Infection Preventionist 4

Job Description

The Infection Preventionist IV plays a critical role in protecting patients, visitors, and healthcare personnel by leading healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention initiatives across UCSF Health. This senior-level position partners with multidisciplinary clinical and operational teams to identify infection prevention risks, implement evidence-based practices, and improve patient safety through surveillance, education, quality improvement, and regulatory compliance.

In This Role, You Will

• Lead healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention and reduction strategies through risk assessment, surveillance, and evidence-based interventions.
• Conduct routine and targeted infection surveillance, analyze trends, and recommend prevention strategies that improve patient and employee safety.
• Investigate infection prevention concerns and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to identify risks and implement corrective actions.
• Develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate infection prevention policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Design and deliver infection prevention education and training programs for healthcare professionals across the organization.
• Review current literature and emerging evidence to support infection prevention program development, research initiatives, presentations, and publications.
• Collaborate with clinical and operational leaders throughout UCSF to strengthen infection prevention practices, regulatory compliance, and quality improvement efforts.
• Apply advanced infection prevention, hospital epidemiology, and clinical expertise to complex projects requiring independent judgment and leadership.
  
  

What Makes This Role Unique

• Supports both inpatient and outpatient clinical environments across UCSF Health.
• Partners with physicians, nursing, quality, and operational leaders on complex infection prevention initiatives.
• Opportunity to contribute to research, presentations, publications, and evidence-based practice.
• Serves as a key clinical consultant on infection prevention and hospital epidemiology issues.
• Functions as an independent Infection Prevention professional within a highly collaborative academic medical center.
  
  

Special Conditions Of Employment

• Rotates and adheres to after-hours on-call coverage.
• Minimum 5 years recent infection control experience, preferably in an academic medical center.
• Completion of advanced hospital epidemiology course, meets or exceeds all competencies of ICP III.
• Competency in Microsoft Word (create, format, save, edit using track changes, and print a document), Microsoft Outlook (create and send email, attach files, manage and organize messages and calendar), Excel (create a simple spreadsheet), PowerPoint (create, edit and present PowerPoint slideshows,), enter, manipulate and extract database information, and basic descriptive statistics e.g., Chi square, frequency analysis
• Ability to pass a background check.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
  
  

Responsibilities

%

of time

Essential Function (Yes/No)

Key Responsibilities

(To be completed by Supervisor)

20

Y

Leadership: collaborates with other leaders and colleagues to align IP program goals with the strategic goals of the organization

• Actively seeks and implements ideas to improve quality, efficiency and effectiveness
• Analyzes complex problems from a systems perspective, using available data, and applies reliable and effective problem solving strategies.
• Engages and collaborates across professional disciplines and administrative boundaries with respect and professionalism
• Draws on multiple and varied strategies to communicate fully with the diverse UCSF community
• Effectively leads projects with measureable outcomes
• Manages meetings through identifying key issues and expectations to capitalize on resources
• Demonstrates situational awareness, emotional intelligence and strategic vision.
• Provides expertise in a supporting role, listens actively, respects others’ opinions, demonstrating commitment, displaying loyalty, and works to achieve consensus, challenges leaders and offers constructive criticism.
• Mentors IP colleagues in professional development and competency advancement
  
  

20

Y

Professional Stewardship

• Accountability: ensures that measures are in place for performing evidence-based practices, emphasizing performance expectations, and communicating expectations and methods for achieving health care system IPC goals and results
• Ethics: demonstrates the highest standards of personal and professional conduct, accountability, behavior, decision making, and compliance with laws, regulations, and standards of best practice related to infection prevention and control including consistent adherence to the ethical principles outlined in the APIC professional and practice standards..
• Financial acumen: quantifies costs and savings of IPC programs, practices, and products, and demonstrates understanding of quality incentive reimbursement models.
• Population health: addresses population health concerns during the annual risk assessment process, taking into account contextual demographics and global implications.
• Continuum of care: facilitates communication between facilities and collaborates for the safe transfer and provision of care within other practice settings.
• Advocates for realistic, incremental changes that meet the needs of patients, visitors, staff, and the IPC program.
  
  

20

Y

Quality Improvement: implements stable processes, reduce variation, and improve outcomes to establish a culture of safe and quality care

• Subject Matter Expert (SME): demonstrates evidence-based IPC knowledge, technique, and expertise and skills to communicate and work effectively with a wide range of colleagues and experts
• Performance Improvement: implements PI strategies; recognizes when to lead or facilitate a team and when to be a team member.
• Patient Safety: demonstrates systems thinking, implements highly reliable systems, and sustains those systems.
• Data utilization: uses local and external data to support decision making and goal setting, and to determine priority improvement opportunities
• Risk assessment and reduction: examines risk factors and vulnerabilities, prioritizes and implements evidence-based prevention strategies that contribute to patient and staff safety
  
  

20

Y

Operations: uses proactive and reactive approaches to conduct surveillance, identify infection risks, implement infection interventions, and mitigate risks

