and, within written guidelines and regulations, provides complete physical examinations, review of systems, diagnosis, psychosocial assessments, and management of health-illness needs in primary health care or other specialty areas.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:
Positions allocable to this class are assigned principal responsibility for patient management based on accepted practices, including but not limited to, reviewing medical histories and performing physical exams, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests, responding to changes in patient status, and providing needed prescriptions, evaluations, referrals, consultations, and treatments as permitted under the standardized procedure. Incumbents may provide home health services and Durable Medical Equipment, Department of Motor Vehicle evaluations, , physical therapy, and order specialized treatment. Nurse Practitioners may also provide health and wellness education, plan follow-up appointments, and engage in any approved procedures for which the Nurse Practitioner has completed the necessary proctoring and demonstrated competency within the institution privileging policies for clinical practice and procedural activity.

The Nurse Practitioner is responsible for the patient throughout the course of the treatment, and, with the patient and/or family, creates the plan of care, considering the impact of social determinants of health that may influence the patient’s health and wellness, and may make referrals to support in the community as needed. The Nurse Practitioner effectively communicates the plan of care to patients and/or family, and ensures in their absence appropriate clinical coverage has been arranged for patient management and communication. Incumbents may review the use and effects of psychotropic and non-psychotropic medications and other controlled substances, as well as the characteristics of mental and emotional disorders.

Nurse Practitioners function in a variety of settings, including but not limited to primary health care, specialty care, hospital-based practice, rehabilitation, public health, and mental health.

As professional health providers, Nurse Practitioners are responsible for seeking expert opinion whenever the incumbent determines that a case falls outside the scope authorized by standardized procedures, their experience, policies, or protocols. While the Nurse Practitioner plans and implements health care goals for patients, incumbents may refer the patient to physicians or other specialty providers for consultation.

Essential Job Functions

• Assumes ongoing responsibility for each patient from initial assessment to optimization, and ongoing care across the life span.
• Performs complete physical examinations, including interviewing patients to obtain complete medical histories as well as ordering, interpreting, and evaluating diagnostic tests and examinations.
• Diagnoses and treats acute, chronic, and episodic conditions within their scope and specialty including complications of otherwise routine processes such as pregnancy or childhood development.
• Establishes and documents the plan of care, incorporating patient and family input, maintenance, and prognosis in a timely manner. Ensures records of each case are detailed and complete.
• Initiates medication therapy as necessary and evaluates for effectiveness.
• Determines when the patient has recovered from the condition, or when the condition or the symptoms have been addressed, updates the electronic health record, and continues to provide care as appropriate.
• Assists in formulating and implementing protocols to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the clinical specialty/service.
• In collaboration with the multidisciplinary team, discharges inpatients in a timely and efficient manner and assists in coordinating patient transfers within and outside the County system, according to policy.
• Serves as a role model and resource person for staff and members of the multidisciplinary team, demonstrating professionalism, respect, and dignity toward staff, patients, and students.
• Demonstrates understanding and adherence of privacy, confidentiality, and security of Protected Health Information and other sensitive personal information.
• Demonstrates an understanding of and adherence to safety and infection control policies and procedures.
• Attends any required unit or agency-wide meeting as scheduled.
• Participates in developing meaningful quality measures; recognizes when policies, procedures, and practices need to be revised; initiates, monitors, and participates in quality improvement activities.
• Keeps informed of and follows all agency policies and procedures for prescription of controlled substances, psychiatric medications, and other specialized medications.
• Keeps informed of and adheres to guidelines and expectations for providers in assigned clinical specialty.

Requirements

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of an approved Master's level Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner's Program issued by an accredited* college or university.

LICENSES/CERTIFICATIONS REQUIRED :
APPLICANTS MUST POSSESS ALL OF THE LICENSES BELOW AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION.

• An active and current license to practice as a Registered Nurse issued by the California Board of Registered Nursing.
• An active and current Nurse Practitioner license issued by the State of California Board of Registered Nursing.
• An active and current Nurse Practitioner medication furnishing number issued by the State of California Board of Registered Nursing.
• An active and current Controlled Substance Registration certificate issued by the United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)**
• A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION:

The required licenses and certificates MUST be current and unrestricted: a provisional, conditional, probationary, temporary, expired, or restricted license and certificate will NOT be accepted.

** Applicant may still be hired even if applicant does not have DEA certificate at time of submission. In such situations, DEA certificate must be obtained within 60 days of employment. Failure to obtain the DEA certificate within the 60 days of employment will result in termination.

*In order to receive credit for any college or university course, or any type of college or university degree, you must include a legible copy of the official diploma or official transcripts from the accredited institution which shows the area of specialization with your application at the time of filing or within 15 calendar days of filing to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov

Official Transcript is defined as a transcript that bears the college seal and states "official and/or copy" issued by the school's Registrar Office. A printout of the transcripts from the school's website is NOT considered official and; therefore, will NOT be accepted and may result in your application being incomplete or rejected.

The legible copy of official Master's level certificate in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner's Program. Candidates whose educational certificate does not show the specialty must provide a written statement from their educational institution indicating the educational specialty on the university/college letterhead signed by an authorized university/school official.

*ACCREDITATION: Accredited institutions are those listed in the publications of regional, national or international accrediting agencies which are accepted by the Department of Human Resources. Publications such as American Universities and Colleges and International Handbook of Universities are acceptable references. Also acceptable, if appropriate, are degrees that have been evaluated and deemed to be equivalent to degrees from United States accredited institutions by an academic credential evaluation agency recognized by The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE).

PHYSICAL CLASS:
2 - Light: Light physical effort which may include occasional light lifting to a 10 pound limit, and some bending, stooping or squatting. Considerable walking may be involved.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT :

During your initial work period, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent appointment.

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION
Applications must be submitted online only and will be reviewed for interview consideration on an ongoing basis. If you have not been contacted within 60 days and the recruitment remains open or reopens for filing, we encourage you to submit a new application. This will allow you to reaffirm your interest and update any relevant information.

Applications must be filed online by clicking on the green "Apply" button located on the top right corner of the screen.

Applicants must complete and submit their online applications and upload required documents (e.g. Official Transcripts, Resume, etc.) as attachment(s) during application submission, or send by email to exams@dmh.lacounty.gov within 7 calendar days from date of application submission. Indicate the Exam Title on the subject line when sending required documents by email.

Fill out your application completely. The acceptance of your application will depend on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Selection Requirements. Provide any relevant education, training, and experience in the spaces provided so we can evaluate your qualifications for the job. For each job held, provide the name and address of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, and description of work performed. If your application is incomplete, it will be rejected.

Many important notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add anazari@dmh.lacounty.gov as well as noreply@governmentjobs.com and info@governmentjob.com to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notification from being filtered as span/junk/clutter mail.


You have the ability to opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive any email notification for any examination for which you apply with Los Angeles County. Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices.

Plan to submit your online application well in advance as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on govermmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty.gov you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER LANGUAGE Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT LIBRARIES For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.
NO SHARING USER ID AND PASSWORD All applicants must file their applications online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

DEPARTMENT CONTACT:
HR Examinations Unit: (213) 972-7034
HR Examinations Unit Email: exams@dmh.lacounty.gov
Analyst Contact Phone: Arineh Nazari (323) 705-4534
Analyst Contact Email: ANazari@dmh.lacounty.gov

ADA COORDINATOR PHONE: (213) 972-7034
TELETYPE PHONE : (800) 735-2922
CALIFORNIA RELAY SERVICES PHONES : (800) 735-2922

For detailed information, please click here

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• Los Angeles County

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