CDC Offers Infection Control Training Which Qualifies for Free Continuing Education Credits

Working with the Health Research & Education Trust (HRET), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the first two courses in its new States Targeting Reduction in Infections Via Engagement (STRIVE) series. These courses – Competency-Based Training and Hand Hygiene – are part of a free curriculum that includes over 40 training modules designed to address both the technical and foundational elements of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention.

According to the CDC, these courses are recommended for infection prevention teams, hospital leaders, clinical educators, nurse and physician managers, environmental services managers, all patient care staff and patient/family advisors. Participants can qualify for continuing education credits.

Competency-Based Training, the first course, describes elements that are key to the design of infection prevention training, reviews use of audits to monitor infection prevention practices and highlights strategies for delivering feedback. Hand Hygiene, the second course, covers the role of hand hygiene in preventing HAIs (including proper technique), mechanisms for monitoring and reporting on compliance and barriers to hand hygiene, plus strategies for motivating proper infection prevention behaviors.

By the end of September 2019, the CDC will publish nine more courses for a total of 11. Upcoming releases include:

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE),
• Environmental Cleaning,
• Building a Business Case for Infection Prevention,
• Strategies for Preventing HAIs,
• Patient and Family Engagement,
• Clostridioides difficile Infection (CDI),
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Bacteremia,
• Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infection (CLABSI) and
• Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI).

The courses can be completed in any order.

MLMIC recognizes the importance of infection prevention throughout healthcare, as well as its impact on patient health and safety. We encourage all physicians, nurses, advanced practice providers and facility staff to take advantage of this opportunity to enhance your knowledge and skills of healthcare-associated infection prevention.