This is a challenging time for nurses. With critically understaffed facilities, strikes, and the growing commercialization of healthcare, nurses find themselves being pulled between fulfilling their calling to help others, and finding a position that fulfills their own needs for a healthy work/life balance. The field of infection control is heavily impacted by the challenges faced by nurses. There is no health care professional more engaged in infection control than a nurse.  In today's post, in honor of National Nurses Week, we will explore just how vital nurses are when it comes to inf ..read more

A remote infection preventionist is a professional who specializes in preventing the spread of infections within healthcare settings, but performs their duties remotely. A remote infection preventionist can work as a part of a larger team sub-contracted by the healthcare facility, or be directly employed by the facility. However, as the field of infection control and prevention (IP) faces challenges in staffing, funding, and substantial job responsibilities, outsourcing some aspects of IP may be a trend that is here for the foreseeable future. In today's post, we will examine which aspects of ..read more

Our blog covers many topics in the healthcare field, most of which focus on preventable hospital-acquired infections. In honor of National Immunization Awareness Month, we focus on a different category of preventable infection, those viral infections that can be avoided thanks to vaccines.  ..read more

We all know the surfaces in our facilities that are the most touched, right? Overbed tables, bed rails, door handles, keyboards. But your facility may have a unique program or provide a unique service that introduces a novel high-touch surface that might not make the typical "top ten" list. In a recent study, a team sampled high-touch surfaces only to reveal that their CPR manikins ranked as one of the top two most-touched, and therefore most-contaminated surfaces in their hospital! Due to an extra emphasis on CPR training at their facility, their CPR manikins were in constant rotation for tr ..read more

While attending academic conferences, don't overlook the vendor exhibit area – it's more than just a place to pick up free pens and notebooks. The vendor exhibit area is an opportunity to explore the latest products, services, and resources relevant to your field of study. Here are some tips on how to make the most of your time in the vendor exhibit area ..read more

Spring and summer mean conference season for Infection Preventionists and other medical practitioners! Academic and exposition/trade conferences are invaluable opportunities for clinicians, researchers, and professionals to exchange ideas, network, and stay abreast of the latest developments in infection prevention and control. However, attending a conference can be overwhelming without proper preparation and strategy. In this post, we'll explore some tips on how to make the most of your conference experience ..read more

Our series continues with a step that helps you take action as you become a more empowered patient. While health insurance and other factors set certain limits on your choices, the more you know about your healthcare options in advance, the better.  Step 3: Action! In many cases, you decide what doctor you go to, what hospital you check into, and even what treatment you receive. There are few things you can do to help you make better choices ..read more

We hear so often how "we all have a role to play in reducing healthcare associated infections." From washing our hands to advocating for policy changes, it can often feel overwhelming. One way to make our impact more practical is to identify the things that we are uniquely able to do in our current position. In a series of posts starting today, we will explore the actions we can take to reduce infections most effectively based on our professional role in healthcare. We hope these ideas serve as a springboard for your own choices in the future ..read more

This week we continue our series on our New Year's resolution: Becoming a more empowered patient! This step provides some guidelines to help make the most of our information-gathering. Step 2: Research! One of the first things any of us do when we encounter illness is to Google it. A study showed that one in three  (35%) American adults have used the Internet to "diagnose" a medical condition. Even our doctors warn us not to research "too much." It's not that they don't want us to be informed; it's just that the Internet is full of every kind of information, from baseless opinion to peer ..read more

In the world of risk mitigation, there are a number of established concepts that encompass the many ways to avoid harm. These concepts also apply to infection prevention and control, and help us identify areas of greater vulnerability, areas where we can be proactive, and finally, areas where we can lessen harm should the worst occur. In today's post, we will look at these key concepts and begin to the lay the foundation of the idea of risk mitigation in infection prevention and control ..read more