Infection Preventionist 4

University of California, San Francisco • San Francisco, CA

6d

About The Position

The Department of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention provides epidemiologic analysis based on surveillance results, risk assessments, communicable disease exposure follow-up, outbreak investigations, and other data. The department directs interventions at patient, location, and service levels where needs are identified and risk-reduction or practice changes are likely to have lasting success. It educates personnel, patients, and visitors on their roles in infection prevention; establishes infection-rate thresholds for surgical procedures and device-related infections that indicate when departmental action is needed; and ensures regulatory, accreditation, and legal compliance related to infection prevention.

The Infection Preventionist 4 applies extensive knowledge of infection control and prevention practices and advanced professional concepts to substantial projects of large scope and complexity. The role provides leadership, professional stewardship, quality improvement, operational infection prevention, research evaluation, and infection prevention and control informatics. The position rotates and adheres to after-hours on-call coverage.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience in infection control.
• Advanced knowledge of clinical and operational infection control issues, including policies, regulatory requirements, surveillance and investigation methods, data collection, epidemiology, microbiology, patient care, and related nursing issues.
• In-depth knowledge of infection control data management, analysis, research, reporting, and documentation methods, and ability to contribute to studies, investigations, reports, presentations, and development of infection control protocols and policies.
• Advanced organizational and project management skills, including ability to lead a team, prioritize tasks, and complete projects on schedule.
• Advanced interpersonal skills and ability to develop informational materials, provide education, training, and resources, and build positive working relationships with patients, families, employees, and outside personnel.
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills, including ability to collaborate across teams, communicate complex clinical information clearly and concisely, and present research findings, reports, and analyses.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with management and staff across departments and provide counsel and guidance on complex issues involving functionality, clinical quality, efficiency, and infection control program development.
• Bachelor's degree in a health-related field and/or equivalent combination of experience and training.
• Current Registered Nurse license or comparable license in a related health care field, such as CLS/MT(ASC), D.P.M., or M.D.
• Current Certification in Infection Control (CIC).
• Completion of an advanced hospital epidemiology course and meeting or exceeding all competencies of ICP III.
• Competency in Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint; ability to enter, manipulate, and extract database information; and knowledge of basic descriptive statistics such as chi-square and frequency analysis.
• Ability to pass a background check.

Nice To Haves

• At least 5 years of infection control experience, preferably in an academic medical center.
• Master's degree in a health-related field.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with leaders and colleagues to align infection prevention program goals with organizational strategic goals; seek and implement improvements; analyze complex problems using systems thinking and data; lead projects with measurable outcomes; manage meetings; communicate effectively across the UCSF community; and mentor infection prevention colleagues.
• Promote professional stewardship and accountability by ensuring evidence-based practices and communicating performance expectations and methods for meeting infection prevention and control goals; uphold ethical and regulatory standards; quantify program costs and savings; consider population health; facilitate safe communication and care transfers across settings; and advocate for realistic, incremental changes.
• Implement quality improvement and performance improvement strategies, reduce variation, improve outcomes, support patient safety, use local and external data to guide decisions, and assess risks and implement evidence-based prevention strategies.
• Conduct proactive and reactive surveillance, identify infection risks, implement interventions, and mitigate risks; conduct cluster or epidemic investigations; interpret rates, ratios, statistics, and benchmarks; assess educational needs and develop and deliver education; participate in interdisciplinary clinical-centered rounds; support proper cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization; manage outbreaks; and monitor infection prevention impacts of emerging technologies.
• Independently review research articles, evaluate research design and evidence, identify bias, draw conclusions, and implement changes based on valid evidence.
• Design technological workflows to make surveillance more efficient and effective; recognize when data exceed thresholds that may indicate an epidemiologically important pattern or cluster; and identify expertise, prioritize issues, and use technology efficiently.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Rotate and adhere to after-hours on-call coverage.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior