Public Health Physician Consultant-Expert
Pay Rate: $128 / hour
"Working Title Public Health Physician Consultant
Job Location PEMA Headquarters 1310 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg PA 17110
Length of Position (dates) ASAP –6/30/2021 –continuing annually based on available
funding
Working Hours/Hours per week 5 days a week –40 hours a week
Minimum Qualifications
EDUCATION: Graduation with a degree of doctor of medicine or osteopathy from a
medical school approved or recognized by the Pennsylvania Medical Licensing Board
or the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Licensing Board and completion of an approved U.S.
residency training program;and two (2) years of professional medical experience,
including one (1) year in a public health setting.
or
Geriatricians or infectious disease physicians (or internal medicine physicians) with
public health, epidemiology, infectious diseases (e.G., fellows or members of SHEA or
IDSA), infection prevention (e.G., fellows of APIC or board certified in CBIC, sometimes
noted as certified in infection prevention and epidemiology) or community medicine
experience (e.G., board certified in preventive medicine). Would also consider
physicians with exceptional experience in healthcare quality improvement work (e.G.,
CPPS, CHSP, CPSO, six-sigma, black belt, green belt), organizational transformation or
risk management.
Would also consider exceptional nurse practioners with the experience noted above.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Possession of a license to practice medicine in
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania issued by the State Medicine Board or
Osteopathic Medicine Board;or eligibility for such licensure. Candidates must obtain
the required license prior to beginning employment.
POSITION COMPETIENCIES: Surveillance: Effectively conduct HAI surveillance;
distinguish between HAI surveillance and clinical definitions for infectious syndromes;
identify outcome data and exposure data;perform risk adjustment;use
benchmarking data to assess performance.
Data Management: Use all available resources to obtain information;perform quality
assurance
Infectious Diseases/Pathogen Transmission: Apply isolation precautions correctly for
specific infections or conditions based on mode of transmission;apply available
diagnostic tests to correctly identify infections;describe appropriate duration of
antimicrobial therapy for specific indications.
Infection Prevention and Control: Apply appropriate infection control practices;
conduct risk assessment and implement preventive measures for specific projects;
evaluate products objectively
Outbreak Investigation: Identify outbreaks;apply investigation steps;use methods to
select the appropriate study design;utilize molecular typing methods appropriately
and correctly interpret results
Microbiology and Laboratory Diagnostics: Obtain and interpret microbiologic
cultures;assist laboratories in implementing rapid diagnostic testing, molecular
testing, various testing methodologies and help them incorporate test results into
infection prevention interventions
Special Populations and Non-Acute Settings: Develop and implement infection
prevention approaches.
Antimicrobial Stewardship: Outline the relationship between antimicrobial use and
resistance;describe the roles of stakeholders
Quality Improvement Science: Ensure that infection prevention is included in
healthcare settings'strategic plans
Leadership Skills: lead meetings;include stakeholders in decision making processes
Program Implementation, Assessment and Advocacy: recruit leaders;develop reports
Outcomes Assessment, Evaluation and Research: Use basic statistics to evaluate data
for trend analysis;design research studies;document and evaluate interventions
Public Health and Emergency Preparedness: List reporting requirements;develop and
maintain relationships;assist in policy and response plan development;serve on HAI
or other committees
Effective Training/Teaching: Assess learners'need for information;use presentation
tools effectively;use appropriate teaching methods in multiple modalities.
Statement of Work
Provide expert consultation to medical providers in the Commonwealth in the design,
implementation, and utilization of surveillance systems for the healthcare setting and
in the investigation of patterns of infection in such settings.
Facilitate epidemiologic activities and provide technical expertise to a statewide
network of more than 200 hospitals, more than 700 nursing homes, and other types
of healthcare settings, in the identification, investigation, and control of HAIs and AR
threats.
Facilitate epidemiologic activities and provide vision and leadership to the HAIAR
program at the agency.
Create and develop effective solutions necessary to quickly limit adverse health
outcomes and economic hardships that result when an HAI, infection control breach,
or an infection caused by a multi-drug resistance organism (MDRO) is identified in a
healthcare or community setting.
Provide technical expertise relating to data collected through the National Healthcare
Safety Network (NHSN) system, including content, input, and the resulting analysis.
Analyze and interpret collected data for application to investigation by noting
clinically significant aberrations in the collected data or risk of infection posed by an
infection control breach, thereby initiating actions such as site visits or disease
investigations.
Examine data to identify disease trends, develop analytic reports, identify causes and
note clinical significance. Make recommendations for the implementation of
appropriate disease and/or infection control and prevention measures related to
HAIs and MDROs based on these data.
Assist in the implementation of Pennsylvania's Disease Reporting Act and Act 52 by
participating in activities related to disease surveillance, microbiological screening,
benchmarking, investigation, and infection control and prevention practices in
health-care settings. Interact with NHSN users and users of other reporting systems
in healthcare facilities throughout the Commonwealth to provide expert
consultations in the design, implementation, and utilization of surveillance systems
for the healthcare setting and in the investigation of patterns of infection in such
settings.
Review, develop and recommend revisions to communicable disease policy and
procedures, as necessary, and collaborate in the maintenance of a statewide system
of infectious disease surveillance and reporting.
Provide recommendations concerning the completeness, science and quality of
surveillance and investigations, and provides expertise and training support. Review,
evaluate and make recommendations concerning the epidemiology and other
training needs of subordinates and field personnel. Provide a communicable disease
epidemiology and public health consultative service using published national
standards of excellence and practice to Department programs, Districts,
County/Municipal Health Departments, and other state agencies, as well as to
representatives of federal agencies, the medical community, the public, private
facilities, and others, in order to provide appropriate advice for the investigation,
control and prevention of HAI/MDRO outbreaks and infection control breaches.
Collaborate in the development of statewide plans, policies and procedures related
to healthcare epidemiology and communicable disease prevention and control.
Participate on committees and workgroups. Collaborate with private-sector, local,
commonwealth, and federal partners in healthcare associated disease surveillance
systems and investigations.
Prepare articles and summaries for statewide reports, Client publications, and peer-
reviewed journals. Deliver public health educational presentations to selected
audiences.
Participate in the preparation of grant applications, progress reports, scientific
articles, and presentations and other deliverables reflecting the status of HAIAR
epidemiological programs in the Commonwealth.
Participate in the HAIAR program annual application of grants funds from CDC's
Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) grant. Participate in grant application
development and grant progress deliverables. Assist in identifying and applying for
new funding opportunities to support HAIAR activities.
Apply knowledge and confidentiality requirements for protected health information
in the gathering, analysis, storage, retrieval and reporting of data for assigned public
health programs."
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