5 Ways to Be an Infection Prevention Advocate

“Periop nurses are vigilant protectors who advocate for their patients every day,” according to Amber Wood, MSN, RN, CNOR, CIC, editor-in-chief of AORN Guidelines for Professional Practice.

As infection prevention knowledge rapidly progresses, Wood says advocating for patients as well as the team on the safety front is an absolute must to ensure a safe environment of care.

She suggests these five ways to increase your skills as an infection prevention advocate:

1. Be Knowledgeable

   Learning the chain of infection transmission and how to identify transmission risks in each step of perioperative care is critical for an IP advocate, Wood notes. “When you understand how infection is transmitted, you have the mindset to know where to look for reservoirs harboring microorganisms,” she explains. For example, an IP advocate knows the OR floor is a reservoir for infection transmission and will act by disinfecting any item that inadvertently touches the floor, such as a safety strap or IV tubing, to protect the patient.

   Understanding the pathophysiology of how the body heals is also an important part of advocating for infection prevention through knowledge that can be applied to assess the risk for wound complications, take preventive actions in the OR to support wound health when the surgical wound is open, and to provide optimal education in postoperative care to help patients promote successful wound healing after discharge.



2. Be Open to Change

   New evidence often leads to changes in practice and infection prevention advocates embrace these changes, Wood says. One big practice change coming out in AORN’s updated Guideline for Sterile Technique recommends covering portions of the sterile field that are not in use, a practice that was once considered taboo. “We are always looking to new research to inform our practice and it’s equally important that we embrace these changes as habit and encourage our colleagues to do the same.”



3. Be Vigilant

   Wood says OR nurses must always be focused on awareness of infection prevention risks to respond to. “Whether a nurse is working in preop, intraop or postoperative care, there are infection risks we look for and actions we take to resolve safety risks,” Wood acknowledges.

   This vigilance is also important to protect team members from infection so they can be there to protect patients. “With 700 hundred sharps injuries occurring every day and exposing perioperative professionals to more than 60 bloodborne pathogens, including Ebola and Zika viruses, sharps injury prevention is an important key to infection prevention and safety.”



4. Be Vocal

   Advocating for infection prevention takes a strong voice, another reason Wood says perioperative nurses are well positioned for promoting infection prevention and safety. “Sometimes, voices are stronger together, such as when a team can come together and agree to implement surgical smoke evacuation practices to remove surgical smoke at the source,” she suggests. “Our PPE and masks are only so effective and our patients are also vulnerable to the chemicals, toxins, viruses and bacteria aerosols in surgical smoke.”



5. Be a Team

   Wood stresses the value of collaboration in infection prevention advocacy. She suggests perioperative nurses working to advance their infection prevention knowledge and vigilance work closely with colleagues in sterile processing, risk management and infection prevention to ensure consistency in education, practice and communication.

   “Everyone on the team has a different perspective and we all play different roles that contribute to safe surgery—when we work together and work toward a common goal, we are better.”

Empower yourself and your team by attending the one-day workshop, The Essentials of Infection Prevention and Safety. This live event is presented by Wood and other AORN perioperative nursing specialists in six cities across the country in September through October. Remember: members save up to 25% on registration for AORN live events!

FREE RESOURCES FOR MEMBERS

Guideline Essentials: Further increase you and your team’s skills as infection prevention advocates with access to implementation tools for hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, high-level disinfection, skin antisepsis, surgical attire, team communications, and more.

• Gap Analysis Tools: Tools to assess areas in which your facility may not be compliant with the guidelines.
• Policy & Procedure Templates: Ready-to-use customizable templates for developing your facility’s policies and procedures
• Competency Verification Tools: Ready-to-use customizable templates for verifying competency to meet facility requirements

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Recommended Practices for the Prevention of Transmissible Infections (1 CH).

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