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JUNE 2023
ACIPC President Kristie Popkiss2IPC News | acipc.org.auWelcome to the June issue of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) News. With 2023 nearing the halfway mark, it’s remarkable what an eventful year it has been already. I hope that you are all feeling positive in your roles, and if not, that you have a plan to help improve this. If professional development is on your radar, remember ACIPC’s range of educational oerings to help you get the most out of your career in IPC.I recently attended the WA ACIPC and GAMA Healthcare IPC Tour. Whilst there were fantastic turnouts at all the sessions, we had over 90 participants in WA. It was a great opportunity to see so many people face to face, and I was particularly aected by how many similar challenges there are across multiple organisations within the realm of Infection Prevention and Control. I was also encouraged by the strategies employed by teams to address and assist with these, and the support people were giving to each other. It is always reassuring to know that we are usually not experiencing these similar issues in isolation, and the growing demand and expectations for our services are something we can face together. For those of you who could not attend the in-person events, we will have content from the events up on our website soon. On behalf of the ACIPC Board of Directors, I would like to thank GAMA Healthcare for its partnership in these sessions. I’d also like to extend a warm thank you to the keynote speakers Professors Martin Kiernan, David Weber, and Brett Mitchell.Kristie Popkiss
Contents ACIPC President 2ACIPC International Conference 4Research Grants 6Meet the Board 7ACIPC Lunch & Learn Webinar 9IPC Study Day 11Blood Borne Virus Testing Course - Success Stories 12Infection Control Matters Podcast 15ACIPC at PICNet Conference 16ACHS Infection Control Clinical Indicator Review 18ACIPC Member Profiles 20ACIPC 2023/2024 Membership Renewal 242022 Cite Scores For Infection, Disease & Health 25 Latest Articles from Infection, Disease & Health 26Call for Papers 27 Selected Publications of Interest 28 3June 2023
ACIPC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEOn behalf of the Board of Directors, it gives us great pleasure to invite you to attend the 2023 ACIPC International Conference.ADELAIDE, SA & ONLINE 12-15NOV23EMBRACING FUNDAMENTALS & CHARTING A PATH FOR THE FUTUREACIPC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEBy attending the conference, you will learn from national and international experts, network with likeminded professionals, and meet with Australasia’s largest collection of IPC industry suppliers.The conference is the peak event for infection prevention and control professionals (ICPs) in the region and includes Australasia’s largest trade exhibition dedicated to showcasing IPC industry suppliers.Delegates include nurses, IPC managers, and consultants, aged care workers, scientists, academics, educators, policy-makers, medical practitioners, hospital managers, and those responsible for managing and delivering IPC programs in non-healthcare settings.More information regarding the conference including invited speakers, social events, and engagement initiatives can be found on the conference website - https://acipcconference.com.au/ REGISTRATION & SPONSORSHIP ARE NOW OPENEARLY REGISTRATION CLOSES ON 1 OCTOBER 2023 4IPC News | acipc.org.auConference Scholarships – Australia & New ZealandScholarship applications are open to residents of Australia or New Zealand who are financial members of ACIPC and have been a member for at least twelve months. The value of each scholarship comprises one early bird registration to attend to the conference in Adelaide or as a virtual delegate. For more information and to apply visit the ACIPC website.Applications Close 30 August 2023.
