Leadership and Professional Development

30/30 Education Session - 30 minutes

1206 - Win, Lose, or Draw: Observations from a Novice IP

Primary Speaker(s)

• 

  Trent MacAllister, MPH, MS

  Infection Preventionist
  St. Luke's Health System
  Boise, Idaho

  Nothing to disclose

Moderator(s)

• 

  Jodi Vanderpool, MBA, LNHA, CPPS, HACP

  System Vice President, Quality Operations
  St Luke's Health System Boise, ID
  Boise, Idaho

  Nothing to disclose

IPs are tasked with creating, defending, and enforcing policies or practices which can occasionally be unpopular with the departments affected. Often, these policies have few supporting data and are rooted in theoretical risk for transmission and/or expert opinion. In order to promote compliance and future collaboration, IPs must negotiate, educate, and compromise with hospital leaders and staff.

This session will discuss the wins, losses, and draws of IPC battles from the perspective of a novice IP in an acute care setting. Everything from operating room attire and a Staphylococcus aureus screening protocol to MDRO isolation precautions and interdepartmental dynamics will be explored. This session is intended to provide an interactive platform for IPs to discuss successes and failures of collaboration with hospital staff.

Learning Objectives:

• Share examples where IPs needed to, should have, or did collaborate with hospital department leaders and staff.
• Identify when policies are unreasonably restrictive, real or perceived, for hospital staff due to time or financial constraints.
• Discuss strategies to settle disputes between IPs and facility leadership or staff.