NOTE: Contact credit hours not valid in the state of Iowa

Course Instructions
1. Select a course
2. Complete registration and billing information
3.  Study the material
4. Pass the test (80% or better score)
5. Print your certificate

ICIC-1109: Technology and Practice: Collaboration for Successful Positive Patient Outcomes

Central venous catheter infections are common and deadly. Approximately 10 percent of patients who have central venous catheters will experience major complications, and mortality from related infections ranges from 2 percent to 35 percent. Learn about catheter-related bloodstream infections, their causes and treatments.

ICEH-1109: Operating Rooms Big and Small Experiment With Training Techniques

Continuing education choices for today's operating room staff are more plentiful than ever. Learn about the use of new media in education, and best practices for conveying information in a fresh way that will stick with the employee.

ICIC-1109: Oral Care is Critical Care

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is the second most frequent healthcare-associated infection occurring to patients hospitalized in acute-care facilities. Being on a mechanical ventilator places patients at greatest risk for developing this lung infection (ventilator-associated pneumonia-VAP) as well as doubling their likelihood of death while in the hospital. Comprehensive oral care, along with other patient care interventions in the VAP prevention bundle, has been identified as significantly protecting patients from developing this lethal complication. This educational program will review the risk factors and consequences of HAP and VAP; identify the Pathway to Pneumonia in the hospitalized patient; describe the role of the oral environment in the development of HAP/VAP and review recommended oral care interventions and studies which examine the current state of oral care practice.

One of the challenges facing infection control professionals (ICPs) is the need to provide meaningful, effective education programs in a cost-effective manner. The programs must also address personnel from a variety of disciplines and education levels. Understanding the principles of how adults learn is crucial to help ICPs become better facilitators of learning.

Surgical site infections (SSI) are an enormous problem. According to the CDC, 38% of all nosocomial infections in surgical patients are SSIs, and an estimated 2.6% of nearly 30 million operations each year are complicated by SSIs. In this Webinar, leaders of the project to reduce SSIs at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center and Mohawk Valley Heart Institute, Utica, NY, discuss the impact of SSIs and interventions that reduced their cardiothoracic SSI rate from an average of 4.6% in 2004 to 0% in 2006. In this course, you will learn of SSIs' impact, interventions to reduce their incidence, and the benefits to that reduction.

Airborne pathogens in healthcare facilities remain elusive -- they can come from the ventilation system, from cavities between the walls, even from the plumbing system. Airborne transmission can occur with dissemination of airborne droplet or dust particles containing the pathogen (from the acts of coughing, suctioning and cough-producing procedures, sneezing and talking). Airborne particles can be widely dispersed by air currents and may be inhaled by or deposited on the mucous membranes of a susceptible host. They can also be circulated through the ventilation system of the entire hospital with the flow of the air currents. 

ICRE-1108: Instrument Processing Overview: Cleaning, Disinfection, and Sterilization

Flexible endoscopes are used for a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment procedures. They are complex reusable devices that require meticulous cleaning and reprocessing to maintain optimal function and provide safe patient care. Although infections rarely occur following gastrointestinal endoscopy, recent reports have heightened the concern about these procedures.

ICST-1008: Contact Precautions: No Room for Error

It is common for healthcare workers to be lax when practicing hand hygiene and following contact precautions. Patients are the ones who pay the ultimate price for this carelessness. This article will review the history of hand hygiene and personal protective equipment in the patient care setting, discuss the clinical evidence regarding the utility of wearing PPE outside of the operating room, and consider the consequences of non-compliance with contact precautions for all involved.

ICDD-1008: Emerging Infectious Diseases

At the midpoint of the twentieth century, experts predicted that infectious diseases would be controlled because of major improvements in sanitation, antibiotics, and immunization. However, by the early 1990s, health experts no longer believed that the threat of infectious diseases was no longer a problem in the United States or in the world. Today's high-risk environments, in which infectious diseases can emerge or re-emerge pose particular challenges to the medical and public health professionals who must deal with these on the front line.

The Clostridium difficile bacterium is a gram-positive rod that exists in both a vegetative and spore state. Some strains produce toxins. Clostridium difficile was not linked to significant morbidity until the late 1970s. The organism is now a problem in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. The spectrum of disease caused by the toxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile can range from a mild diarrhea to more severe pseudomembranous colitis and toxic megacolon, both of which can result in death.

Sterile storage is that location where sterilized items are maintained until needed. Both the facility and the device manufacturer have followed specific instructions to ensure the safety of the device throughout the processing cycle, including proper cleaning, packaging and sterilization. This article will address some of the myths and realities of sterile storage and inventory control in healthcare facilities.