5June 2023CONFERENCE SPONSORS The 2023 ACIPC International Conference is proudly supported by:PLATINUM SPONSORGOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSORS
6IPC News | acipc.org.auRESEARCH GRANTS A key strategic focus of the College is to enable members to identify areas for research that will lead to improved knowledge, evidence-based education and practice, and improved outcomes. In alignment with this strategy, the College provides opportunities for our members to undertake research with the assistance of research grants.Early Career Research GrantThe aim of the Early Career Research Grant is to support Early Career Researchers (ECR) undertake research relevant to infection prevention and control. ECRs are researchers who are within five years of the start of their research careers. Seed GrantThe aim of the Seed Grant is to support members who wish to undertake high quality pilot, exploratory, or small-scale infection prevention and control research. This grant aims to address a gap between early concepts and large-scale funding provided by larger bodies such as the National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council (ARC). The grant is also aimed at providing support to researchers who have not yet had success with specific national category 1 competitive funding NHMRC and ARC grants.Applications for 2023/2024 will close at 9am on Friday 18 August 2023RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!FOR FURTHER INFORMATION INCLUDING THE APPLICATION PROCESS CLICK HERE
7June 2023MEET THE BOARDErica has been a member of the college for several years and was the first CICP-Primary under the new credentialling framework. Erica is currently credentialled as a CICP-E, is an Authorised Nurse Immuniser and has a Masters in Infection Prevention and Control.Erica is an experienced nurse who is a passionate leader with unique skills in leadership and management, infection control, sta health, immunisation and infectious diseases. She has worked across multiple states in Australia, which has allowed her to diversify her skills, knowledge and develop her leadership style. Erica believes that the key to raising the profile of infection prevention and control has been to balance the current evidence, clinical needs, and the task at hand to ensure practical application for all involved.Erica Short Board Director, Member of the Credentialling and Professional Standards Committee and the Membership Engagement Committee. Erica joined the ACIPC Board of Directors in 2021 as her way of giving back to the IPC community whilst supporting the growth and development of novice ICPs to reach their full potential. By supporting the novice ICPs through their journey, she hopes to see a collegial network grow from strength to strength as we navigate our way out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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9June 2023ACIPC LUNCH & LEARN WEBINARTopic: Have you ever wondered what working with Mercy Ships is all about? Presenter: Sonja DawsonDate: Tuesday 4 July 2023 at 12:00 pm AESTAbstract: Join the webinar to hear Dr. Sonja Dawson, RN, Ph.D share her most recent experience of volunteering as an Adult ICU Nurse with Mercy Ships’ newest vessel Global Mercy, currently docked in Senegal, West Africa.The Global Mercy was deployed for the first time in February this year. The hospital on board spans two decks, and is approx. 7000m2, containing 6 operating theatres, 102 acute beds, 90 low care beds, support services such as radiology, medical laboratory, physiotherapy and nutrition departments. The hospital area also includes dedicated classroom/conference spaces as well as a space dedicated to simulation training intended to supplement the local health providers’ ability to access professional development.Sonja has been connected with this not-for-profit organisation for almost 3 decades and has worked on all three ships in various clinical, education and management roles. In 2016/2017, she pioneered the position of IPC Nurse on the Africa Mercy. During that time, she also collected data for a research project that resulted in the development of a Professional Practice Model describing the culture of care given through Mercy Ships. During this lunch webinar, she will oer a glimpse into this unique environment, the types of patients Mercy Ships serves, the joys, challenges, and day-to-day life of living and working on a hospital ship, working within an international multidisciplinary team to bring life-changing safe surgery to both adults and children.Sonja is a senior lecturer at Avondale University and convenes the graduate studies program in Nursing. Her passion is to equip and support nurses to function in a global health environment for volunteer service and to provide direction on leadership in these areas. Sonja’s research interests revolve around humanitarian nursing in a non-disaster context, as well as clinical education, and especially within a service-learning context. Most recently, she has been invited to join a research team investigating the impact oral care has on hospital acquired pneumonia. Sonja has been a volunteer with Mercy Ships over the last three decades in various roles and has now served on three of their hospital ships. A webinar recording will be available to all ACIPC members, recordings can be found here: https://www.acipc.org.au/members/webinars/9June 2023CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR
10IPC News | acipc.org.auThe International Federation of Infection control is hosting their24 hour virtual conference "Local Solutions for GlobalChallenges" on 6 July 2023. This 8-hour conference will includemore than 20 speakers and will be repeated in three differenttime zones (AEST, CET, and EDT).Building the IPC team of the futureCritical Care infectionsSurveillance of HAIsDecontamination of surfaces in healthcare environmentsSafer surgeries for prevention of SSIRole of ventilation in providing a safe environment forpatients and staffGlobal strategies for improving IPC programs
