Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION.There is one vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation.

Examples of Duties:

A Patient Safety Clinical Investigation Coordinator performs clinical investigations related to a variety of patient and employee matters and managing the related data coordination and reporting functions in the Patient Safety Department at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation;

Performs investigations of alleged events and complaints related to matters such as patient abuse, patient neglect and employee drug diversion; interviews patients, their caregivers, pertinent staff, etc. in investigations of such matters;

Utilizes applicable regulatory and internal guidelines for reporting alleged events and complaints as well as performing interviews and investigations;

Performs root cause analysis and develops recommendations for root cause of incidents;

Utilizes incident data and analysis to develop corrective plans of action; educates applicable staff of root causes and corrective action plans;

Notifies, collaborates with and serves as a liaison with internal departments, medical professionals and regulatory bodies for performing investigations;

Coordinates and oversees data entry for reporting practices through lower-level staff; ensures data is reported according to applicable guidelines and utilizing appropriate reporting systems;

Develops recommendations to internal policies and procedures pertinent to investigations, interviews, data collection and related processes;

Develops, distributes and presents various reports as required or as needed;

Participates in and may organize standing and ad-hoc committees and work groups.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test: 

A.) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, Forensic Nursing or closely related field and three (3) years of professional clinical nursing experience (see Note 1) , of which two (2) years included regulatory reporting, clinical investigation or forensic nursing experience; or:

B.) Graduation from an accredited School of Nursing and five (5) years of professional clinical nursing experience (see Note 1), of which two (2) years included regulatory reporting, clinical investigation or forensic nursing experience; or:

C.) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Possession of a license and current registration to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse in New York State at time of application and maintained throughout duration of appointment; and

Completion of New York State Office of Mental Health-certified Preventing and Managing Crisis Situation (PMCS) Training as administered by the ECMCC Nursing Department within thirty (30) days of appointment.

Notes:

1. Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master’s Degree in Nursing, Forensic Nursing or closely related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required professional clinical nursing experience, but not the regulatory reporting experience.

2. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the full-time experience requirements.

3. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

A Guide for the Written Test for Investigators is available at the New York State website:www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm . Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Evaluating information and evidence

These questions test for the ability to evaluate and draw conclusions from information and evidence. Each question consists of a set of facts and a conclusion based on the facts. The candidate must decide if the conclusion is warranted by the facts.

2. Investigative techniques

These questions test for knowledge of the fundamental concepts in the area of field investigation. The questions will cover such areas as: obtaining the cooperation of individuals involved in an investigation, preparing for the investigation and/or interview, investigative principles, interviewing principles and practices, behavior and attitudes of the investigator and others, gathering of data and evidence, and presenting the results of an investigation.

Many of the questions are situational in nature and attempt to measure the candidate's ability to apply basic investigative techniques. The questions are generic rather than dealing with investigations in a particular field.

3. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

4. Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

5. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.    

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.