Most of infection prevention and control (IPC) is unnoticeable due to the nature of the work itself. We are working behind the scenes to ensure the public never needs to worry about what we are focused on. Yet, IPC work encompasses all of healthcare.
Sigma President Dr. Sandra C. Garmon Bibb challenged all Sigma nurses to Represent the best of our individuality and shared contributions to nursing in three ways: Reflect, Respect, and Respond. There are several ways to answer this call, and
one way I am contributing is through infection prevention and control.
Reflect: Communicating a caring culture
In Sandra’s words, “Caring is who we are and what we do, as individuals and as a caring culture.” What better way can we communicate care than through ensuring patient safety?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines patient safety as “the absence of preventable harm to a patient and reduction of risk of unnecessary harm associated with health care to an acceptable minimum.” Patient safety is at the core of infection prevention and control—from hand hygiene
to aseptic technique, to transmission-based precautions and outbreak management. All of these reduce avoidable harm to oneself and to our clients, and its unnecessary repercussions.
Self-care in infection prevention and control is manifested in numerous ways such as handwashing, wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE), immunisation, standard precautions, and a lot more. Care of others can also be achieved through self-care,
including transmission-based precautions, treatment of infections, surveillance, and outbreak/pandemic management. Care of the environment likewise could be achieved through proper waste management (an element of standard precautions), clean water
and sanitation (UN Sustainable Development Goal 6), and antimicrobial stewardship, which is linked to climate action (UN Sustainable Development Goal 13) and more.
Respect: Cultivating cultural humility
Cultural humility requires a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation, addressing power imbalance, and developing mutually beneficial clinical and advocacy partnerships. One way of cultivating
cultural humility is through mentorship where one can lead, listen, and learn from mentees.
I started mentoring a few senior nurses on infection prevention and control back in 2021 when our group saw the need to grow nurses into the specialty—not only because of the pandemic but also because of succession planning. I have since mentored
more than 30 nurses, and I have grown a lot from the professional partnership through consistent self-evaluation and listening and learning from our nurses. Richard and Joyce were two of my mentees in 2022, and this is what they had to say about the
experience:
“IPC mentoring has given me more confidence in my role as the IPC champion in our ward. I get to provide better support to my colleagues and act as a liaison with the IPC Clinical Nurse Specialist in our clinical area." - Richard Gozum
“Learning IPC is paramount in nursing. IPC mentoring helped improve my clinical management, and understanding of what constitutes "safe practice" in protecting patients, healthcare workers, and the public from transmissible infectious diseases.” - Joyce Torredes
Respond: Championing contemporary practice
Infection prevention and control practice requires quick action, role modeling, evidence-based practice, perseverance, and resilience. I like to think my story reflects
all these.
As an experienced infection prevention and control nurse specialist, I decided to teach undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students back in 2016. I quietly worked away at the university while completing my doctorate in nursing when the COVID-19 pandemic
knocked on the doors of New Zealand in 2020. At that time, thousands were already dying in other countries while New Zealand had less than 40 cases. Nevertheless, it was a dire time for us. One day I received a phone call from a health board executive
requesting me to help on the COVID-19 frontlines. I did not hesitate. In less than five days, I was seconded as the infection control lead of nine out of 18 of the COVID-19 isolation and quarantine facilities in Auckland. I was among the hundreds
of nurses who fearlessly helped protect New Zealand communities from COVID-19.
A lot of nurses have a similar story, but this is how I embrace the uniqueness of my specialty and our contribution to the nursing profession and healthcare.
The beauty of the 2023-2025 Organizational Call to Action is there are many ways to Represent, and each of us can use this challenge to enhance the future of nursing!
Monina Hernandez, MN, PGDipHSc, PGCertTT, BSN, RN, RM, CGNC, FCNA, FGDI, MACN, is an infection prevention and control manager in Melbourne, Australia, and an adjunct lecturer at Massey University in New Zealand. She is a board member of Sigma’s Psi Zeta at-Large Chapter.