Duties

Summary

About the Position: Serves as the MTF's key proponent in the establishment and maintenance of Disinfection and Sterilization programs, incorporating extensive knowledge of professional nursing programs and guidelines. Located in a clinical setting, where exposure to contagious and infectious disease is common. Telework available in accordance with OPM emergency procedures only. Alternate work schedule available.

This is a Direct Hire Solicitation
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Responsibilities

• Conducts proactive risk assessments for monitoring High Level Disinfectant (HLD) worksites for appropriate precautions.
• Identifies areas for targeted HLD - Sterilization surveillance, based on risk assessments, regulatory requirements, and other facility needs. Develop quality assurance tools to monitor the implementation of policies and procedures.
• Perform project management to HLD patient care activities, including the use, decontamination, cleaning and storage of endoscopic equipment and supplies.
• Apply advanced nursing theories, principles, and procedures to the disinfection and sterilization programs within the MTF.
• Develop, coordinate, and implement employee health policies and procedures related to HLD. Ensure compliance with established policies/procedures (e.g., standards of care and practice).
• Utilize principles of general, clinical, and environmental microbiology to prevent and control infections among patients, employees, and visitors within the MTF.
• Serves as SME regarding clinical outcome indicator reports. Educate healthcare workers, patients, volunteers, and visitors on disinfection and sterilization principles.
• Develops information management strategies for tracking and trending surveillance activities and prepares appropriate statistical reports.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Tier 3 security investigation or access for the duration of employment. A background investigation and credit check are required.
• This position requires the incumbent to have tuberculosis testing.
• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position has mandatory seasonal influenza vaccination requirements and is subject to annual seasonal influenza vaccinations unless otherwise exempted for medical or religious reasons.
• This position requires the incumbent to fulfill credentialing requirements and obtain and maintain appropriate/relevant clinical privileges.
• This position is covered by the Department of Defense Civilian Employee Drug-Free Workplace Program as a testing designated position (TDP).

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the education, license, and experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document .
Basic Requirement for Nurse (Disinfection & Sterilization Specialist):
Individual Education Requirement:
Education: A graduate or higher level degree, bachelor's degree, associate degree, or diploma from an accredited professional nursing educational program is required. This education must have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education, or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. (Note: You must submit a copy of your transcripts at the time of application).
OR
An official certification from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools is required for individuals who graduated from foreign nursing schools. (Note: You must submit a copy of your certification at the time of application.)
AND
License/Registration: Applicants must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination and must possess a current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a professional nurse from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States. (NOTE: You must attach a copy of your registration in order to be considered for this position.)

In addition to license and education described above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the experience requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: oversees a High Level Disinfectant (HLD) and sterilization program for a Medical treatment facility (MTF); develop and establish critical health care personnel activities and assess the effectiveness of the HLD program, through surveys, education and/or consultation; implements quality assurance control measures for HLD activities; recommends improvements/changes to processes. This definition of experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Infection Control Certification/High Level Disinfection certification preferred.

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
• Incentives may be authorized.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If, after reviewing your résumé and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist (External).

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• For additional information see: What to include in your resume .

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You MUST submit a copy of your transcript if you want to substitute your education for experience. If you claim qualifications based on education, and do not submit a transcript, your education will not be used in making a qualification determination and you may be found "not qualified." See: Transcripts and Licenses .
• License/Certification: If the position has a license/certification requirement, you MUST submit a copy of your current, active, valid, unrestricted license/certification. See: Transcripts and Licenses .

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.