IPC STUDY DAY20 attendees gathered recently in New Zealand - Aotearoa as GAMA and the Global Medics Group held their first-ever IPC study day in the land of the long white cloud. The attendees travelled from around the regions, with some flying in from the South Island, to participate in this informative and engaging study day.I was excited to have two slots as a guest speaker during this event. I shared the research from Auckland Hospital, where we recently transitioned to a 7-day week IPC service, and highlighted the processes, lessons learned, and the advantages gained for patient care, and the wider organisation. The second talk that I gave was about the use of digital technology that is being utilized for bloodstream infections.There is no doubt though, that the attendees were most excited to hear from the international speakers. Professor Martin Kiernan spoke about how to eectively write a business case within the clinical environment and Professor Brett Mitchell gave a presentation on the REACH study which focussed on improving the cleaning practices within healthcare settings.There is a wealth of experience in our members, and knowledge sharing is key to improving health standards. If any reader is keen to share their knowledge through study days or presentations, please feel free to reach out to me, or any of the committee.Ann Whitfield, Board Director11June 2023
1212IPC News | acipc.org.auSUCCESS STORIESACIPC oers a Blood Borne Virus Testing Course for healthcare practitioners involved in undertaking testing in all healthcare settings. During the course, participants learn about:• Epidemiology, transmission, management options and prevention of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C• Dierent tests available to correctly diagnose, testing intervals post exposure and window periods for testing• Post-incident pre and post-test discussion for both the recipient and the source following the incident• The personal impact and medical consequences of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C• Conducting a risk assessment for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C• Strategies and resources for eective health promotion and prevention education• Basic counselling skills including listening, questioning, reflecting and summarising Three recent participants kindly shared their feedback about the course with us.I took the Blood Borne Virus (BBV) course late 2022, but due to personal circumstances Jackie and I decided to defer to the next intake. The course has increased my understanding and confidence regarding blood borne viruses. Coming from a Third World country with minimal access to this kind of service, the BBV course put me on the right trajectory. I’ve been a nurse since 2011 and BBVs have always been my fascination. Jackie was instrumental in the delivery of this course which equipped me with the necessary KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes) to be a BBV workplace counsellor. The completion of the course turned out to be a blessing in my workplace, because my Infection Control Coordinator went on maternity leave, and she is the only BBV counsellor for the entire health service. I was faced with my first case of occupational exposure and the course helped me a lot in dealing with it. Handling occupational exposure is daunting and confronting, but having the BBV course as my foundation I knew that I was doing the right thing, the first time and all the time. Truly an indispensable wealth of knowledge that will be embedded with me for a lifetime!
13June 2023My experience of the Blood Borne Virus testing course was nothing short of fantastic. I learnt so much that has influenced me as both a practitioner and as a person. I am particularly grateful to those who gave us their insight into their lived experience via the videos in the course. I have taken the knowledge gained from this course and reviewed and redeveloped our blood and body fluid exposure kit. I have also been able to provide some education on pre and post-test discussion to our team members to ensure that these conversations are handled with the utmost care and urgency. This course has further ignited a passion of mine in understanding more surrounding the care of those exposed or living with blood borne viruses. Many thanks to ACIPC and the facilitators for providing such a comprehensive and engaging course. I would do it again in a heartbeat!Working in IPC and managing occupational exposures in a 200-bed hospital, I had been looking for a course in Blood Borne Viruses that I could complete to enhance my knowledge in this area. I am really interested in blood borne viruses and how they are perceived and the associated stigma in a hospital setting. It should be noted that I had never had a positive BBV source result in five years. The course was really collated well, with testimonials, current information and endless resources. I was halfway through the course when one day at work I received a phone call to inform me that one of my caregivers had sustained a parenteral occupational exposure. The correct processes were followed and I went to debrief with my caregiver (recipient). My caregiver discussed with me that she felt confident as the source was an 86-year-old European lady who definitely would not have a blood borne virus. The results came back the next day and the source was positive, my first positive source result, while I was still studying the blood borne virus testing course. I was able to confidently discuss the positive test results, actions, monitoring and follow up that was required with my caregiver. It was a learning curve for both myself and my caregiver that even little old ladies can have blood borne viruses!For more information about, or to register for the next Blood Borne Virus Testing Course commencing on 8 September visit: Blood Borne Virus Testing Course - ACIPC - Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control
14IPC News | acipc.org.auBlood Borne Virus TESTING COURSEIf you have any questions, please email learning@acipc.org.au or go to our website for more information acipc.org.au The course has been designed for healthcare practitioners involved in undertaking testing in all healthcare settings including midwifery, acute care, community health, women’s health, correctional health, rural and remote health, refugee health, sexual health, and infection prevention and control practitioners.DURING THE COURSE YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT: Epidemiology, transmission, management options and prevention of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C Dierent tests available to correctly diagnose, testing intervals post exposure and window periods for testing Post incident pre- and post-test discussion for both the recipient and the source following the incident The personal impact and medical consequences of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C Conducting a risk assessment for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C Strategies and resources for eective health promotion and prevention education Basic counselling skills including listening, questioning, reflecting and summarising COST: $350MOREINFORMATION
