The Unexpected Infection Preventionist
Categories: Healthcare-associated infections
August 13th, 2012 12:08 pm ET - .
Ann Marie Pettis, RN, BSN, CIC
Director of Infection Prevention, University of Rochester Medical Center,
Rochester, New York
Chair, APIC Communications Committee
I always wanted to be a nurse. You could say it was in my DNA because my grandmother and grandfather were both registered nurses, and my father was a navy corpsman in World War II. Being an “infection prevention nurse,” however, was not even on my radar. In fact, microbiology was one of my least favorite courses in nursing school, and I had no particular interest in germs.
Early in my nursing career, as a result of several Staph aureus outbreaks in the newborn nursery, I developed a close working relationship with the infection preventionist (IP) assigned to our unit. That relationship led to my recruitment to fill a vacancy in the infection control department. Ready for a change, and flattered by the IP’s confidence in me, I made the decision to “give it a try.”
Thirty-two years later, I remain amazed at the new challenges and opportunities for professional and personal growth that each day brings. In the field of infection prevention
My role as IP took me away from the bedside, but it provides me with tremendous satisfaction because I am a source of vital information to keep others safe from healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)
My most memorable opportunity came during the APIC 2003 Annual Conference
Being an IP undeniably brings many challenges, but the privilege of impacting the health and safety of patients, staff, and the community by protecting them from infection more than compensates.
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