Unit Clerk (1428) - San Francisco 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 : August 29, 2025.

• Application Deadline : Application filing will close on or after September 5, 2025.

• Salary: $78,390 to $95,238 Annually

• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service

• Recruitment ID: CBT-1428-H00173

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 Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Services operates in conjunction with SFHN and provides a range of mental health and substance use treatment services.

Under supervision, performs clerical and receptionist duties on a hospital ward or outpatient clinic, provides support to medical and nursing staff, and acts as liaison between patient and family, medical, nursing and support staff and other hospital departments.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

When assigned to an Inpatient Unit:

• Transposes physicians' and nurses' orders and comments from notes to patients' medical history files.
• Assists in admission, transfer and discharge of patients by processing clerical forms and notifying persons or other departments concerned.
• Greets and directs visitors, physicians and hospital personnel.
• Assists patients by delivering flowers, menus and mail.
• Places telephone calls for patients.
• Orders personal items from storage upon request.
• Orders newspapers, and performs personal services for patients.
• Receives, attaches, prepares and completes medical forms and cards.
• Answers phones and places calls according to direction or need.
• Performs other related duties as assigned/required.

When assigned to an Outpatient Clinical Setting:

• Schedules appointments, acts as receptionist, refers patients to appropriate clinics and locations.
• Acts as liaison between medical and nursing staff and patients.
• Requests and checks medical record charts; processes clinic forms.
• Documents patient visits by inputting information into a computer and updating demographic information.
• Receives, attaches, prepares and completes medical forms and cards.
• Answers phones and places calls according to direction or need.
• Performs other related duties as assigned/required.

For all assignments:

• Depending on the position, required work shifts may include days, part-time, evenings, nights, weekends, and/or holidays.

Working Conditions: Some positions may require employees to work directly with individuals within locked jails and psychiatric facilities, the homeless population and individuals who may have or may be carriers of infectious/communicable diseases.

EXPERIENCE

• Six (6) months* of medical clerical experience in a hospital unit, doctor’s office or equivalent.

  • This experience must have been gained within the last three (3) years.

• Substitution: Completion of a recognized Certified Unit Clerk/Coordinator Program or completion of a recognized Medical Assistant/Clerical Training Program (Health Care Technology Program) may substitute for the required experience.

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

*Six months of full-time employment is equivalent to 1,000 hours of work experience (1,000 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.

Multiple Choice Examination: (Weight: 100%)
Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in a Multiple Choice Examination that is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to: knowledge of medical and pharmaceutical terminology, ability to prepare documents, forms, medical charts and requisitions, decision-making ability, ability to maintain inventory and order supplies, and human relations ability.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the Multiple Choice Examination 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 the list 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 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

How to apply:

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted online at careers.sf.gov.

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. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.

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.

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, Juan Pablo Gonzalez at [email protected] or (628) 271-7243.

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.