Clinical Nurse Specialist, Critical Care (2323) - Department of Public Health

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status.  

• Application Opening – July 25, 2025 
• Application Deadline – The application filing will close on or after August 10, 2025. 
• Salary: $208,390 - $300,560 Annually 
• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service 
• Recruitment ID: CBT-2323-H00166 

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 multiple divisions - the San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration. 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.  

The CNS will be an integral part of the leadership team in Critical Care, which includes both a MICU and a SICU with approximately 40 beds.  

To apply please submit an online application by clicking the “Apply Now” button and filling one out.

Application notes: 

• Our e-mail communications may come from more than one department so please make sure your email is set to accept messages from all of us at this link.    
• Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment therefore, it is their responsibility to contact the Analyst if they update their email address.   
• 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. 

Nurse Specialist, Critical Care, evaluates individual nursing care needs of selected patients in the area of specialty; determines what types of nursing care would best meet those needs; designs a program of nursing care for each patient and works out practical methods of implementing this care after staff consultation and discussion; participates in the formulation of discharge plans; making provision for any necessary post discharge nursing care. 
 
The essential duties include, but are not limited to the following: 

1. Provides direct nursing care to individuals or groups of patients where in-depth or specialized nursing care is required; in the psychiatric specialty leads in individual and group therapy sessions. 
2. Gives professional advice and consultation services to registered nurses and public health nurses in specialized nursing care; defines objectives and principles of nursing in the area of specialty and assists nurses in developing their professional skills; may provide clinical supervision and education to professional and non-professional nursing staff. 
3. Participates in formulating standards, policies and procedures for the specialized nursing plan, and relates it to other disciplines within the total treatment program; as well as to other health organizations and to the community. 
4. Facilitates, directs, and in some instances initiates referrals of patients and families to appropriate professional personnel and community resources. 
5. Participates in clinical investigations and studies in the area of nursing specialty. 
6. In public health nursing, is responsible for on-going comprehensive study of needs for nursing and health care services in the community and assists with designing and implementing plans for meeting such needs. 

The Clinical Nurse Specialist performs other related duties as assigned/required. 

Minimum Qualifications 

• License and Certification: 
  • Registered Nurse License: Possession of a valid California Registered Nurse (RN) license issued by the California Board of Registered Nursing; AND 
  • Clinical Nurse Specialist Certificate: Possession of a valid Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) certificate issued by the California Board of Registered Nursing. 
• Specialty Area, Critical Care:  
  • EDUCATION: Possession of a Master's degree in Nursing with an emphasis in critical care, physiological nursing or a closely related field; AND 
  • EXPERIENCE: One (1) year (equivalent to 2,000 hours) of nursing experience in an acute care facility 

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

Verification of experience, education, licensure and possession of valid certifications/certificates may be collected at any time during or after the recruitment and selection process (i.e. Higher education, professional licenses, certifications) 

One-year fulltime employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).

Important Note: Please make sure it is absolutely clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications. Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. Please be aware that any misrepresentation of this information may disqualify you from this recruitment or future job opportunities. 

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

Training and Experience Evaluation: (Weight: 100%) 
Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in a Training and Experience Evaluation that is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas that have been identified as critical for satisfactory performance in this position.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the Training and Experience exam in order to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score 

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions. 

Certification 

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the Rule of Ten Scores. 

Eligible List/Score Report: 
Once you pass the exam, you will be placed onto an eligible list and given a score and a rank. For more information, visit https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/process/ 

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

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.   

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

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Stephen Lee at [email protected] or (628) 271-6838.  

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging. 

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.