Health Science Specialist - Infection Preventionist

Summary

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

Duties

• Duties include but not limited to: Participates in the ongoing operations of the Medical Center's Infection Prevention and Control Program, working with Infectious Disease physicians and others as appropriate to develop guidelines, actions items and data collection procedures. In addition, the incumbent 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 (MC) to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. Participates in the development of innovative approaches to implementing and assessing the efficacy of programs for the MC designed to prevent hospital-associated infections. Examples of such projects are 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 programs for the MC designed to prevent hospital-associated infections. Examples of such projects are the influenza immunization program, hand hygiene campaigns, construction risk assessment, and the needlestick prevention program. Meets with several MC Committees and teams to discuss pertinent laboratory findings, 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. Institutes appropriate isolation procedures. Provide infection control consultation at the Medical Center, Community Living Center (CLC), Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and other outpatient points of care environments. This includes the review of microbiology laboratory data and the prompt reporting of significant results (both within the Medical Center, to VA Central Office, oversight agencies and to local public health authorities, as appropriate). Implements developed surveillance techniques to track and predict the occurrence of Hospital associated infections. Educates staff regarding the potential for transmission of identified pathogens. Identifies patients requiring isolation, places patients in appropriate category isolation. Recommends the use of isolation procedures in accordance with MC and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines. Educates staff regarding isolation techniques and their relevance to the transmission of infection. 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. Surveys the Medical Center, Community Living Center (CLC), Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and other outpatient points of care environments for potential foci of infection. Identifies outbreaks of nosocomial infection and conducts outbreak investigations. Develops and maintains electronic records of nosocomial infections the MC. Notes case clustering and identifies unusual pathogens independently. Communicates with HES peers regarding the occurrence of hospital associated infections in the CC. Participates in the gathering and recording of data on current practices, equipment uses, or clinical findings requested by appropriate authorities at VA Medical Center, including but not limited to, VA Central Office (VACO) or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Provides knowledge, direction and support through educational programs, training, and consultation regarding the complex issues surrounding the safe provision of care of patients with blood-borne infectious diseases, including HIV infection. Synthesizes currently available data and, through continuing studies, provides additional data relevant to these issues. Provides professional consultative support to the medical, nursing, and ancillary staff of the MC regarding clinical research projects in the field of hospital epidemiology; assists researchers with study design, data collection, management, and analysis pertinent to the conduct of epidemiological studies. Designs techniques to be used in evaluating the efficacy of educational, prevention, and surveillance programs, and advises the Hospital Epidemiologist accordingly, through the use of program review, observation, and user feedback. Collects and tracks colonization and infection data through passive and active surveillance, using electronic tools, microbiology records, chart review, rounds, and multidisciplinary communication. Prepares handouts for house staff and other trainees as needed to clarify or reinforce Infection Prevention and Control policies or procedures. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/24/2026. 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 at the time the degree was obtained. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Manages and Organizes Information Analytical Thinking Database Administration Technical Documentation Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) 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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13062041. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/24/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit