UT-Harris County Psychiatric Center

Nursing Procedures

 

Blue Card Psychiatric Technicians

Nursing

Harris County Psychiatric Center: Office Administration

Procedure to provide an opportunity for qualified psychiatric technicians to augment regular nursing staff

blue card, psych tech, staffing

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

 

Date of Last Review:  4/07

 

To provide an opportunity for qualified psychiatric technicians to augment the regular nursing staff.

 

Procedure:

 

Blue Card psychiatric technicians are those psychiatric technicians approved to work on an as-needed basis for supplementary staffing.  Any psychiatric technician working Blue Card must fulfill his/her regularly scheduled obligations in order to qualify for the Blue Card rate of pay, and must be employed as a full-time (100%) employee.

 

The following conditions shall apply to all Blue Card psychiatric technicians:

 

1.      A specific number of shifts shall not be guaranteed.

 

2.      The 40-hour work obligation cannot include the use of benefit time.

 

3.      Teachers Retirement System (TRS) will be deducted from Blue Card pay.

 

4.      Each Blue Card psychiatric technician shall make his/her availability known to Staffing and/or assigned manager.

 

5.      Blue Card psychiatric technicians must notify the Staffing Office 24 hours in advance on weekdays and 48 hours in advance on weekends and holidays of any absences from Blue Card shifts.

 

6.      Blue Card psychiatric technicians may be removed from the list by the department.

 

Related Standards: