Infection Preventionist RN I- FT Days- Pennsylvania Hospital

Summary:

• Infection Prevention RN Level I.
• Defined as new hire, working toward the completion of orientation and training.
• Infection Preventionist RNs are expected to:
• Understand and/or effectively research the microbiology, pathology and progression of illnesses as they occur in hospitals and healthcare settings.
• Conducts surveillance: standardized basic investigation methodology utilizing NHSN definitions to research potentials Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs.) This will involve patient chart review, following microbiology reports, discussing with direct care clinicians as well as clinical leadership.
• Work effectively as part of many expert teams. This includes the ability to cooperate, coordinate and communicate with all members of the Infection Control department, as well as many other departments and disciplines. Examples include Physical Plant and outside construction contractors, laboratory medicine, nursing, hospital quality and safety experts, physicians (internal and outside), other hospitals and healthcare entities.
• Communicate and understand the ethics, often complex, surrounding infection control decisions, patient and employee safety and healthcare as outlined in the APIC professional and practice standards.
• Utilize several electronic data and charting systems including Theradoc, NHSN, EPIC and excel.
• Perform all employee duties within the Penn Medicine and entity values, policies and procedures.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the department, the hospital, the health system and the community. The includes the expectations of the Philadelphia DOH and The Pennsylvania Department of Health, as well as the CDC.
• Read and incorporate scientific evidence into the Infection Control practice.
• Maintain all expectations of HIPPAA.
• Maintain expertise in cleaning, disinfection and sterilization. Leadership of teams accessing and implementing IFUs for equipment cleaning and disinfection.
• Clinical Judgment and Decision Making Leadership: Maintains knowledge of infectious disease processes, hospital operations, and patient diagnosis. Knowledge of EHR and electronics surveillance of microbiology results. Able to make screening decisions re HAI. Not expected to validate/double check Infection Preventionists HAI reporting to NHSN. Presents HAI cases within the Infection Prevention HAI committee, and able to cogently discuss findings to collaborate and make decisions.
• Requires consultation with more experienced infection preventionists and benefit from feedback while demonstrating growth in the ability to monitor increasingly complex infections, clinical situations and HAI decisions.
• NHSN data entering.
• Excellent communication skills to unit level stakeholders re infections and infectious processes, HAI decisions.
• Regulatory and Safety Leadership: Assignment to inpatient, ambulatory or procedural areas. Competency within those clinical arenas. Visibly present with these units to provide infection control leadership and support. Within inpatient units, this should include participation in UBCL, infection prevention environmental rounding and medical device rounding. Monitors HAI and microbiology data to assess for trends, as well as potential outbreaks. Able to respond to employee safety events, and works with Occupational Medicine to set up employee or patient/family exposure plans. Participates in EOC and other regulatory focused rounding to identify infection risks. Demonstrates understanding of the operations, expectations, services and goals of the department and the hospital and how his/her work is an integral part of those services.
• After three month of orientation/training, Infection Preventionists are assigned one week rotations fairly distributed throughout the year to provide on call evening and weekend coverage for the hospital to support clinicians and bed flow decisions.
• Educational Leadership:
• The Infection Preventionist Level I evaluates and integrates best current evidence with clinical expertise to provide informal education and leadership to the clinical teams/nursing units that comprise his or her assignment. The Level I Infection Preventionist should avail him or herself of learning opportunities at the hospital as well as locally and nationally.
• Should maintain a membership within local and national APIC.
• Source: C Billings, H Bernard, L Caffery, S Dolan, J Donaldson, E Kalp and A Mueller. Advancing the profession: An updated future-oriented competency model for professional development in infection prevention and control. Am J of Infect Control 2019; 47 (602 – 614).