Infection Preventionist, Midtown Campus

University of Maryland Medical System•Baltimore, MD

About The Position

Under general supervision, the Infection Preventionist conducts nosocomial infection surveillance, analyzes data for trends, participates in outbreak investigations, provides infection-control education to staff, and maintains relevant policies. The role reviews patient records and laboratory reports, tracks and reports infections, investigates communicable-disease exposures, and works with clinical staff and hospital leadership to reduce infection transmission. It also supports patient safety initiatives and identifies and reports risks, adverse events, and near misses.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited School of Nursing, Medical Technology, or a related field, or equivalent.
Current Maryland licensure as a Registered Nurse or certification as a Registered Medical Technologist, unless currently certified in infection prevention with equivalent educational background.
Certification from the Association for Practitioners in Infection Control (APIC) as an Infection Control Practitioner, or completion within two years of hire.
Two and one-half years of clinical experience as an RN, microbiology experience as a Medical Technologist, or equivalent experience with infection-prevention certification.
Knowledge of computer applications for database management, such as Dbase or other database software, and operation of a personal computer.
Knowledge of statistics, research design, adult and pediatric infectious diseases, nosocomial infection surveillance, and interpretation of microbiology laboratory data.
Ability to deliver infection-control education to hospital personnel.
Ability to respond to, investigate, identify, and solve infection-control issues requiring immediate and decisive action.
Strong verbal and written communication skills for interacting with patients and clinical staff about infection-control procedures and precautions.
Ability to provide care appropriate to the patient populations served and demonstrate knowledge of lifespan growth and development and population- and age-specific patient needs.

Nice To Haves

Infection-control experience.

Responsibilities

Review culture and sensitivity reports for inpatients with possible infections to prioritize surveillance and define nosocomial infections using CDC definitions.
Conduct surveillance of current and discharged patients’ medical records for suspected nosocomial infections.
Discuss significant infection-control issues with the Director of Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiologist, particularly for assigned nursing units.
Maintain nosocomial infection records and prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual infection reports.
Collect data for the monthly statistical nosocomial infection report.
Attend monthly Infection Control Subcommittee meetings and present infection data for specific patient care areas and infection types.
Prepare and review quarterly nosocomial infection reports for accuracy and completeness with the Hospital Epidemiologist; distribute them to the Executive Infection Control Committee and present data as required.
Investigate patient and employee exposures to communicable diseases, participate in outbreak investigations, recommend control measures, and notify appropriate City and State Health Officials in accordance with procedures and regulations.
Review current infection-control literature to stay informed about developments and changes.
Recommend procedural changes to departments to reduce nosocomial infection transmission.
Provide infection-control education to nursing, medical, and allied health staff about departmental and hospital-wide policies and procedures.
Consult with health care workers by telephone or in person about infection-control issues in patient care and employee health.
Assist clinical staff in developing departmental infection-control policies and procedures.
Develop and conduct hospital-wide infection-control in-service programs.
Assist with annual training on occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens and tuberculosis for employees, physicians, and other hospital personnel.
Collaborate with Employee Health on vaccine programs, PPD testing, and follow-up after infectious-disease exposures.
Ensure patient safety through job functions and participation in hospital, department, or unit safety initiatives.
Take action to correct observed patient-safety risks and report adverse events and near misses to appropriate management.
Identify risks in processes, procedures, and devices and communicate them to responsible personnel.