Location: Jamaica,NY, USA
* This is a Part Time position, 37.5 Hours/Week which allows for a flexible schedule.
Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the country. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, in service of a vision of a city in which all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live.
As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises from New York City's yellow fever outbreak in 1822, to the COVID-19 pandemic we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs, and services. We serve as the population health strategist, and policy, and planning authority for the City of New York, while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others.
Our Agency's five strategic priorities, building off a recently-completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are:
1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, with a focus on building a response-ready organization, with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and stronger surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems 2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related disease, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes, and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods
3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness including: reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness
4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women's health
5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change
Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism's impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity and access, the NYC Health Department continues to work in and with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes.
PROGRAM AND JOB DESCRIPTION:
The mission of the Bureau of Immunization (BOI) is to prevent the occurrence and transmission of diseases through immunization. BOI promotes the immunization of children and adults against numerous vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). The BOI Immunization Infrastructure and Clinical Support Unit (IICSU) promotes vaccination across the lifespan, equitable access to high-quality vaccination services across New York City, and elimination of disparities in vaccination coverage. The BOI School Compliance Unit (SCU) is responsible for ensuring that children attending childcare programs and schools are vaccinated in accordance with New York State immunization requirements.
The Immunization Infrastructure and Clinical Support Unit and Exemption Medical Specialist will report to the Director of the IICSU and will work with both the IICSU and the SCU. With the IICSU, the Medical Specialist will work with the provider community to ensure Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations are followed and evidence-based strategies for increasing vaccination coverage are implemented. Activities will include utilization of data to develop and implement new vaccination projects and programs, development of educational materials for providers and the public, provision of technical assistance to providers and stakeholders, and management and oversight of vaccination programs, including programs to increase uptake of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines. With the SCU, the Medical Specialist will be the primary physician responsible for reviewing requests for medical exemptions to immunizations submitted by medical providers for children attending childcare and school. The Medical Specialist will determine if the exemption request is valid based on national guidance and recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The incumbent would also participate emergency and outbreak responses, as needed.
Critical Impact Statement:
This position will participate in critical BOI activities including increasing vaccination coverage, eliminating disparities in vaccination coverage, increasing access to vaccination services, and implementing programs to increase COVID-19 and influenza vaccination coverage across NYC. Further, this position will be the primary physician in charge of immunization exemption review. Ensuring compliance with immunizations is critical in the prevention of outbreaks and disease transmission in schools. Having a dedicated clinician in this role will ensure that requests for immunization exemptions are reviewed on a timely basis and determinations are made quickly. It is also critical to have calls from medical providers and vaccine inquiries answered promptly and that urgent immunization questions for patients are addressed in real-time which would require a dedicated staff person in this role.
DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
* Serve as a subject matter expert on vaccines and vaccination, providing clinical guidance and technical assistance to the BOI, DOHMH and immunizing providers across NYC.
* Participate in research and evaluation activities conducted to identify populations with low vaccination coverage and evaluate BOI projects and programs.
* Lead and participate in the development and implementation of evidence-based public health programs to increase vaccination coverage among specific populations.
* Lead and participate in BOI activities to promote immunization across the lifespan, including conduction of provider and community talks on vaccine-preventable diseases.
* Identify and support effective regulatory policies/strategies to increase vaccination, such as requirements for reporting administered vaccines to the Citywide Immunization Registry.
* Receive and review medical exemption requests to immunizations including any accompanying medical documentation.
* Determine the validity of the medical exemption requests through discussion with the submitting physician, BOI physicians and external consultants as needed.
* Enter exemption request data and use the data entry system to describe trends in medical exemption requests and the submitting physicians.
* Draft written guidance to medical providers and schools regarding immunization exemptions.
* Participate in BOI activities, such as the Doctor-of-the-Week rotation.
* Participate in additional DOHMH activities, such as the Doctor-on-Call program and emergency response activities.
* Directly supervise one or more staff in the IICSU.
IMPORTANT NOTES TO ALL CANDIDATES:
Please note: If you are called for an interview you will be required to bring to your interview copies of original documentation, such as:
* A document that establishes identity for employment eligibility, such as: A Valid U.S. Passport, Permanent Resident Card/Green Card, or Driver's license.
* Proof of Education according to the education requirements of the civil service title.
* Current Resume
* Proof of Address/NYC Residency dated within the last 60 days, such as: Recent Utility Bill (i.e. Telephone, Cable, Mobile Phone)
Additional documentation may be required to evaluate your qualification as outlined in this posting's Minimum Qualification Requirements section. Examples of additional documentation may be, but not limited to: college transcript, experience verification or professional trade licenses.
If after your interview you are the selected candidate you will be contacted to schedule an on-boarding appointment. By the time of this appointment you will be asked to produce the originals of the above documents along with your original Social Security card.
LOAN FORGIVENESS
As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at StudentAid.gov/PSLF.
FINAL APPOINTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET APPROVAL
Minimum Qualifications
Possession of a valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and either:
a) Valid Board Certification issued by the appropriate American Specialty Board in any specialty area required by the agency; or
b) Current approved application on file for admission to the certifying examination given by the appropriate American Specialty Board in any specialty area required by the agency.
To be assigned to Assignment Level II, individuals must have, in addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements for Assignment Level I described above, one year of satisfactory experience practicing in the specialty area.
To be assigned to Assignment Level III, individuals must possess:
a) A valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and
b) A Master's degree in Public Health, or equivalent Master's degree, including or supplemented by graduate credits in epidemiology and biostatistics. Completion of Epidemic Intelligence Service program of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to substitute for this Master's degree; and
c) At least two years of satisfactory experience after receipt of the Master's degree, or equivalent, in the practice of epidemiology. Specialty Board Certification or eligibility may be substituted for one year of this experience.
To be assigned to Assignment Level IV, individuals must possess:
a) A valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and
b) Completion of an approved residency program in an accredited hospital, including three years of experience, in either internal medicine, or family practice, or pediatrics, or another related specialty area required by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and
c) Valid board certification or board eligibility issued by the appropriate American Subspecialty Board in Infectious Disease, Pulmonary Medicine, or a related subspecialty; and
d) Completion of an approved fellowship program in an accredited hospital, including two years of experience, in either infectious diseases, or pulmonary medicine, or another related subspecialty required by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Preferred Skills
* Committed to the primary prevention of disease through vaccination. - Experience with vaccination campaigns, healthcare operations or clinical work - Knowledge of vaccine-preventable diseases and the pediatric and adult immunization schedules - Supervisory experience with demonstrated management skills. - Experience in preparing and delivering oral presentations. - Excellent interpersonal, organizational, problem solving and communication skills. - Proficiency in Microsoft applications. - Data entry skills and experience conducting descriptive analyses. - Experience conducting descriptive analyses.
Residency Requirement
NYC Residency is not required for this title.
Additional Information
The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.