Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There are eight anticipated vacancies at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation. 

Examples of Duties:

A Community Mental Health Technician -Behavioral Health provides direct nursing care to psychiatric patients in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) and in-patient behavioral health unit at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation; 

Provides personal hygiene including, but not limited to showers, bed baths, shaving, nail care, hair care, oral care and denture care;

Cares for personal need items such as eyeglasses, hearing aide, canes, wheelchairs and other adaptive devices;

Assists patients in meeting nutritional needs including passing and collecting diet trays and nourishments, setting up trays and adaptive feeding equipment and feeding or assisting as necessary;

Monitors, documents and reports intake and output (I&O);

Performs specimen collection, 12 Lead ECG and glucose level testing utilizing a glucometer;

Obtains vital signs and notifies supervisor of changes;

Leads patient activity group under the direct supervision of a RN;

Transfers and transports patients utilizing appropriate equipment;

Performs range of motion (ROM) for both upper and lower extremities; assists with ambulation;

Identifies changes in condition of skin, cognitive functioning or behavior and notifies supervisor;

Responds appropriately to life threatening emergencies;

Monitors stock supplies and notifies supervisor to order replacements;

Maintains a clean unit environment.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and two (2) years of experience in in-patient or outpatient behavioral health care.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Incumbent must complete Preventing and Managing Crisis Situations (PMCS) yearly.

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements. 

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

Subjects of Examination: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Interviewing

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in obtaining information from individuals through structured conversations. These questions require you to apply the principles, practices, and techniques of effective interviewing to hypothetical interviewing situations. Included are questions that present a problem arising from an interviewing situation, and you must choose the most appropriate course of action to take.

2. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

3. Public health issues & practices

These questions test for knowledge of significant public health problems and strategies for promoting and protecting the public health. Topics may cover such areas as immunization programs, disease vectors, sexually transmitted diseases, disease surveillance, epidemiology, public education, disease reporting and control.

4. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic. 

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.