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Department of State Hospitals

Health system in San Bernardino County, CA

  • Hiring days
  • New grads welcome on 1 role
See 4 open roles
Department of State Hospitals photo

From 4 postings and nurse reviews · Employer research Sep 6, 2026Sources

For the Department of State Hospitals hiring team

3 nurses and nursing students on Nursing Mastery who want to work in California are open to offers for your roles.

  • Psych4 roles · 3 who fit

Is this your hospital?

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Free to claim. Check your page, then ask the people who fit to talk.

The short version

  1. You would care for a forensic and psychiatric population that some nurses find rewarding, with peers they often call supportive.

    For experienced nurses
    Sources
  2. You would hear that schedules can feel reasonable and somewhat flexible, then also hear about mandatory overtime in high-stress roles.

    For experienced nurses
    Sources
  3. You would find some room to move up, while many say promotions are slow, limited, and poorly communicated.

    For new grads
    Sources

Who it fits

Best fit

  • New grads: 1 of 4 roles welcomes new grads
  • Psych nurses: all 4 roles

Nursing here

Union representation

Union roles reported

From employer postings

What nurses say

Themes from public reviews

Summaries of published reviews, with the original sources.

coworkers and patient population
Staff often like supportive peers and find forensic/psychiatric work rewarding, while others describe nepotism and a toxic climate that hurts morale.
Sources
management
Reviews frequently call leadership poor, hypocritical, and unresponsive to feedback, with little accountability.
Sources
career growth
Some upward mobility exists, but many say promotions are slow, limited, and poorly communicated.
Sources
More review themes
work-life balance and overtime
Balance is described as reasonable with some schedule flexibility, offset by mandatory overtime and high-stress roles.
Sources
site ratings split
DSH overall is 3.7/5 (152 ratings, 61% would recommend); DSH-Napa is 2.6/5 (55 ratings, 43% would recommend).
Sources

The hard parts

What to ask

  • How is base pay set for the role, and which differentials apply?
  • Which shifts are open, and what are the weekend, holiday and call rules?
  • How long is orientation, and will I have one preceptor?
  • What is the usual patient load, and how often do nurses float?
  • Which hospital or site, and which unit, would I work on?

Common questions

Does Department of State Hospitals hire new grads?

1 of 4 roles welcomes new grads.

Which shifts are open?

Of the 4 roles with a stated shift, 4 are day shifts.

How do I apply?

Choose a role and press Apply. Your application comes to our team, we send it to Department of State Hospitals, and we tell you what happens next.

Roles from Department of State Hospitals

Department of State Hospitals

{"countryName":"United States","countryCode":"US","admin1Code":"California","admin2Code":"055","admin3Code":"","admin4Code":"","city":"","postalCode":"","streetAddress":"","latitude":38.48324,"longitude":-122.33442} · Health system employer

Licensed Vocational Nurse (Safety)

$5,082 - $6,361 per month

  • LVN
  • 8-⁠hour days
  • Registry Department

Department of State Hospitals

San Luis Obispo County, CA · Health system employer

Nurse Instructor

$9,476 - $11,864 a month

  • RN
  • Day shift
  • Tuition reimbursement

Department of State Hospitals

Fresno County, CA · Health system employer

Registered Nurse (Safety)

$9,510 - $11,335 a month

  • New grads welcomed
  • RN
  • Day shift

Department of State Hospitals

San Bernardino County, CA · Health system employer

Supervising Registered Nurse (Safety)

$11,074 - $13,867 a month

  • RN
  • Day shift

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From nurses, to nurses

Coming off orientation doesn't mean you stop asking for help. Find out who you can go to before the shift gets busy.

On finishing orientation

You can be nervous and still have a good first clinical. Show up ready to listen, and tell your instructor when you need help.

On the first day