15June 2023INFECTION CONTROL MATTERS PODCASTImplementation of HAP Prevention - not what you do but the way that you do itIn this episode, we discuss a paper in The Lancet Infectious Diseases about preventing non-ventilator associated pneumonia including the determinants of implementation success. Brett and Martin chat with Dr Aline Wolfensberger and Professor Hugo Sax, authors of this paper about this important work.Link to paper: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(22)00812-X/fulltext Dr Aline Wolfensberger is a medical doctor, certified in Internal Medicine and in Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology. She works at the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology of the University Hospital Zurich with Professor Hugo Sax. Prof Hugo Sax is a Swiss ID physician who worked for the last 20 years as a leader in infection prevention and control.Have gloves and gowns had their day?Brett Mitchell talks to Dr Sarah Browning and Professor Josh Davis about a recent paper in Infection, Disease and Health, ‘Have gloves and gowns had their day?’ The evidence for gloves and gowns is discussed, as well as results from a recent survey into their use in Australia and New Zealand.Sarah is an infectious disease physician and Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the Hunter New England (HNE) Health District in NSW, Australia. Josh is an infectious disease physician and a clinical trialist, also based at HNE and the Hunter Medical Research Institute.A link to the article: https://www.idhjournal.com.au/article/S2468-0451(23)00030-5/fulltext Surveillance and Antimicrobial Stewardship in long-term care facilitiesIn this episode Phil talks to Associate Professor Noleen Bennett* about the state of surveillance and antimicrobial stewardship and what her research has discovered in this area. Noleen also reveals an exciting project she is leading called NISPAC, a streamlined infection and antimicrobial use surveillance system for Australian Residential Aged Care Facilities.*Associate Professor Noleen Bennett. Infection Control Consultant, Victorian Healthcare Associated Infection Surveillance Coordinating Centre and the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship.Outbreaks you didn’t know that you had - the joy of whole genome sequencingIn this episode, recorded at the 2023 SHEA Spring Meeting in Seattle, Martin talks to Associate Professor Alex Sundermann about his work on sequencing all isolates from local healthcare settings and the discoveries that this enables. Healthcare infections due to previous admissions, endoscopes, even pseudo-outbreaks are all laid bare by this approach.TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE
16IPC News | acipc.org.auThe Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) was an invited partner to the meeting of the Pacific Infection Prevention and Control Network (PICNet) of the Pacific Community (SPC) in Nadi, Fiji in May. Associate Professor Philip Russo (Immediate Past President/Board Director), Ms Jackie Miley (ACIPC Education Manager), and Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman (Board Director) were invited to present and participate in the meeting. The meeting included participants from: Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The partners invited included Austin Health, Doherty Institute, Fiji National University, Pacific Islands Health Ocer Association, Pacific Regional Infectious Disease Association, and the World Health Organization. The core focus of the meeting was strengthening comprehensive IPC programs, networking, and sharing IPC experiences within the region. Phil was invited to present on the importance of healthcare associated infection surveillance. The key theme of the presentation was to use surveillance data to drive the infection prevention program, and the importance of ensuring data is fed back to all key stakeholders. Whilst the surveillance programs in the countries that attended the meeting are at various stages of maturation, there was keen enthusiasm within the room to learn from each other and undertake uniform surveillance.Jackie presented on the Foundations of IPC – International Course, detailing course aims, learning outcomes, structure, content and delivery. Student support strategies were identified, and the hardcopy resources developed especially for this course were explained. The presentation was well received, and many enrolled students were present. Jackie explained the links between assessments and the students’ clinical setting, and students were encouraged by the opportunities to apply their learning in assessment activities. Opportunities were identified for graduates of the course including applying for credentialling by ACIPC at the primary level, and applying for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) with several Australian Universities to undertake further studies in IPC. ACIPC AT PICNET CONFERENCE
17June 2023At the evening cocktail party on the rooftop of the hotel in a stunning sunset, Phil formally launched the Foundations of Infection Prevention and Control. Then Jackie screened a video presentation which showed course lecture content, including the specially filmed clinical scenarios demonstrating IPC practice situations, with deliberate errors and then ‘best practice.’ Jackie then demonstrated the course to prospective students, who were excited to commence in late June 2023. Peta-Anne was invited to present on the opportunities and challenges in relation to education and research in the Pacific region. This led to a discussion of challenges the participants are currently experiencing to access and engage in specialised IPC education and research. Opportunities were identified for the College to continue engagement with PICNet with research and educational partnerships, as well as continuing support of the ACIPC International Conference Scholarship program. Peta-Anne then chaired a reflective discussion on lessons learned during the COVID-19 response, with a key message being the importance of IPC outbreak preparedness plans. An important way forward is to continue to raise the profile of IPC as a specialist practice.The partnership between the SPC and ACIPC has been strengthened through representation at the meeting. There are clear opportunities for future collaboration and sharing of experiences across the region.
