Long Term Care Nurse (Open & Promotional)

Job Description:

Long Term Care Nurse (Open & Promotional)

Description

Description

San Mateo County Health's San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC) is seeking experienced Long Term Care Nurses to join our on-campus skilled nursing unit. Long Term Care Nurses provide ongoing professional nursing care to patients with acute and chronic medical, physical, and mental health conditions who require skilled nursing services.

This is an excellent opportunity for experienced nurses who are comfortable working independently, coordinating patient care, and providing leadership and direction to nursing and paraprofessional staff. Long Term Care Nurses play an important role in maintaining continuity of care and supporting safe, effective staffing across shifts. Depending on experience and assignment, nurses may serve as a team leader or alternate Charge Nurse and provide coverage during staff absences and other operational needs.

Under direction, Long Term Care Nurses perform a full range of professional nursing duties requiring a high degree of clinical judgment. Responsibilities include assessing patients, developing and implementing nursing care plans, administering medications and treatments, monitoring changes in patient condition, coordinating care with interdisciplinary teams, and educating patients and families. Nurses may also organize and assign work, provide lead direction to nursing and paraprofessional staff, and support the orientation and training of new team members.

Located at 222 West 39th Avenue in San Mateo, California, San Mateo Medical Center is an integrated healthcare delivery system focused on serving the needs of the underserved within the County's system of care. SMMC includes a fully accredited acute care hospital, a 32-bed on-campus skilled nursing unit, and 11 outpatient clinics serving communities throughout San Mateo County.

Current Opportunities

There is currently one 0.6 FTE PM/Night Shift vacancy

The ideal candidate will be an experienced and adaptable registered nurse who is prepared to independently provide skilled nursing care and step into a leadership role when needed. The strongest candidates will:

• Have at least two years of paid nursing experience in a skilled nursing, long-term care, or comparable complex patient care setting.
• Be fully competent to independently perform a broad range of professional nursing duties and procedures requiring a high degree of clinical judgment.
• Have experience serving as a Charge Nurse, team leader, relief lead, or in another role involving the coordination of nursing staff and patient care.
• Demonstrate the ability to organize and assign work and provide lead direction to nursing and paraprofessional personnel.
• Be comfortable responding to changes in patient condition, prioritizing competing clinical needs, and making sound decisions during evening, night, or variable shifts.
• Demonstrate strong knowledge of skilled nursing and long-term care practices, including medication and treatment administration, care planning, patient assessment, and continuity of care.
• Work effectively with interdisciplinary teams and communicate clearly with patients, families, providers, and staff.
• Be dependable, flexible, and willing to support coverage needs across assigned shifts to help maintain safe and consistent patient care.

NOTE: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Complete patient assessments and triage, record patient histories, symptoms and observations.
• Establish and implement nursing care plans for each patient through assessment, development, activation and evaluation.
• Participate in patient case conferences and rounds.
• Organize, assign and supervise duties and responsibilities of other staff members as a team leader; orient and teach new staff members of the nursing team and students.
• Perform nursing care following prescribed rules, policies, protocol and procedures.
• Identify problems, assist in data gathering, propose solutions and participate in evaluation of quality assurance issues.
• Work with patient and their families to provide in-hospital and after-hospital follow-up through teaching and referral.
• Participate in educational programs to maintain level of expertise.
• Participate in non-clinical assignments, which may include maintaining records, preparing reports and/or serving on special committees.
• Maintain records and prepare reports.
• Operate a variety of medical machinery and equipment.
• Administer treatment and medications.
• Maintain knowledge of outpatient resources.
• Develop discharge plans for patients.
• Perform related duties as assigned and as required by assigned work setting, as described below.

Duties for nurses in this series may also include the following:

• Provide continuing care to patients with chronic physical or mental disorders confined in a skilled nursing facility.
• Assess needs of patients and develop plan of care based on assessment.
• Check vital signs, give injections and perform catheterization and Point of Care Testing.
• Wound care.
• Manage pain.
• Room patients.
• Manage inventory.
• Operate a variety of medical machinery and equipment.
• Intensive care and evaluation of patients on an almost continuous basis.
• Monitor patients in restraint and seclusion and maintain patient safety.
• Determine medical or psychiatric emergency need and provide intervention.
• Recognize symptoms of major psychiatric diagnosis.
• Educate patients in preparation for discharge to lower level of care.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

License/Certification:
Possession of a California license as a Registered Nurse or equivalent and a valid Basic Life Support (BLS) certification

.

Knowledge of:

• Nurse Practice Act.
• Current nursing and related medical theory and skills necessary to administer nursing care within assigned clinical setting.
• Safety and infection control practices.
• Clinical systems, supplies and equipment.

Skill/Ability to :

• Nurse Practice Act.
• Perform nursing procedures required for assigned clinical setting.
• Comply with clinical procedures and policies.
• Maintain professional nurse-patient relationships.
• Communicate with and educate patients, families, and the public who come from a diverse background.
• Work harmoniously with other personnel.
• Follow safety practices.
• Assist in the instruction of other nursing and paraprofessional personnel.
• Bend, kneel and squat as needed.
• Occasionally use upper extremities to exert force to push and pull patients/objects weighing up to 50 pounds or more.
• Work in a busy environment.

Application/Examination

Open & Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, extra-help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.

The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in the County of San Mateo, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.

IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.

Tentative Recruitment Timeline
Final Filing Date: Friday, August 7, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST
Application Screening: Week of August 10, 2026
Panel Interviews: Week of August 24, 2026

About the County

San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.

The County of San Mateo, as an employer, is committed to advancing equity to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. We seek to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community, and we encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.

The County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer.




Talent Acquisition Contact: Priscilla Bermudez (072426) (Skilled Nursing Care Nurse - F027)

Salary:

$157,081.60 - $185,619.20 Annually