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(Editor's note: In this issue of IP Newbie, we feature a column for new professionals written by Patti Grant, an infection preventionist and editorial advisory board member of this publication. An IP since 1990, Grant was profiled in the debut issue of this supplement. She has a passion for mentoring that will add invaluable "in-the-trenches" insights for new practitioners in the field.)
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The infection prevention community has lost some measure of credibility in the public and political eye and must embrace the patient advocacy movement to regain a leadership role, said Steve Weber, MD, a health care epidemiologist at the University of Chicago.
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As infection prevention enters a new era of transparency, regulatory activity, and consumer activism, unprecedented demands are being placed on a profession that long labored in relative obscurity.
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Sometimes you have to work fast to keep up with a new infection preventionist in career transition.
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Concerns regarding patient safety have produced numerous pieces of new legislation focused on infection control surveillance and reporting of antibiotic-resistant organisms in healthcare facilities nationwide.
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The Joint Commission has strongly endorsed recently issued compendium infection prevention guidelines, announcing that the condensed, actionable recommendations may become required as accreditation standards by 2010.
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Infection preventionists should continue to make patients their medical and moral compass amid a tightening regulatory environment that includes reimbursement reductions.
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The condensed guidelines in the recently issued compendium for six major infections emphasize administrative responsibility to provide the resources and infrastructure to make the prevention of health care-associated infections (HAIs) a reality. In this landmark new document at least, infection prevention really is everyone's business.
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With the recent release of landmark compendium guidelines for prevention of six major health care-associated infections (HAIs), the immediate question is whether these practical, "actionable" guidelines will result in real action.
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Joint Commission Resources (JCR) has launched a "Flu Vaccination Challenge" this season targeting health care workers, but organizers only underscored the current woeful situation in setting the immunization goal.