18IPC News | acipc.org.auACHS INFECTION CONTROL CLINICAL INDICATOR REVIEWThe Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) is an independent organisation that represents governments, consumers, and peak health bodies in Australia. ACHS has the world’s largest dedicated clinical indicator data collection and reporting service. The not-for-profit group provides benchmarking tools and is an excellent platform for communication between multi-disciplinary groups who may not ordinarily connect in their day-to-day business. What these connections ensure is that Infection Prevention and Control best practices and lessons learned can be shared which ultimately leads to improved patient safety and outcomes. There are 22 clinical indicators, one of which is Infection Prevention and Control and earlier this month I enjoyed chairing the ACHS (ACHS) Infection Control Clinical Indicators Working Party 2023 which took place in Sydney. There were representatives from the Australian College of Nursing, a surgeon, consumer consultant, the ACHS team, my fellow ACIPC board member Nicola Isles, reviewing and analysing the data received from the survey that was distributed throughout the entire membership base.The working party had robust and healthy conversations. It confirmed the current indicators are relevant and imperative to keep, with a plan to potentially introduce 3 new indicators which will further assist in the benchmarking ability amongst peers. These will be circulated for approval from the committee.It was exciting to have it re-confirmed that we have international healthcare groups utilising these indicators which is expanding our data collection beyond Australia, this is also a positive acknowledgment of the program.Ann Whitfieldsolutions@opira.com.au | 1300 157 969 | www.opira.com.auExclusive Australian DistributorDr. Wladyslaw KowalskiIn-duct UV sterilisation for purifying and destroying airborne contaminantsIn-duct UV sterilisation for purifying and destroying airborne contaminantsPAID ADVERTCLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.infection360.co.ukFull Conference: £95One Day: £60@Infection_360#Infection3608-9 November, Pendulum Hotel &Manchester Conference CentreINFECTI NWhat's trending in InfectionPrevention & Control3602023Day 1: Surgical Site Infection (SSI), Sustainability in IPC, CPE, MRSA and other challengingpathogens Day 2: Healthcare buildings as a source of infectionJoin us from 8 to 9 November 2023 at the Pendulum Hotel and Manchester ConferenceCentre for Infection 360 Conference, where renowned speakers within infectionprevention discuss technology and its part in combatting new and existing pathogens. The programme is designed to appeal to all those working within infection preventionand control and public health across clinical and non-clinical areas. Also featuring a large exhibition where companies will be showcasing new products andtechnologies within infection prevention. Sustainability challenges in InfectionPrevention & Control An intriguing outbreak of CPEBSAC global antimicrobial stewardshipaccreditation schemeNHSE IP education and workforce workprogrammeInvasive Group A Streptococcal InfectionDay 1 programme highlights: Tracey Gauci Dr Emma Yates and Dr Efthia Yiannakis Dr David R Jenkins NHS England Dr Theresa LamagniEnvironmental standards for safedecontaminationIPC: Providing assurance in new buildsMDRO in drains and links to HCAIVentilation challenges in IPCTo TMV, or not to TMV, that is the question: scaldversus infection riskAn update on water safetyHealth & Safety and Infection Prevention & ControlDay 2 programme highlights: John Prendergast Paul Weaving & Hayley Cane Dr Michael Weinbren Dr Allan Bennett Paul McDermott Steve Vaughanwww.infection360.co.uk
20ACIPC MEMBER PROFILES This month, we focus on Jane Hellsten, Infection Prevention and Control Director at Bendigo Health, who has recently retired after a long and eventful career bookended by two pandemics, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19.What drew you to IPC as a career? After my nurse training, I went straight to Fairfield Infectious Diseases hospital to do post-graduate study and loved it straight away. I’d always been fascinated by infectious diseases and my career just morphed into infection control.Infectious disease hospitals are dierent to other hospitals, they are conscious of infection 24/7. Fairfield really drilled IPC into you – you don’t transmit anything. It was very strictly run. In clinical teaching, you had to pass on safe practices 100% of the time, there were serious infections there. