Healthcare providers can only protect their patients from contracting infections if everyone on staff is taking the same precautionary measures, and too often that’s not the case. Studies show around 40% of healthcare workers don’t wash their hands properly, while every day one in thirty-one U.S. patients contract an infection associated with their healthcare.
These infections are largely avoidable. For example, appropriate hand hygiene can prevent up to 50% of avoidable infections, while the CDC estimates more effective infection control programs could prevent up to 70% of healthcare-associated infections.
With that in mind, MedCerts is proud to offer the completely new Infection Prevention and Control in Health Care course, which reviews the principles of infection prevention and control in health care. The 1-week, 16-hour on-demand course is written and led by Linda Goss, a certified infection preventionist and former president of the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC). The curriculum discusses methods and reviews various aspects of infection prevention and control in healthcare settings, including hand hygiene, disinfection of surfaces and equipment, safe injection practices, handling of regulated waste, as well as the role of regulatory agencies.
The standalone course is ideal for both aspiring healthcare professionals and as a review for those currently in healthcare and healthcare-related fields, with learners completing the following core objectives:
- Apply principles of infection prevention to all healthcare and community environments
- Recognize potential breaches in infection prevention and control and work to address non-compliance
- Identify skills, supplies and other resources necessary to promote infection prevention
- Identify safe injection practices and methods of implementation
- List the components of standard precautions
- Demonstrate effective hand hygiene
- Differentiate disposal methods for regulated waste from regular waste
- Describe the various forms of personal protective equipment and their uses
- Discuss the importance of cleaning and disinfection, including contact time
- Describe respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette
- Identify methods to minimize exposure to bloodborne pathogens
The Infection Prevention and Control in Health Care course costs $600 and is especially recommended for learners who have taken the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program. Here’s the complete list of MedCerts programs that would be enhanced by also taking the Infection Prevention and Control in Health Care course:
| Add the Infection Prevention and Disease Control in Healthcare Course to the Following MedCerts Clinical Programs | |||
| NA-701 | Certified Nursing Assistant (B2B Only) | HI-6600 | Medical Laboratory Assistant |
| BT-1000 | Behavior Technician and the Medical Office | HI-7000 | Patient Care Technician |
| BT-1100 | Behavior Technician Specialist | HI-7200 | Mental Health Support Specialist |
| HI-2000 | Medication Care Coordinator | HI-7300 | Mental Health Support Professional |
| HI-2100 | Pharmacy Technician Specialist | HI-9600 | Clinical Medical Specialist |
| HI-6000 | Medical Assistant | HI-9700 | Clinical Medical Professional |
| HI-6100 | Phlebotomy Technician | HI-9800 | Clinical Medical Assistant and Medical Scribe Professional |
| HI-6200 | EKG Technician | PT-3000 | Physical Therapy Aide and Administration Specialist |
| HI-6300 | Cardio-Phlebotomy Technician | SP-3000 | Sterile Processing Technician |
| HI-6400 | Medical Scribe Professional | ST-3000 | Surgical Technologist |
| HI-6500 | Medical Scribe and Administrative Professional | ST-9000 | Surgical/Sterile Processing Technician |
| Add the Infection Prevention and Disease Control in Healthcare Course to the Following MedCerts Non-Clinical Programs | |||
| HI-1000 | Medical Front Office Assistant and Administration Specialist | HI-8000 | Health Unit Coordinator |
| HI-1200 | Medical Front Office Administration Specialist | HI-9000 | Allied Healthcare Professional |
| HI-3000 | Medical Front Office and Electronic Health Records | HI-9500 | Healthcare Administrative Professional |
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) cost an estimated 99,000 deaths in the United States per year, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the $45 billion annual direct cost of HAIs could be reduced by as much as $31.5 billion with quality infection prevention programs.
By making a modest investment in training your workforce around infection prevention and control, it can have a potentially outsized impact on improving patient outcomes and will save money.
Strengthen Your Infection Prevention Training
Contact us today at [email protected] to learn how our Infection Prevention and Control in Healthcare course can help your team reduce risks, enhance patient safety and stay compliant with healthcare standards. Whether you’re upskilling staff or expanding academic programs, we’re here to support your goals in building a safer, more prepared healthcare workforce.
