Environmental Services Specialist InternAt — Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Description:

• Coordinates projects with nurses and other area supervisors to ensure work timely and successful completion of patient safety.
•  Engages with all employees and patients to provide purpose, direction and motivation in accomplishing all tasks, while training the employees in proper procedures and techniques to meet or exceed desired outcomes of workload and safety.
• Reports progress of employees and patients to the Supervisor and makes recommendations as necessary, on all matters to include the progress of work, any infractions of policies and procedures, and assures all safety compliance.
• Support hospital-wide sanitation and infection control protocols, which includes proper cleaning of clinical environments, use of PPE, and procedures aimed at reducing hospital-acquired infections.
• Infection prevention not limited to horizontal and vertical surfaces in: outpatient surgery, outpatient clinics, central sterile, clean rooms, patient areas, laboratory, pharmacy, offices, support and patient areas, isolation rooms, storage rooms, and all other Medical center areas as required.
• Understanding healthcare systems and public health regulations within a federal institution.
• The work is accomplished in a variety of different areas including operating rooms, treatment rooms, examination rooms, imaging rooms, wards and other public, recreational and administrative areas. Protective clothing and personnel protective equipment (PPE) including gowns, gloves, safety shoes, masks, etc. is required in the accomplishment of some aspects of the work. 

Tasks:

- You will manage/coordinate the hazardous materials and solid and hazardous waste management programs and environmental restoration.
- You will develop an environmental master plan to document the status of existing projects and identify requirements for future projects.
- You will plan and implement a waste minimization program to reduce the volume and toxicity of wastes generated by Site Detachment laboratory activities.
- You will resolve intractable disposal problems involving chemical agents.
- You will evaluate on-site and expeditionary operations and processes.
- You will coordinate with nurses and supervisors to implement safety among patients and employees.
- You will input data collection to track environmental safety among patients.

Training:

Students will receive a comprehensive onboarding and structured training program for learning objectives. Training will begin with a mandatory orientation covering workplace safety, environmental health and safety policies, hazardous materials, and federal and state environmental regulations. Students will complete required safety trainings, including OSHA standards and infection control protocols.
Students will job shadow experienced Environmental Services Specialists to observe proper procedures for hazardous materials identification and disposal. The students will participate in hands-on training with a supervisor with review assignment tasks for employees and check ins with nurses about patient care. Additionally, training will include workshops on environmental monitoring, compliance reporting, and data collection.

Learning Outcome:

By the end of the academic internship, students will be able to understand the healthcare systems and public health regulations within a federal institution.
Students will be able to highlight hazardous materials management and solid waste for environmental restoration.
Students will be able to conduct instructions on environmental monitoring, compliance reporting, and tracking systems.