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Today's healthcare environment provides quality
treatment and care to patients in a variety of settings. Despite
the advances in technology and science, the healthcare environment
also contains threats from infectious agents. There are an
estimated two million healthcare associated infections (HAIs)
that occur each year (CDC, 2007). HAIs occur during healthcare
delivery in any setting (e.g., hospitals, long-term care facilities,
ambulatory settings, home care). This number has remained
generally stable over the past 30 years despite multiple changes
to the healthcare system: Fewer hospitals, increased use of
technology, shorter lengths of stay, a shift in care delivery
from in-patient to out-patient, the shortage of nurses at
the bedside, drug resistant organisms, newly emerging infectious
agents, etc. It is clear that despite these many changes,
healthcare providers must be continually vigilant to the potential
for the spread of infection.
Of the almost 2 million HAIs annually (1.7
million infections), 99,000 people die from these infections
(CDC, 2007). The State of New York takes the spread of infection
seriously. Chapter 768 of the Laws of 1992 contains legislation
that requires select healthcare professionals take two hours
of New York State Education Department approved coursework
on infection control. In 1999, the coursework was revised
to include an additional legal requirement regarding infection
control and unprofessional conduct for multiple professionals.
In 2008, new laws included physicians, physician assistants
and specialist assistants in the requirement to practice in
accordance to scientific and professional standards of infection
control and possible charges of unprofessional conduct if
violations occur. Also in 2008 the Infection Control Training
curriculum was revised reflecting current Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations. This course
reflects those changes.
Identified professionals must receive infection
control training every four years. The initial coursework
in this mandatory training must include the six elements listed
below; however in future four year periods, professionals
may either repeat this coursework or take infection control
training that is specifically relevant to their clinical work.
Current requirements are listed at http://www.op.nysed.gov/icmemo.htm.
Element I: The healthcare professional's
responsibility to adhere to scientifically accepted principles
and practices of infection control and to monitor the performance
of those for whom the professional is responsible.
Element II: The modes and mechanisms
of transmission of pathogenic organisms in the healthcare
setting and strategies for prevention and control.
Element III: The use of engineering
and work practice controls to reduce the opportunity for patient
and healthcare worker exposure to potentially infectious material
in all healthcare settings.
Element IV: Selection and use of
barriers and/or personal protective equipment for preventing
patient and healthcare worker contact with potentially infectious
material.
Element V: The creation and maintenance
of a safe environment for patient care through application
of infection control principles and practices for cleaning,
disinfection, and sterilization.
Element VI: The prevention and management
of infectious or communicable disease in healthcare workers.
This course has been approved by the New
York State Education Department and meets the mandatory requirement.
Upon successful completion of this course, results will be
electronically sent to the New York State Education Department.
You may want to print out a copy for your own records, but
there is no need to submit the certificate to the New York
State Education Department, since Access Continuing Education,
Inc. will submit that information for you.
Continue to: Element
I
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