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains were causing sepsis, and then of course HIV/AIDS came along. I enjoyed the one-on-one nature of isolation nursing, but it’s not for everyone.In the HIV/AIDS unit we were caring for patients in spacesuits at first, as we really didn’t know what we were dealing with, however we quickly reverted to gowns and routine PPE. People with HIV came to Fairfield as it was a safe place, everybody had an infectious disease, there was no stigma there. It put me in a good position to develop a code of practise that was almost innate. You learned so much at Fairfield, they had weekly presentations which nurses could attend. Students were attracted to the hospital because they were interested in working in developing countries, or in tropical medicine, and they could get lab experience as well. They were often headed o overseas to work with all kinds of infectious diseases.In the 1908s Fairfield Hospital had a High Security Quarantine Unit, which was a negative pressure unit and intended to house patients with suspected Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (VHFs), it also had a Level 4 biocontainment lab and its own processing unit that thermally processed all waste. At this time there were outbreaks of VHFs in Africa and elsewhere, and we had a team trained to do aeromedical retrievals. We had an RAAF Hercules on standby, and I trained on that team. Patients were encased in canopies, and we had sleeves so we could care for them safely. I left Fairfield in 1994 and it was closed in 1995, the government had apparently decided infectious diseases were low priority. It was the last specific infectious diseases hospital in Australia.20IPC News | acipc.org.au
21May 2023You’ve spent a lot of your career as an educator, how did you come to teach IPC?I’d gained a Masters of Education and because I love infectious diseases, and I love learning, it seemed natural to want to pass that on to others. As nurse educators, I always insisted we do early morning ward rounds. I would go to ICU handover every morning, and you’d often have opportunities for chiming in. When wards are busy, sta are busy, so they may not always have time to look at the intranet. That’s why being on the floor is so important so you can verbalise. This was especially important early in the COVID-19 pandemic, as guidelines were changing every other day and were dicult to keep up with. Keeping sta across new guidelines was crucial and you just can’t beat being at the coalface. I spent some time working at the Royal Women’s Hospital implementing universal precautions there, then I went back to Vivian Bullwinkle Education Centre at Fairfield and spent a lot of years teaching there. When it closed, I moved to Bendigo to be closer to my aging parents, and the job at Bendigo Hospital just came up out of the blue. I saw it advertised and I thought ‘Infection Control, gosh I could do that,’ so I applied. My husband was able to transfer his work to Castlemaine which was perfect. In 1995 Bendigo Hospital had merged with Ann Caudle, a rehabilitation hospital, and Bendigo Healthcare Group became a really big regional teaching hospital. And then in the early 2000s, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) was in the news, with media coverage about breaches in infection control on the front page of the papers. The government funded new positions in IPC and put on placements for students, and we took a number of them at Bendigo. The Department of Health also set up the Rural Infection Control Practice (RICPRAC), a collaborative network of rural infection control consultants, and two IPC positions were funded in each of the five regional hospitals. So we were doing our jobs and also running the training for our region. I was still working with essentially the same group of IPC professionals in RICPRAC for over 20 years, and it stood us in good stead when COVID arrived. We were already doing audits each year, and benchmarking against all participating hospitals. We operated as a community, and you shared information with all stakeholders. 21June 2023
What has changed in IPC over the course of your career?I don’t think much has changed in the practice of IPC. At Fairfield, hand cleaning was the main thing, we didn’t wear gloves all the time. There was no such thing as an N95 mask. You wore gloves and a gown, and you might have a surgical mask on, depending on what type of infection the patient had. There was also no such thing as ‘no lift’ back then. You were constantly handling patients, increasing the risk of contact transmission.You have to think about what you are doing all the time in IPC and understand why what you are doing is important. Hand hygiene is obviously important, and so is PPE. At Bendigo, we were a pilot hospital for hand hygiene and we were also very risk-averse, going to N95 masks early. We really had a sense that N95s were protecting our sta and insisted on them, for visitors as well.I do think that hand cleaning is so key in IPC, although of course gloves have their place, provided they are changed constantly. Proper hand cleaning is often sucient, depending on what you are doing. It concerns me that in some settings, hand hygiene rates still haven’t improved. We can definitely do better on that front. Gloves are no replacement for good hand hygiene in my opinion.What future trends for IPC excite you?There’s a lot of talk about AI taking