The goal of this three-part program is to update nurses’ ability to apply scientifically accepted infection control principles to reduce transmission of pathogens. After you study the information presented here, you will be able to –

• Recognize the benefits of adhering to standards of infection control and describe the professional’s responsibility to adhere to these practices and the consequences of failing to comply.
• Recognize the professional’s responsibility to monitor infection control practices of those for whom he or she is responsible and intervene as necessary.
• Describe how pathogenic organisms may be spread in healthcare settings, identify those factors influencing the outcome of exposure, list strategies for preventing transmission of pathogenic organisms, and describe their application in practice.
• Define engineering controls and work practice controls and identify a hierarchy of exposure prevention strategies.
• Describe specific practices and settings that raise exposure potential to healthcare workers and patients, and identify work practice controls that prevent exposure.
• Recognize the circumstances that require the use of personal protective equipment and identify these specific barriers.
• Identify a professional’s responsibility for maintaining a safe patient care environment and recognize nonspecific disease findings that prompt evaluation by healthcare providers.
• Recognize the role of occupational health strategies in protecting healthcare providers and patients and recognize the importance of the correct application of reprocessing methods.
• List specific occupational health strategies in preventing HIV, hepatitis B virus, and tuberculosis (TB) in healthcare providers and identify resources for evaluation of healthcare workers infected with these conditions.