Health Science Specialist

Summary This position is located in the Infection Prevention Department reporting to Manager, Infection Prevention. The incumbent of this position is responsible for a high-profile Infection Prevention and Control Program with interaction within all the Medical Center service lines and with institutional oversight for various accreditation, regulatory, agency, and local public health liaison activities. Responsibilities THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Major Duties: The incumbent directs the development, organization, implementation, and assessment of the efficacy of programs related to hospital infection control, including educational programs, prevention programs, and surveillance programs in both clinical and all public areas. Participates in the ongoing operations of the Medical Centers Infection Prevention and Control Program, working with infectious disease physicians and others as appropriate to develop guidelines, actions items and data collection procedures. Responsible for the detection, prevention, and prediction of nosocomial infections in the medical center. In addition, the incumbent collaborates with others in the design, conduct and analysis of other epidemiological studies. Performs preliminary evaluations to determine the nature of unusual healthcare associated infection problems, to assess the magnitude and gravity of the problem and to determine control measures to be taken. Reviews and recommends products for use in cleaning and disinfection of equipment and environmental surfaces. Assists in the development of criteria for identifying infections and specific isolation/precautions needed for containment of infections. Implements developed surveillance techniques to track and predict the occurrence of nosocomial infections. Independently gathers data on healthcare associated infections and assembles it for presentation including graphic display and analysis based on up-to-date infection prevention and control practice. Obtains cultures of environment when epidemiologic data suggests a possible role of equipment or physical surroundings in the spread of infection. Obtains or recommends obtaining cultures on employees who may be responsible for spread of an infectious agent, or who may have become carriers of agents through contact with an infected patient. Conducts literature searches on pertinent infection prevention and control problems and contributes to the development of the Infection Prevention and Control policies for VA Medical Center. Performs all duties as assigned. Work Schedule: M-F (8am – 4:30pm) Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation A full transcript must be submitted with your application to verify you meet the Basic Education Requirement Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications Individual Occupational Requirements (Basic Education Requirements) Possess a Bachelors or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position. This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home at the time the degree was obtained. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) AND For GS-12: Possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level of (GS-11) in Federal service. Specialized experience is possessing of medical concepts, principles, and practices of a wide range of medical disciplines, including those of epidemiology, infectious diseases, medical microbiology, serology, immunology, statistics, and public health practice in order to perform the specialized role of infection control practitioner; drawing tentative conclusions from microbiological laboratory data and constructing graphs or tables to present epidemiologic data. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Critical Thinking Infection Control Systems Thinking IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Requirements: The position requires walking for completion of a variety of inspections/rounds related to survey readiness and general isolation and policy adherence observations. The position requires completion of inspections/rounds in non-finished construction areas to survey readiness, adherence to appropriate infection prevention controls, and assess areas for occupancy. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. There is no educational substitution at this GS-12 grade level. NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov). Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.