over some healthcare functions. I think AI might be able to answer basic questions, but you can’t beat the one-on-one with people. Measuring compliance is something that did take a lot of time, and the money spent on people observing hand hygiene and reporting on it might be something that could be done electronically instead. We were spending so much time doing observations that could be done electronically, perhaps with cameras, and it robbed us of time spent with sta, doing a ward round and some ad hoc training and education at the same time. It’s a highly eective was of teaching IPC in busy hospital settings.What will you miss now that you are retired from full-time work?I will miss the people most. I’ll never stop being interested in IPC and infectious diseases. I’ll keep reading and learning. Working in a regional hospital means you really get to know people and I will miss the camaraderie of working with healthcare professionals. I’m still a nurse immuniser and I work for the City of Bendigo immunising children. I really enjoy this work, it keeps me ticking along. 22IPC News | acipc.org.au
23May 202323May 202323June 2023 The Australian Nurses Memorial Centre announces scholarships for nurses and midwives to support postgraduate study in 2024. ̈́ʹͲǡͲͲͲ ̈́ͳͷǡͲͲͲ̈́ͷǡͲͲͲ ̈́͵ǡͲͲͲȀ̈́ͷǡͲͲͲThe 'Babe' Norman Scholarship is a PhD scholarship for nurses and midwives commencing or in the early stages of a full-time clinical research doctorate at an Australian university. This scholarship is valued at $40,000 per year for 3 years, generously funded by the Rosemary Norman Foundation. Rosemary Norman Research Grants provide opportunities for applicants in the later stages of their PhD or who are undertaking other nursing or midwifery postgraduate courses. These grants range in value from $10,000–$40,000 and are generously funded by the Rosemary Norman Foundation. ̈́ͳͲǡͲͲͲThis scholarship is sponsored by the Cuthbertson family and is to be awarded to a nurse or midwife from a regional/rural area across Australia. ƬǦƬ̈́ͷǡͲͲͲThe ANMC collaborates with the Australian Legion of Ex-Servicemen and Women to sponsor scholarships to support study involving care of the older person or palliative care. Prince Henry’s Affiliates Scholarship ̈́ͷǡͲͲͲThis scholarship, sponsored by Miss Marion Kilvert, will be awarded to a nurse practising in Victoria to support the study of patient-centred, acute-care nursing. ̈́ͷǡͲͲͲThis scholarship, sponsored by Mrs Sandra Dent, will be awarded to a nurse or midwife practising in Victoria to support the study of contemporary professional practice in nursing or midwifery. Please visit our website for further information australiannursesmemorialcentre.org.au Applications close 31 August 2023
24IPC News | acipc.org.auACIPC 2023/2024 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALACIPC membership is a valuable resource for anyone interested in infection prevention and control. Membership gives you access to the latest IPC news, research, and evidence-based practice, as well as opportunities to share resources and network with your peers. Membership benefits include:• Opportunity to become a Credentialled IPC professional• A subscription to the College’s highly regarded journal, Infection, Disease & Health• Access to the members-only email discussion forum, Infexion Connexion• Discounted rates on educational courses• Discounted registration to the ACIPC Conference in Adelaide• Access to member-only resources and webinars• Voting rights and eligibility to hold oce• Opportunities to connect with your peers within infection prevention and controlThe next twelve months will see the College develop and further invest in supporting our members and IPC more broadly. The College appreciates the ongoing support of our members.Emails will be sent out in June for membership renewal for 2023/2024We look forward to continuing to support our members over the next 12 months. 24IPC News | acipc.org.au
25June 2023THE 2022 CITE SCORES FOR INFECTION, DISEASE AND HEALTH RELEASEDThe 2022 Cite scores for Infection, Disease and Health have been released. CiteScore is a means to measure the average citations for a journal – the average number of times every paper is referenced in another piece of work, like a journal or book. The higher the CiteScore, the more valuable the journal is deemed to be. In 2022, Infection, Disease and Health’s CiteScore increased for the 5th year in a row, to 5.2. The journal is ranked 3rd in the world in one nursing category. In our field, as a comparator, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology’s CiteScore for 2022 was 6.0 while the Journal of Infection Prevention was 1.9. We anticipate continued growth in the quality of our journal. The growth of the journal has a number of benefits, including promotion of ACIPC and our profession, attracting better quality studies to inform practice and policy, increased influence, and increased advertising and subscription demand and hence revenue.PAID ADVERT
