Catching Up With Tania Bubb, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC, the 2024 APIC President

The president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is part of the executive board and chairs the board of directors (BOD). The BOD is responsible for positioning the association to best serve its members and maintain its focus on improving the practice and management of infection prevention. It establishes policies and directs the activities of elected officials, committees, and the CEO. It also oversees APIC’s finances and charter chapters.

The president, president-elect, and immediate past president serve 1-year terms, with the president-elect succeeding the president. Then, the immediate past president effectively serves for 3 years in a president-related role. Both the treasurer and secretary have 2-year terms.

Infection Control Today (ICT) had the honor of speaking with Tania Bubb, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC, the 2024 president of APIC, on the last day of the APIC 2024 Annual Conference and Exposition, held from June 3 to 5 in San Antonio, Texas. She discussed the proudest moment in her presidency so far, goals for the rest of her term, and her journey to the presidency.

Tania Bubb, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC, with Infection Control Today's Tori Whitacre Martonicz at the 2024 APIC Annual Conference & Exposition.

Bubb is also senior director of infection prevention and control at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York, and has extensive experience in academic medical centers since 2006. Within APIC, Bubb has held roles on local and national boards, including chairing the Professional Development Committee and cochairing the Health Inequities and Disparities Taskforce.

Bubb is an accomplished speaker and author on infection prevention topics. She holds bachelor’s and master of science degrees from Lehman College in Bronx, New York, and a PhD in nursing from the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing in New York, New York.

Tania Bubb, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC: I’m at the APIC 2024 Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. It is hot here. But it is an exciting conference, as it usually is. So far, my favorite moment of the presidency is representing IPs [infection preventionists] in their work and working with APIC volunteers and the APIC staff to accomplish the goal of APIC, which is health care without infection.

ICT: What is your proudest moment so far in your APIC presidency?

TB: My proudest moment is at this conference, when IPs of all backgrounds come up to me and say that they are so proud of my representation and that they can see themselves now through me. That makes me proud to be a role model and live up to that responsibility.

ICT: What are your goals for the second half of your presidency?

TB: For the next half of my year, I will focus on continuing to carry out the mission and vision of APIC and helping IPs in their daily lives. Our goal is to create resources and tools for IPs to get their jobs done as easily. Our database can be challenging but always fulfilling, and APIC is here to support that mission.

ICT: What was your journey to reach APIC’s presidency?

TB: My story is [that] I am a nurse by training. I started as a staff nurse. I live and work in New York[, New York]. So, I started as a staff nurse at a large academic medical center, went on to get my graduate degree, and got a job in infection control just by accident. [I] didn’t know anything about it and just continued in the profession.

I attained my doctorate while working in infection control many years ago. I think part of what has led me to this point in my career is my volunteerism through APIC. I have learned so much; I have gained so much knowledge and skills, leadership skills, and facts [through] my volunteerism through the local chapter—Greater New York Chapter 13—where I started.

Then, I started volunteering on national APIC committees, was elected to the APIC board, and was elected president. So, it sounds like a straight path. It’s not. There were many interruptions and deviations along the way, but all of those helped inform my journey here today.

Reference

Leadership. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Accessed June 11, 2024. https://apic.org/about-apic/leadership/