Infection Control: The New York Requirement
Course #58643 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Healthcare professionals have the responsibility to adhere to scientifically accepted principles and practices of infection control in all healthcare settings and to oversee and monitor those medical and ancillary personnel for whom the professional is responsible. This course provides the information necessary for dental professionals to monitor, control, and prevent infection in healthcare settings.
- INTRODUCTION
- STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
- THE INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROCESS
- HIGH-RISK PRACTICES: EXPOSURE TO BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS
- PRECAUTIONS AND ISOLATION TECHNIQUES
- STANDARDS FOR EQUIPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
- SAFE INJECTION PRACTICES
- SURVEILLANCE
- COMMUNICABLE DISEASE EXPOSURES IN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
- SEPSIS
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for dental professionals in New York required to complete education to enhance their knowledge of infection control.
The purpose of this course is to provide a review of current infection control practices and accepted standards, with an emphasis on the application of infection control standards and practices in dental care settings.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Discuss the standards of professional conduct associated with infection control in the healthcare setting.
- Outline the infectious disease process.
- Describe various practices that can result in exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
- Identify effective strategies to prevent or control infection, including precautions, isolation techniques, hand hygiene, standards for cleaning, and safe injection practices.
- Describe the role of surveillance and reporting in an effective infection control program.
- Discuss the impact of communicable diseases in healthcare professionals, including the necessity for preplacement evaluations, periodic health assessments, education, and postexposure prophylaxis.
- Evaluate the impact and appropriate response to sepsis.
Lori L. Alexander, MTPW, ELS, MWC, is President of Editorial Rx, Inc., which provides medical writing and editing services on a wide variety of clinical topics and in a range of media. A medical writer and editor for more than 30 years, Ms. Alexander has written for both professional and lay audiences, with a focus on continuing education materials, medical meeting coverage, and educational resources for patients. She is the Editor Emeritus of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) Journal, the peer-review journal representing the largest association of medical communicators in the United States. Ms. Alexander earned a Master’s degree in technical and professional writing, with a concentration in medical writing, at Northeastern University, Boston. She has also earned certification as a life sciences editor and as a medical writer.
Carol Shenold, RN, ICP, graduated from St. Paul’s Nursing School, Dallas, Texas, achieving her diploma in nursing. Over the past thirty years she has worked in hospital nursing in various states in the areas of obstetrics, orthopedics, intensive care, surgery and general medicine.
Mrs. Shenold served as the Continuum of Care Manager for Vencor Oklahoma City, coordinating quality review, utilization review, Case Management, Infection Control, and Quality Management. During that time, the hospital achieved Accreditation with Commendation with the Joint Commission, with a score of 100.
Mrs. Shenold was previously the Infection Control Nurse for Deaconess Hospital, a 300-bed acute care facility in Oklahoma City. She is an active member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). She worked for the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality for six years.
Contributing faculty, Lori L. Alexander, MTPW, ELS, MWC, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, Carol Shenold, RN, ICP, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Mark J. Szarejko, DDS, FAGD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.