IPC Career

Infection prevention professionals are facing a critical breaking point. New survey data reveal widespread understaffing, rising burnout, and systemic undervaluation that threaten patient safety, outbreak readiness, and health system resilience.

Creating a culture where nurses feel safe speaking up is essential to proactive infection prevention. In this installment of an interview with Infection Control Today, Colleen Becker, PhD, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, explains how consistent communication, shared data, and team-driven goals help reduce burnout, strengthen accountability, and ensure infection risks are addressed early with patient safety at the center.

Trust and psychological safety are critical to infection prevention in the operating room. In this installment of her interview with Infection Control Today®, Colleen Becker, PhD, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, senior director of perioperative education for Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, explains how leadership that fosters openness and shared accountability empowers perioperative teams to speak up, identify risks early, and strengthen adherence to infection prevention practices.

As 2026 begins, Infection Control Today®'s Editorial Advisory Board reflects on a challenging year shaped by misinformation, policy uncertainty, and relentless change, reaffirming a commitment to science, truth, and supporting IPC professionals who keep showing up for patients and public health.

Good credentials, like a good ladder, make all the difference in how well you do the job you need to do. Read on to find out more about why credentials are vital to be successful.

Announcing the winner of the 2025 Infection Control Today Educator of the Year Award: Patricia Montgomery, MPH, RN, CIC, FAPIC.

Infection preventionists face a daily battle against unseen threats, yet the hardest struggle is often the fear of speaking up. When you spot a dangerous gap in practice, do you act or stay silent to avoid conflict. Real safety begins when IPs are empowered to stop the line without fear or hesitation.

Infection prevention has outgrown the idea that only bedside nurses belong in the role. Today’s IP work is epidemiology, data science, quality, and systems leadership—yet non-RN experts are still told they “don’t belong.” It is time to broaden the pipeline and value competence over a single professional credential and experience.

As financial pressures mount across U.S. health care, infection preventionists are increasingly caught in the crossfire of hiring freezes and sudden layoffs. The profession’s resilience is being tested, and for Saba Shaikh, MPH, an unexpected dismissal became both a stark wake-up call and the start of a healthier, more empowering new chapter.

Elevating IPs into executive leadership isn't symbolic; it's a strategic imperative.

The November/December 2025 issue of Infection Control Today® dives into overlooked risks, breakthrough technologies, and the people driving innovation across IPC, EVS, and sterile processing. From bacteriophage therapy to burnout prevention, automation to UV regulation—it’s a powerful close to the year. Read the issue now: https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/journals/infection-control-today #InfectionPrevention #Healthcare #InfectionControl #EVS #IPC #PatientSafety #ICT

We all know that preventing employee fatigue and burnout requires a multipronged and ongoing effort to address the issue. There’s probably not a company in this nation that hasn’t experienced exhausted and frustrated employees, and the struggle is real to keep everybody engaged and motivated.

What's it like to be an infection prevention associate and an MPH Student? Read this to hear one person's point of view.

Infection prevention may be built on evidence, but it thrives on empathy. During a recent Infection Control Today roundtable, in this third installment, veteran infection preventionists shared how emotional intelligence, communication, and systems thinking—not just clinical expertise—define the profession’s future.

In a postpandemic health system, infection preventionists are hired for certifications but kept for soft skills. In this second installment of ICT's roundtable, veteran IPs chart the shift from task-doer to systems leader, calling for smarter staffing, structured onboarding, and relationship-first programs to beat burnout and turnover.

Infection prevention’s future will be won with mentorship, soft skills, and honest collaboration—not just guidelines. In a candid roundtable, veteran IPs shared how to steady first-year practitioners: pair them with real mentors, teach time management and tough conversations, and build cultures that value “let me confirm” over guesswork.

This 6-part series will chronicle the journey of 2 infection prevention leaders, Brenna Doran, PhD, MA, ACC, CIC; and Jessica Swain, MBA, MLT, CIC, IHI, as they partnered to research and shed light on the critical issue of infection prevention staffing in the current health care landscape. From the initial spark of an idea to the publication of an impactful article, a research manuscript, and a podcast, this series will offer an insider’s view of their collaborative process and the profound implications of their findings. This third article in the series will focus on...

If you’ve ever been asked to track flu shots and handle a chemical splash in the same breath, you’ve met the IP–OH blur. Infection prevention and occupational health often intersect—but their missions differ. Knowing where each begins ensures safer patients, safer staff, and smoother responses.

From hand-hygiene audits to the SHEA Board of Trustees, the professional path of Alexander Sundermann, DrPH, CIC, FAPIC, AL-CIP, traces the arc of modern infection prevention. The former hospital IP—now a University of Pittsburgh assistant professor—pairs frontline experience with genomic epidemiology to turn sequencing into outbreak-stopping action.

At IDWeek in Atlanta, former CDC director Tom Frieden unveiled a crisp playbook for infection prevention—“See. Believe. Create.”—arguing it can help hospitals spot outbreaks sooner, reverse drug resistance, and drive HAIs toward zero. He paired the message with a 7-1-7 target: 7 days to find an outbreak, 1 to report, 7 to control.

Join the APIC Research Network (free for APIC members), pick your level, and commit to one survey or collaborative project this year—research for IPs, by IPs. Your idea could shape tomorrow’s practice.

International Infection Prevention Week is coming up from October 19 to 25. Read on to learn how to celebrate in your own facility!