Infection Prevention and Control Professional (IPCP) Nurse

The IPC RN serves as a subject matter expert in epidemiology infection surveillance outbreak management and regulatory compliance while promoting a culture of patient safety and quality care throughout the VA Healthcare System.Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Reviews and analyzes existing regulations standards and guidelines issued by professional organizations and regulatory agencies to ensure that all medical center Infection Prevention and Control programs maintain full compliance with applicable requirements.
• Applies epidemiologic principles and statistical methods including risk stratification to identify target populations analyze trends and risk factors and design implement and evaluate effective infection prevention and control strategies.
• Uses a systematic evidence-based approach to surveillance to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of infection prevention and control strategies ensuring alignment with the organizations goals and objectives.
• Identifies develops and implements infection prevention and control strategies across key focus areas including hand hygiene; cleaning disinfection and sterilization; direct and indirect patient care practices; therapeutic and diagnostic procedures and devices; isolation precautions and patient placement; environmental hazards; safe use of patient care products and medical equipment; construction and renovation activities; and preparedness for surges of patients with communicable diseases.
• Performs medical record reviews data abstraction and data collection to accurately identify hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and assess adherence to established HAI prevention measures.
• Performs routine audits of professional practices to assess compliance with established infection prevention and control standards and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Uses appropriate statistical techniques to describe data calculate rates and critically evaluate the significance of findings against internal and external benchmarks. Applies these insights to develop implement and evaluate targeted infection prevention strategies.
• Reviews and analyzes current scientific literature and publications recommending new or updated practices and procedures based on the most current evidence-based infection prevention and control strategies.
• Uses surveillance data to identify the need for practice changes and to propose targeted intervention or performance-improvement projects that enhance infection prevention and control outcomes.
• Provides expert consultation to administration committees managers and staff on matters related to infection prevention and control offering guidance on best practices regulatory requirements and evidence-based strategies.
• Understands adult learning principles designs effective educational programs and demonstrates strong presentation skills. Provides orientation to new employees medical students and residents.
• Monitors laboratory reports to identify patients with positive multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) for immediate review and investigation initiates appropriate isolation precautions as needed and conducts surveillance and investigations using epidemiological principles to prevent and control transmission risks.
• Collaborates with local and state health departments.
• Review and update policies and procedures.
• Serves on medical center committees to consult and educate about current infection prevention and control data.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards
Pay: Competitive salary regular salary increases potential for performance awards
Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave 13 days of sick leave 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory
Work Schedule: Full-time; 8:00am-4:30pm or as determined by your supervisor.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• 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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

Basic Requirements:

• English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate accrediting agency and accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies at the time the program was completed by the applicant: The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE); OR Individuals attending a masters level bridge program in nursing who have completed coursework equivalent to a bachelors level degree in Nursing may have opportunity to become registered as a nurse with a state licensing board prior to completion of the bridge program. Upon achievement of a State license the individual may be appointed on temporary basis and later converted to a permanent appointment upon successful completion and graduation from the bridge program. (Reference VA Handbook 5005 Appendix G6); OR In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing possession of a current full active and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement for graduation from an approved school of professional nursing to warrant an appointment as a Nurse who has completed an associated degree/entry level Nursing education program. Credit for foreign nursing education higher that associate degree/entry level requires a formal degree equivalency validation from a recognized equivalency evaluation accepted by VA such as International Consultants of Delaware (ICD).
• Current full active and unrestricted registration as a graduate professional nurse in a State Territory or Commonwealth (i.e. Puerto Rico) of the United States or the District of Columbia. Graduate Nurse Technician (GNT) Exception: Candidates who otherwise meet the basic education requirements but do not possess the required licensure may be appointed at the entry step of the grade and level applicable to the completed nursing education as a GNT on a 120-day temporary appointment while actively pursuing licensure (may be extended up to two years on a case-by-case-basis.)

NOTE: Grandfathering Provision - All persons currently employed in VHA in 0610 series and performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of the standard (1/29/2024) are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education and licensure/certification.

rade Determinations: The following Scope Education and Dimension criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates and if appropriate the level within a grade. The Dimension requirements (Practice Veteran/Patient Driven Care Leadership Professional Development and Evidence-Based Practice/Research) are detailed for each grade and level within the online assessment: I Level IDelivers fundamental knowledge-based care to assigned clients while developing technical competencies.An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing with no additional professional nursing required.Nurse I Level IIDemonstrates integration of biopsychosocial concepts cognitive skills and technically competent practice in providing care to clients with basic or complex.An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 1 year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I Level 1 ;OR a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional professional nursing experience required.Nurse I Level IIIDemonstrates proficiency in practice based on conscious and deliberate planning. Self-directed in goal setting for managing complex client situations.An ADN or Diploma in Nursing AND 2 years of professional nursing experience in which one year is equivalent to Nurse I Level 2; OR a BSN and 1 year of professional nursing experience equivalent to the Nurse I Level 2; OR a Masters degree in nursing (MSN) and no additional professional nursing experience; OR a Masters degree in a *related field with a BSN and no additional professional nursing experience.Nurse IIDemonstrates leadership in delivering and improving holistic care through collaborative strategies with others.A BSN with 2 years of professional nursing equivalent to Nurse I Level 3; OR an MSN with one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I Level 3; OR a Masters degree in a *related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse I Level 3; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with no professional nursing experience; OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN with no additional professional nursing experience.Nurse IIIExecutes position responsibilities that demonstrate leadership experience and creative approaches to management of complex client care beyond the immediate practice setting.MSN and 2 years of specialized nursing experience one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Masters degree in *related field with BSN and two years of specialized nursing experience one of which is equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in Nursing with and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III; OR a Doctoral degree in a *related field with a BSN and one year of specialized nursing experience equivalent to Nurse II and meets all dimension requirements for Nurse III.*Note: Foreign education programs/degrees are not creditable as related degrees.

Preferred Experience:

• Infection control.
• Project and quality improvement.
• Three years of RN experience.

Salary for this position ranges dependent upon applicant qualifications
Grade 1 Levels 1-3: $153887-$204663 annually
Grade 2: $176969-$228000 annually
Grade 3: $194665-$228000 annually

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit Requirements: This position requires visual acuity keen hearing clear distinctive speech and manual dexterity. The position requires potentially long periods of combined walking standing stooping sitting bending pulling and pushing. The incumbent must be a mature flexible sensible individual capable or working effectively in stressful situation able to shift priorities based on needs of the organization. The incumbent may be required to travel occasionally. This position potentially requires flexibility in schedule and assignments. Telework is position dependent and appropriate approvals are required; telework is not guaranteed and incumbent must comply with all regulations relevant to telework agreements policies and processes. If a position requires driving incumbent is required to maintain compliance with all relevant policies and processes.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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: 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: