Infection Preventionist I - Surveillance

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A Brief Overview
Responsible for infection prevention and control components including conducting surveillance, assisting with investigations of outbreaks, education of healthcare providers and consultation with healthcare providers and other professionals. Infection Preventionists I will have a primary focus on infection prevention and control surveillance of hospital acquired infections to include chart review, data abstraction and data collection and application of the National Health and Safety Network (NHSN) definitions. In addition, knowledge and skills of other infection prevention and control practices will be developed, such as education program design, policy and procedure review, construction, high level disinfection and sterilization and participation in quality performance improvement activities to promote patient safety.
What you will do

• 1. Conducts infection control surveillance and program activities. (40%)
• Reviews daily microbiology and virology reports for culture results that may represent healthcare acquired infections (HAI)
• Reviews patient charts for evidence of HAIs and applies NHSN definitions to identify and report HAIs through the use of an electronic surveillance system
• Documents appropriate information in patient electronic record
• Assists with investigations of clusters of infections, outbreaks, unusual infections or exposures as these events arise and participates in epidemiologic studies as needed
• Reviews construction plans and designs and completes ICRAs as needed
• Reports "reportable diseases" to the appropriate public health departments and responds to public health department inquiries as needed
• 2. Perform HAI prevention activities. (20%)
• Collaborates with all disciplines of healthcare professionals to drive performance improvement and impact quality and patient safety
• Participates in apparent cause analysis to identify modifiable risk factors and other infection prevention opportunities
• Serves as a member of the Infection Prevention and Control Committee
• Conducts weekly environmental rounding as assigned
• 3. Education and consultation with healthcare providers (HCPs). (25%)
• Consults with HCPs to answer infection prevention and control questions or concerns from staff, patients, and/or families
• Develops and conducts mandatory education as well as new employee orientation sessions, in-services and other educational sessions
• Advises staff on appropriate isolation practices and use of personal protective equipment
• 4. Maintains compliance with regulatory requirements (15%)
• Assists with the review of infection prevention and control policies and procedures
• Assists with risk assessments to identify gaps in infection prevention and control and areas of priority
• Participates in Joint Commission, Department of Health and other regulatory readiness
• 5.Other duties as assigned
• Periodic responsibility for responding to urgent infection prevention questions after hours or on weekends. 24/7 on call expectation is to provide phone support for urgent issues on a rotational basis with other members of the IPC team

Education Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree Healthcare field of study Required
• Master's Degree Preferred

Experience Qualifications

• At least two (2) years as a healthcare professional Preferred

Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrates strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Self-directed, motivated, flexible
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks.
• Demonstrates organizational skills.
• Understands basic surveillance and epidemiological data

Licenses and Certifications

• Certification in Infection Control (CIC) - Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology - within 24 months - Required
• Registered Nurse (Pennsylvania) - Pennsylvania State Licensing Board - upon hire - Preferred or
• Licensed Pharmacist (Pennsylvania) - Pennsylvania State Licensing Board - upon hire - Preferred or
• Medical Technologist (MT) - American Society Clinical Pathologists - upon hire - Preferred

To carry out its mission, CHOP is committed to supporting the health of our patients, families, workforce, and global community. As a condition of employment, CHOP employees who work in patient care buildings or who have patient facing responsibilities must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive an annual influenza vaccine. Learn more.
Employees may request exemptions for valid religious and medical reasons. Start dates may be delayed until candidates are immunized or exemption requests are reviewed.
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