Infection Prevention and Control Professional (IPCP) RN

<p>The Infection Prevention and Control Professional (IPCP) RN is responsible for implementing the Infection Control Program (ICP) and MDRO program, ensuring high-quality practices to prevent and control the transmission of infection across all sites and services, outlined in VHA directive 1131. The ICP is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, system-wide program designed to monitor, prevent, and control infections and their adverse effects on patients, employees, trainees, volunteers, and visitors.</p><h3>Major Duties</h3><p>The IPC RN serves as a subject matter expert in epidemiology, infection surveillance, outbreak management, and regulatory compliance while promoting a culture of patient safety and quality care throughout the VA Healthcare System. Duties and Responsibilities include: Reviews and analyzes existing regulations, standards, and guidelines issued by professional organizations and regulatory agencies to ensure that all medical center Infection Prevention and Control programs maintain full compliance with applicable requirements. Applies epidemiologic principles and statistical methods, including risk stratification, to identify target populations, analyze trends and risk factors, and design, implement, and evaluate effective infection prevention and control strategies. Uses a systematic, evidence-based approach to surveillance to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of infection prevention and control strategies, ensuring alignment with the organization's goals and objectives. Identifies, develops, and implements infection prevention and control strategies across key focus areas, including hand hygiene; cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization; direct and indirect patient care practices; therapeutic and diagnostic procedures and devices; isolation precautions and patient placement; environmental hazards; safe use of patient care products and medical equipment; construction and renovation activities; and preparedness for surges of patients with communicable diseases. Performs medical record reviews, data abstraction, and data collection to accurately identify hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and assess adherence to established HAI prevention measures. Performs routine audits of professional practices to assess compliance with established infection prevention and control standards and identify opportunities for improvement. Uses appropriate statistical techniques to describe data, calculate rates, and critically evaluate the significance of findings against internal and external benchmarks. Applies these insights to develop, implement, and evaluate targeted infection prevention strategies. Reviews and analyzes current scientific literature and publications, recommending new or updated practices and procedures based on the most current, evidence-based infection prevention and control strategies. Uses surveillance data to identify the need for practice changes and to propose targeted intervention or performance-improvement projects that enhance infection prevention and control outcomes. Provides expert consultation to administration, committees, managers, and staff on matters related to infection prevention and control, offering guidance on best practices, regulatory requirements, and evidence-based strategies. Understands adult learning principles, designs effective educational programs, and demonstrates strong presentation skills. Provides orientation to new employees, medical students, and residents. Monitors laboratory reports to identify patients with positive multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) for immediate review and investigation, initiates appropriate isolation precautions as needed, and conducts surveillance and investigations using epidemiological principles to prevent and control transmission risks. Collaborates with local and state health departments. Review and update policies and procedures. Serves on medical center committees to consult and educate about current infection prevention and control data. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory Work Schedule: Full-time; 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized</p><h3>Requirements</h3>U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.<h3>Education</h3>IMPORTANT: 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/.