Infection Control – Everyone has a Role to play Dr.T.V.Rao. Dr.Lipin Prasad

Infection Control – Everyone has a Role to play

Dr.T.V.Rao. Dr.Lipin Prasad

Infection continues to be an issue in every hospital globally, however with advancements in science, technology the reasons for infections are better understood and we have a reason to update our concepts and prevention. The professional knowledge on Infection prevention competency has traditionally been divided into knowledge, and skills, as we are advancing into era we have access to global knowledge with Internet and broad band utility more recent definitions have recommended additional components such as communication, values, reasoning, and teamwork. The Doctors, Nurses should realise the Hospital infections are concern of every one where prevention of health care-associated infections (HAIs) is concerned. Influence and persuasion are especially important aspects of the Infection prevention in driving change through relationships. Whether in a formal or informal Managerial role, the IP prevention must oversee daily prevention activities and the resources and provision of personnel and other resources while constantly balancing workload with patient-focused priorities.

Infection control plan may be a document labelled as such, or a group of policies and procedures identified as guidelines used to deal with infection control issues. Infection control starts with staff members; each hospital employee must learn how to protect him or herself from possible infection thus preventing passing the infection to other patients or other healthcare providers. As our experience proves communicating the matters to the concerned staff carries a top priority. The ability to influence, serve as a role model, just washing our hands after a contact or procedure on a patient demonstrate accountability and integrity, and communicate the value of infection prevention to a diverse audience to achieve desired outcomes are all required for leadership competency. Communication may, in fact, be the most critical element of successful organizational leadership. Effective communication takes into account the audience’s informational needs, their cultural background, and knowledge of the subject demonstrating, the purpose of installing a wash basin or providing an alcohol hand rub. Being concise, accurate, and timely in communicating critical information is a skill taught in conjunction with the science of safety and a much-needed competency for IPs.

Educating our Staff and Students

The Infection remains a resource for patients and staff in the area of education. However, new approaches will be needed to meet the learning needs of an increasingly diverse workforce. Proficiency in the use of age-adjusted interactive learning techniques, simulation-based training, and clinical decision support tools, and “just in time” education will be significant additions to existing training competency several Continuing Medical Education programmes; however they are becoming a routine affairs and may not serve to overcome several emerging challenges and situations. One basic component of any infection control program is hand washing with related skin integrity of healthcare providers. Medical schools / Colleges have realized the importance of teaching their students the importance of good hand washing techniques. The Infection prevention needs sufficient knowledge, skills, and experience to effectively utilize well-described models that uses elements of engagement, education, execution, and evaluation to move research into prevention practices. Education plays a big part in the communication process. Supplies and proper location of sinks should also be considered. Use of waterless antimicrobial solutions can be used, but everyone must realize the restrictions of such products. They do not remove foreign matter or debris from the hands and cause dryness of the hands. Proper use of all products for hand washing should be included in the infection control plan. The goal of any infection control plan is to prevent nosocomial infections. Much time may be spent on developing the contents of the plan, educating the staff about the contents of the plan and implementing each step in the plan, but the value of any plan lies in the data collected regarding patient outcomes. Infection rates must be accurately collected and reported. Medical student’s curriculum contains little updated information on Infection Prevention strategies, and it is time to rethink and revise our syllabus.

Antimicrobial stewardship

(AS) is an interprofessional effort that involves optimal, prudent antimicrobial use for patients across the

Continuum of care: acute, inpatient, long-term care, and outpatient settings. The goal of AS programs is to improve the therapeutic use of

Antimicrobials through education of clinicians, guidelines, computer

decision support, and de-escalation based on culture results. IPs can support AS programs by helping to provide surveillance for

syndromes of interest, implementing interventions to guide the

delivery of evidence-based practices, and translating data from

Antibiograms and antibiotic utilization along with infection rates for

Health care personnel, nursing units, and administrators.

Dr.T.V.Rao MD

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