• Epidemiology and surveillance: applies surveillance principles; appropriately uses complex data display tools; conducts basic cluster or epidemic investigations; interprets results using statistics, rates, and ratios; uses appropriate benchmarks
• Education: assesses the IPC educational needs of staff, patients, students, and visitors; identifies the right goals and objectives; develops and delivers engaging education sessions and/ or materials
• IP rounding: develops and participates in interdisciplinary, clinical-centered rounding program
• Cleaning, disinfection and sterilization: demonstrates knowledge of disinfection and sterilization practices used in all settings; collaborates with SPD teams to minimize contamination risks and ensure that medical instruments and equipment are properly cleaned and reprocessed; ensures implementation of manufacturers’ instructions; maintains knowledge of expert organizations’ sterilization and disinfection recommendations; critically evaluates reprocessingtechnological advancements
• Outbreak detection and management: uses established and novel strategies to recognize and respond to outbreaks.
• Emerging technologies: monitors the possible IPC impacts of a broad range of current and emerging technologies
  
  

10

Y

Research

• Independently reviews journal articles and identifies strengths and weaknesses of research design.
• Draws conclusions from the research, detects bias, separates facts from opinion, and discerns the author’s purpose and tone.
• Evaluates evidence to determine its validity and implements change based on that evidence.
  
  

5

Y

Infection Prevention and Control Informatics

• Designs novel technological workflows to make surveillance more efficient and effective.
• Recognizes when data have exceeded established thresholds, potentially signifying a pattern or unusual cluster of epidemiologically important organisms.
• Identifies and leverages specific expertise and skill sets on teams, prioritizes issues, and identifies efficient ways to use the technology
  
  

5

Y Other duties as assigned

100%

(To update total %, enter the amount of time in whole numbers (without the % symbol - e.g., 15, 20) then highlight the total sum (e.g., 1%) at the bottom of the column and press F9. The total sum should add up to 100%.)

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in a health-related field and/or equivalent combination of experience/training.
• Has at least 5 years of experience in infection control, preferably in an academic medical center.
• Advanced knowledge of the clinical and operational issues in infection control, including policies, regulatory requirements, surveillance and investigation methodologies, data collection, epidemiology, microbiology, patient care, and related nursing issues.
• In-depth knowledge of data management, analysis, research, reporting, and documentation methods used in infection control, with the ability to contribute to studies, investigations, reports, presentations, and the development of new infection control protocols and policies.
• Advanced organizational and project management skills, and ability to lead a team, prioritize tasks, and see projects through from inception to completion on schedule.
• Advanced interpersonal skills, with the ability to participate in the development of informational materials, to provide education, training, and resources, and to develop positive working relationships with patients, families, employees, and outside personnel.
• Advanced skills in written and verbal communications, with the ability to collaborate productively in a team environment with all levels of internal and external personnel, to convey complex clinical information in a clear, concise manner, and to make cogent presentations of research findings, reports, and analyses related to infection control.
• Strong ability to collaborate effectively with management and staff across departments and to provide counsel and guidance on highly-complex issues of functionality, clinical quality, efficiency, and program development in all aspects of infection control.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a health-related field.
  
  

Licenses And Certifications

• Current Registered State of California Nurse license (RN) or comparable State of California license in a related health care field (such as CLS/MT(ASC), D.P.M., M.D.)
• Current Certification in Infection Control (CIC)
  
  

About UCSF

ABOUT US

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It is the only campus in the 10-campus UC system dedicated exclusively to the health sciences. We bring together the world’s leading experts in nearly every area of health. We are home to five Nobel laureates who have advanced the understanding of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, aging and stem cells.

Pride Values

UCSF is a diverse community made of people with many skills and talents. We seek candidates whose work experience or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity and excellence – also known as our PRIDE values .

In addition to our PRIDE values, UCSF is committed to equity – both in how we deliver care as well as our workforce. We are committed to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care. Additional information about UCSF is available here .

Join us to find a rewarding career contributing to improving healthcare worldwide.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.

Salary Information

The final salary and offer components are subject to additional approvals based on UC policy.

Your placement within the salary range is dependent on a number of factors including your work experience and internal equity within this position classification at UCSF. For positions that are represented by a labor union, placement within the salary range will be guided by the rules in the collective bargaining agreement.

To learn more about the benefits of working at UCSF, including total compensation, please visit: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html

About The Team

In addition to credentialing, the MSO plays a key role in supporting medical staff governance. The department facilitates communication and collaboration between medical staff leadership, administration, and clinical teams, ensuring alignment with UCSF Health�s strategic goals and policies. It provides administrative support for medical staff committees, bylaws, and policies while fostering a culture of accountability, professionalism, and continuous improvement. The UCSF Medical Staff Office is committed to empowering healthcare providers through education, resources, and guidance, helping them navigate regulatory requirements and maintain their focus on patient care. By fostering seamless processes and upholding the highest standards of excellence, the MSO contributes to UCSF Health�s reputation as a leader in healthcare.