Medical Epidemiologist, Bureau of Communicable Diseases

Job Description

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 Bureau of Communicable Disease (BCD), part of the Division of Disease Control, is responsible for the surveillance, prevention, and control of over 70 infectious diseases including foodborne, enteric, waterborne, respiratory (including COVID-19), zoonotic and vector borne diseases. Within BCD, the provider engagement team works to build relationships with NYC clinicians to share public health information and support interventions for communicable disease prevention, identification, and control. 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.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

Under the supervision of the medical director:

Create and deliver presentations that describe communicable disease Surveillance/epidemiology, symptoms, prevention, treatment and infection control practices to NYC Clinicians.

Draft and review provider-facing public health materials (e.g., health alert network notifications, dear colleague letters).

Maintain up-to-date internal protocols to respond to provider reports/inquiries and public health threats based on the most published literature and best practices.

Engage with clinical providers through medical/professional society meetings, webinars, site visits, and conferences.

Provide clinical input as needed for case investigation and response.

Serve as physician on call for acute communicable disease issues.

Provide support through the Agency's Incident Command System for any public health emergency.

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.

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.