This is the first of eight blog messages releasing the results of the Infection Control Survey.  The survey and these result blogs have been developed to show you infection control industry trends so you can benchmark your own education and opinions.  Please see HERE if you have not taken the survey.

1. Is the correct term Infection Preventionist (IP) or Infection Control Professional/Practitioner (ICP)?

78.6%  Infection Preventionist

21.4%  Infection Control Professional/Practitioner

“According to reports, Infection Preventionist is the prevailing title. However, how well has it been embraced? OUTFOX set out to find the answer. Per the OUTFOX survey at the APIC 2011 show, 47.5% of respondents referred to their profession as Infection Preventionist(IP) and the remaining 52.5% maintained the previous title (ICP). In general though, the two titles and acronyms were very loosely tossed around during the APIC show and no one seemed confident in either term.”

Why is there such a huge discrepancy?  A jump from 47.5% to 78.6% raises a lot of questions that may only be answered in time.  For example, this survey was a few months after APIC and the acceptance level of the term might already be sinking in.  We will have a follow up survey in 2012 to show changes to these findings. 

This statistic is a fair indication of how fast information travels within the infection control industry.  It also can tell us the level of unity within the hygiene industry, gauging from the support that exists behind the acceptance of a newer term (i.e. “Infection Preventionist”).  Being unified professionals in the infection control and hygiene industry will strengthen medical standards, help develop hygiene trainings, help spread sanitation best practices and create more effective communication channels.  In result of unifying infection control, we can all potentially realize less Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs), embarrassing outbreaks, healthier staff and patients, more camaraderie within Infection control groups and associations, more support and so forth.

Stay tuned to the release of Question 2 of the Infection Control Survey.  Please email us (info@OUTFOXprevention.com) for comments or to have the entire survey results emailed to you.  Thank you for participating!