The Health Science Specialist position is in Infection Prevention department to the Chief of Health Care Quality services at the VA Bedford Healthcare System in the Bedford Massachusetts location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

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, Community- Based Outpatient Clinics and Residential Housing. Duties include but are not limited to: 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 Center's Infection Prevention and Control Program,. Works with Infectious Disease nurses, physicians, and others as appropriate to develop guidelines, actions items and data collection procedures. Responsible for analysis to date to aid in the detection, prevention, and prediction of nosocomial infections in the MC. Collaborates with others in the design, conduct and analysis of other epidemiological studies. Participates in activities to assist in the compliance of the Medical Center to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogens Standard by reviewing data and ensuring standards are met across service lines. Participates in the development of innovative and educational approaches to implementing and assessing the efficacy of programmatic design for the MC to prevent hospital-associated infections. Participates in projects in the flow and auditing of the influenza immunization program, hand hygiene campaigns, construction risk assessment, and the needlestick prevention program. Develops innovative approaches to implementing and assessing the efficacy of other programs as assigned. Meets with several MC Committees and teams to report pertinent laboratory trends, their clinical significance, and necessary control measures, as well as other infection control concerns, and when unusual problems in Infection Control develop and presents feedback after appropriate action has been taken. Provides non-clinical, administrative infection control operational assistance at the Medical Center, Community Living Center (CLC), Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and other outpatient points of care environments. Reviews of microbiology trends and the prompt reporting of significant trends (both within the Medical Center, to VA Central Office, oversight agencies and to local public health authorities, as appropriate). 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. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Science Specialist/PD037640 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. This position is a NAGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/05/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Education:Bachelor's 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(external link) at the time the degree was obtained. For positions at grades GS-12 and above involved in professional work in grants administration, qualifying experience is considered to be experience in grants administration in areas of science, medical and healthcare fields similar or related to the work of the position. Such experience must have involved professional judgment of a kind and level of difficulty and responsibility essential to successful performance in the position to be filled.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: professional knowledge of, and skill in applying, a wide range of concepts, principles, or methodologies of a medical, healthcare, or clinical laboratory scientific discipline sufficient to: conduct a variety of complex specialized tests in an area of the laboratory or specific discipline; perform highly specialized assignments of an advanced nature and considerable difficulty. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Infection ControlOral CommunicationOrganizational Performance ImprovementStrategic Thinking 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary although some slight physical effort may be required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Bedford Healthcare System 200 Springs Road Bedford, MA 01730 US
• Name: Elizabeth Nowak
• Phone: 401-273-7100 X14335
• Email: [email protected]