HCID Epidemiologist II

About the position With direction from the HCID (High Consequence Infectious Disease) Epidemiologist IV, performs advanced (senior-level) investigative and consultative epidemiological work in the Emerging and Acute Infectious Disease Unit related to outbreak response. Collects and analyzes, interprets, and distributes epidemiological data on infectious diseases in Texas. May supervise the work of others in data collection. Provides telephonic and electronic technical consultation to public health professionals, healthcare providers, and the general public on the epidemiology of infectious diseases and assists these partners in infectious disease outbreak investigations. Prepares public health information, training materials, and investigative tools for infectious disease surveillance and investigation. Works under limited supervision, with considerable latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgement. Responsibilities • Epidemiologic investigations and studies: Participates in infectious disease outbreak investigations for HCID and other notifiable conditions (e.g., prion disease, respiratory, vaccine preventable, foodborne, multidrug-resistant organisms, and others) by coordinating data collection with local and regional health department partners, abstracting medical data from hospital and medical records, designing or modifying questionnaires or report forms, reviewing mortality data, interviewing exposed persons and/or cases, coordinating collection and transport of clinical specimens, performing data analysis using statistical programs, assisting with recommendations for control measures. Analyzes and interprets epidemiological data, including laboratory findings. Creates, maintains, and distributes databases using applications such as National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS), Excel, SAS, Tableau, R, and other programs. • Leadership and surge capacity: Assists with monitoring contract deliverables related to state-funded local health department epidemiologists. Participates in training and development of protocols and procedures related to surveillance, persons under monitoring, and cluster and outbreak investigations. Serves as surge capacity for any team within the Emerging and Acute Infectious Disease Unit (EAIDU) or with any health service region during any large infectious disease response. Substitutes for any EAIDU epidemiology or surveillance staff member during vacancies or extended absences. • Communication: Prepares reports and graphs of surveillance and investigation data using Power Point, Excel, SAS, R, Tableau, NEDSS, and other programs. Disseminates data reports to internal and external partners. May prepare and give oral presentations on surveillance data and epidemiological investigations for professional and lay audiences. Assists in the development of disease fact sheets, pamphlets, brochures and press bulletins. May assist in preparing articles for publication in journals. Provides telephonic and electronic technical consultations to public health professionals, health care providers, and the general public on the epidemiology of infectious diseases and their prevention and control. Prepares infectious disease data for posting to the Department's website. Reviews scientific literature as appropriate. • Surveillance activities: Provides consultation to local and regional health department staff on utilization of NEDSS. Performs some data entry including surge capacity data entry for other EAIDU teams, health service regions or local health departments. Regularly updating statewide condition line lists. Monitors data quality. Helps coordinate and update guidance for persons under monitoring. Helps coordinates rule out and clinical consultations for HCID conditions with a wide variety of partners (including health departments, clinicians, and the CDC) as needed. Retrieves data from the Department’s laboratory information system (LabWare), NEDSS, Bionumerics, and relevant CDC sites. Serves as the on-call epidemiologist for EAIDU as assigned. • Other duties as assigned include but are not limited to actively participating and/or serving in a supporting role to meet the agency’s obligation for disaster response and/or recovery of Continuity of Operations (COOP) or State Medical Operations Center (SMOC) activation. Such participation may require an alternative shift pattern assignment and/or location. Requirements • Knowledge of the principles and methods of epidemiology and related biostatistics • Knowledge of infectious diseases • Skill in the use of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, and statistical software • Skill in the use of National Electronic Disease Surveillance System and Labware or similar electronic interfaces • Ability to plan, conduct, and report on epidemiological investigations • Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing • Ability to interpret laboratory results and apply them in outbreak investigations • Ability to build and manage databases • Ability to analyze data and apply findings in outbreak investigations • Ability to work well in high stress, high visibility situations • Ability to work well in new work surroundings or with new team members • Ability to manage projects • Ability to interpret and apply epidemiological findings • Graduation from an accredited 4-year college or university with major coursework in epidemiology, infectious diseases, biostatistics or related field and 3 years (or equivalent) of full-time work experience in epidemiology or public health • OR • A Master of Public Health degree from a U.S. accredited college or university or a foreign degree determined to be equivalent by an acceptable education evaluator with a focus on epidemiology and/or analysis and assessment and 1 year (or equivalent) of full-time work experience in epidemiology or public health • OR • A doctoral-level degree in epidemiology or public health • OR • Other non-epidemiology graduate degree in a health-related field (e.g., RN, MD/DO, DDS/DMD, DVM, PhD, MS) with 1 year (or equivalent) of full-time epidemiological or public health experience Benefits • DSHS offers insurance coverage and other benefits available through the State of Texas Group Benefits Plan administered by the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS). 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