Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS:  CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There is one present vacancy at the Erie County Department of Health's Correctional Health Unit.

Examples of Duties:

A Quality Improvement Nurse-Correctional Health provides primary oversight of the Division of Correctional Health’s Quality Improvement and Education Programs; 

Reports directly to Director of Nursing (DON). Collaborates with Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Director of Forensic Mental Health (FMH), and Chief Compliance Officer of the Jail Management Division;

Promotes and assesses process and practice within the Division to be compliant with standards of care required by the New York State Commission of Correction, the US Department of Justice, and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care;

Develops and assists DON, et al with implementation of process improvement strategies;

Coordinates, promotes and logs educational programs of the Division, collaborating with the DON and DOH educators to meet mandatory requirements;

Develops, plans, implements and evaluates orientation programs for new employees in the Division;

Works under the direction of the DON to monitor and direct the Infection Control Program;

Participation in leadership and staff meetings to represent quality improvement and education programs, improve clinical care, ascertain need and resolve problems;

Primary contact during accreditation process of NCCHC and primary QI/IC/Education contact during DOJ surveys;

Presents monthly reports to committees and leadership on activities related to programs.

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 four (4) year college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in in Healthcare Administration, Nursing or health-related field and two (2) years of clinical nursing experience(See Note 1*), or;

B. Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered two (2) or four (4) year college or university with an Associate’s Degree in in Healthcare Administration, Nursing or health-related field and four (4) years of clinical nursing experience(See Note 1*), or;

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

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

1. Candidate must possess New York State Registered Professional Nurse license and current registration at time of appointment.
2. Candidate must successfully complete required background assessment for the Erie County Sheriff

Notes:

1. *Experience with Joint Commission / DOH Survey activities preferred; experience in NYS COC / NCCHC guidelines preferred but not required.

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

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

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

1. Evaluating health care

These questions test for knowledge of medical symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and federal and New York State quality assurance standards and discharge planning; for the ability to apply this knowledge to given situations; and for the ability to evaluate client care and treatment.

2. Medical, psychiatric, developmental conditions and treatments

These questions will test for knowledge in areas such as: acceptable treatments and standard medical alternatives; symptoms, tests, procedures, and treatments associated with specific diagnoses; evaluation of the appropriateness of treatment methods; characteristics of the various populations diagnosed with mental illness or intellectual/developmental disabilities.

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. Understanding and interpreting health records and reports

These questions test for the ability to read, interpret, and apply information used in evaluating health care. You will be required to read and interpret selections from medical records and reports; laws, rules, and regulations relating to health care; and/or narratives on health-related topics.

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.