The New Mexico VA Healthcare Network is recruiting for a Health Science Specialist in the Quality and Patient Safety Service. The incumbent will perform a variety of duties including but not limited to infection prevention: surveillance, interpretation of data, design of interventions to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), outbreak investigations, infectious disease exposure investigations, and education on infection prevention & control (IP&C) topics.

Duties

Duties include but not limited to: Conduct process surveillance to further identify potential risks for disease transmission by collecting and analyzing data and using this information to develop interventions to prevent infection. Reviews all infection prevention & control (IP&C) related policies and procedures on a continual basis in order to maintain accuracy, completeness, and compliance with the current standards and regulations. Initiate subcommittees and work groups to address more complex issues in need of intensive, interdisciplinary consideration. Performs Environmental Rounds on a routine basis to evaluate IP&C issues in patient care areas and facilitate necessary changes to provide for a safer environment. Provide education on IP&C issues for clinical staff members, administrative staff, and volunteers on a routine basis. Report require analysis of epidemiological data, interventions, evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions, and plans for follow-up. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: Available. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Science Specialist/PD139030 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/09/2024. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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. 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: apply epidemiological and infectious disease transmission principles, theories, and methodologies; conduct epidemiological studies and investigations; and maintain data records and files. OR, Education: Successfully completed three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR, Combination: Have a combination of experience and education as described above that equates to one year of experience. My percentage of the required education plus my percentage of the required experience equal one hundred percent. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: ClericalCustomer ServiceResearch 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. Preferred Experience: Infection control or epidemiology. National Certification in Infection Control preferred. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the position are ordinary. Mobility is required to gather data in various clinical settings, including travel to all divisions and community-based outpatient clinics covered by NMVAHCS. Long periods of standing, bending, and twisting 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Raymond G Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1501 San Pedro Drive, Southeast Albuquerque, NM 87108 US
• Name: Myira Ramirez
• Phone: 310-478-3711
• Email: [email protected]