What impact did the pandemic have on you? The aftermath of COVID-19 may have given you a better understanding of the role of registered nurses like yourself as individuals leading the community towards better public health.
For other nurses, the pandemic may have been a sign of a shift in job outlook. Though you were highly successful in keeping COVID-19 at bay, there must be better ways to battle viruses, bacteria, and other harmful forces out there.
This is where infection control nursing comes in, this role will take on responsibilities beyond the corners of the hospital. The road presented by this career outlook is challenging yet rewarding, and we would like to convince you to at least consider it.
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Infection control nurses are responsible for preventing the spread of illnesses, starting within the healthcare setting like hospitals, home care, long-term care, and ambulatory care. Their responsibilities can be summed up into three words: research, communicate, and educate.
While nurses are expected to be on the operations floor most of the time, infection control nurses do not have to. Their daily tasks differ from that of a regular nurse because their focus is now on research, education, and policy management. It’s important that infection control nurses are data-driven because their responsibilities are centered in keeping everyone informed. Their decisions and recommendations have to be backed up by evidence, which is why research is their focus, no longer usual bedside work.
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The world is evolving, and so are the harmful organisms in it. The infection control nurse answers a particular call of duty to stay informed on how these harmful organisms can affect society. Between adding your support to a willing group of healthcare professionals and the different benefits of being an infection control nurse, you will be rewarded for your efforts.
Currently, the average annual salary of an infection control nurse per state can go up to 115,346 USD in California ,4and more than 30 states offer a considerably higher infection control nurse salary. This is because infection control nurses have more educational requirements, and with this knowledge, they help health organizations ensure that their staff is disease free. This is why they are paid well.
Infection control is a critical area in healthcare, and the demand for qualified infection control nurses is high in the United States. This is because of the increasing threat of infectious diseases and the need to prevent the spread of these diseases in healthcare facilities. The growing recognition of the importance of patient safety and quality of care in healthcare has also increased the demand for infection control nurses in the United States.
An infection control nurse can specialize in a particular area of healthcare and advance to leadership positions, such as a manager or director. You can specialize in areas such as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), antimicrobial resistance, or outbreak management. By gaining expertise in a specific area, you can enhance your career prospects and increase your value to employers.
Infection control nurses play a vital role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases, which can help to improve patient outcomes and overall public health. As an infection control nurse, you can also make a difference by implementing and enforcing effective infection prevention and control measures, monitoring and tracking outbreaks, improving patient outcomes, advocating for patient safety, and supporting quality of care.
The demand for qualified infection control nurses is likely to remain stable due to the multitude of rising infectious diseases in the United States, offering job security and stability in the long term. Additionally, the growing focus on patient safety and quality of care in healthcare has increased the demand for infection control nurses, further solidifying job security in this field.
Aside from the usual needs to become a registered nurse, an infection control nurse has to do additional certification work and gather more education requirements. While the minimum requirement for infection control nurses is a two-year Associate Nursing degree, it’s recommended that those who wish to take this career path have either an MSN degree or BSN degree.
With the amount of research they have to do and the processing needed to link data with current observations, it’s important that those in infection control nursing be adept with processing information.
Prospective infection control nurses also have to do a year of basic nursing service before applying to work in infection prevention. After earning on-the-job training for infection control (a total of 3,000 hours),3 they can now apply for infection control certification. They are to take the Certification in Infection Prevention and will be certified by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology upon passing.
Though it does sound like a lot of work, don’t let the difficulty discourage you. All this hard work will surely pay off, especially since infection control nurses are in high demand nowadays in the United States. Apart from that, being an infection nurse is being an activist for change and always ensuring that patients and your fellow nurses are well taken care of. A reward in itself.
Whatever path you wish to take, you can definitely pursue them in the United States. You will need the help of a staffing partner that will care for you at the beginning of your journey, the way you’ll partake care to your future patients. We at PRS Global have delivered our promise of signature care and guidance to several global nurses before you, and you can be the next one.
Assisting you in your new career and living conditions won’t stop upon settling in the United States. We have programs aimed at looking after you, especially when experiencing homesickness or being overwhelmed by a new culture. PRS Global can also be approached for concerns with continuing education, legal matters, and even to prepare you for the NCLEX.
No other staffing partner will give you this level of care. Contact PRS Global now.
1 Antipuesto, Daisy. “Infection Control Nurse.” Nursingcrib. https://nursingcrib.com/nursing-jobs/infection-control-nurse/. Published last November 3, 2011. Accessed last January 28, 2023.
2 Maryville University. “What is an Infection Control Nurse? Salary and Career Outlook.” https://online.maryville.edu/online-masters-degrees/master-science-nursing/careers/infection-control-nurse/. No publish date. Accessed last January 28, 2023.
3 Zippia. “Registered Nurse Salary.” https://www.zippia.com/registered-nurse-jobs/salary/. No publish date. Updated last December 12, 2022. Accessed last January 29, 2023.
4 Zippia. “Infection Control Nurse Salary. https://www.zippia.com/infection-control-nurse-jobs/salary/. No publish date. Updated last December 12, 2022. Accessed last January 29, 2023.