Latest Articles from Infection, Disease & HealthTime-to-first-isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in cystic fibrosis (CF): An underutilised metric in infection control? John E. Moore, Jacqueline C. Rendall, Beverley C. MillarComparative evaluation of stand-alone HEPA-based air decontamination systems Jonathan A. Otter, Louise Clark, Graham Taylor, Amal Hussein, Latchmin Gargee, Simon D. Goldenberghttps://www.idhjournal.com.au/article/S2468-0451(23)00033-0/fulltextThe impact of rapid diagnostic testing on hospital administrative coding accuracy for influenza. Hugh C. Murray, Benjamin J. Smith,Mark Putland, Lou Irving, Douglas Johnson, Deborah A. Williamson, Steven Y.C. TongCould human-to-human transmission of avian influenza spark a public health crisis in Southeast Asia? Nguyen Khoi Quan, Andrew W. Taylor-RobinsonPAID ADVERT26IPC News | acipc.org.au
VISIT THE JOURNAL HOMEPAGE www.idhjournal.com.auEditor-in-ChiefProfessor Brett Mitchellbrett.mitchell@avondale.edu.auFollow us on Twitter@IDHJournalInfection, Disease &Health(formerly Healthcare Infection)Ocial journal of the Australian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC)The journal is a global platform for the publication of original knowledge that fundamentally advances the prevention and control of infection in human populations. Priority is given to original infection prevention research relevant to, or conducted in, healthcare settings (including hospitals, community-based healthcare and private healthcare), aged and residential care, education settings, child care, dentistry, correctional services, mental health and indigenous health and industry with implications for healthcare e.g. tattoo parlours. We are also interested in articles on the surveillance and epidemiology, outcomes and risk factors for infections acquired in settings just described, cost-eectiveness of infection prevention strategies and sociological aspects of infection prevention and control. We may consider public health-based research that focuses on infection prevention in human populations, including low and middle income contexts.All submissions must contribute new knowledge or advance debate on a relevant topic. The journal is quarterly and publishes research, reviews, concise communications, case reports, commentary, opinion pieces and other articles concerned with infection and disease aecting the health of an individual, organisation or population. Infection, Disease & Health provides a platform for the publication and dissemination of original knowledge at the nexus of the areas infection, disease and health in a One Health context. One Health recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. The audience of the journal includes researchers, clinicians, nurses and midwives, health workers and public policy professionals concerned with infection, disease and health.CALL FOR PAPERSIMPACT FACTOR COMING IN2023!2021 CiteScore3.7Why publish in Infection, Disease & Health? Fast review speed – just 4 weeks from submission to rst decision Global online dissemination to 15 million researchers via ScienceDrect Option to publish your research open access Covered by the Emerging Sources Citation Index, Medline and Scopus Impact Factor coming in 2023!27June 2023PAID ADVERT
28IPC News | acipc.org.auSelected Publications of Interest Paramedic insertion of peripheral intravenous catheters, unused catheter rates, and influencing factors: A retrospective review Eleanor Golling RN, MIPC a, Nigel Barr Dr RN RP PhD, SFHEA b 1, Thea van de Mortel Professor RN PhD, FACN, FACIPC, SFHEA c 2, Peta-Anne Zimmerman Dr RN, PhD, SFHEA https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196655323003644 Global incidence in hospital-associated infections resistant to antibiotics: An analysis of point prevalence surveys from 99 countries. PLoS Med, 20(6), e1004178. Balasubramanian, R., Van Boeckel, T. P., Carmeli, Y., Cosgrove, S., & Laxminarayan, R. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004178 Have gloves and gowns had their day? An Australian and New Zealand practice and attitudes survey about contact precautions for MRSA and VRE colonisation. Browning, S., Davis, J. S., & Mitchell, B. G. (2023). Infect Dis Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2023.03.006 Infection Prevention and Control: A Social Science Perspective Elliott, P., Storr, J., & Jeanes, A. (Ed.). (2023).. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003379393. Sinks in patient rooms in the ICU are associated with higher rates of hospital-acquired infections. A retrospective analysis of 552 ICUs. Giovanni-Battista, F., Geers, C., Schwab, F., Behnke, M., Sunder, W., Moellmann, J., & Gastmeier, P. (2023). J Hosp Infect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2023.05.018 Have you been involved with a recent publication that would be of interest to the wider ACIPC community? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact the oce at oce@acipc.org.au
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