A Day in the Life of an Infection Prevention Associate and MPH Student

I have always been interested in infectious diseases, but I did not realize the field of public health existed. Discovering infection control led me to want to pursue my MPH at the University of South Florida. After moving to a new city and hoping to build connections, I saw an opening for an infection control associate at AdventHealth. Eager to learn more, I connected with the director and was able to make my first step towards a career in a field where I aim to grow.

My alarm clock pulls me out of my sleep while I silently wish for more minutes. Only leaving myself 25 minutes from the time I get up to the time I leave. Putting on my blue scrubs is the easiest and fastest choice for me while I brush out my hair. With my prepacked lunch in hand, I rush into the cold morning air to get to work.

I connect my phone to the car and remember I have an assignment due tonight; I guess I will be listening to a lecture. The drive to work quickly turns into a lecture session that summarizes my past year.

After my 10-minute walk from the parking lot to my desk, I take out my work laptop and close out all of my tabs from my internship for my MPH program that I was working on the night before. My mornings begin the same: sending all the reportable diseases to the Health Department and running reports for various teams. This set of tasks gives me a steady rhythm to begin my day.

After the sea of phone calls from units and assisting my team, I go round with the transport department. My weekly shadowing with the managers of transport is used to help their team improve their hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), and proper glove usage adherence through a shared accountability of infection prevention.

I print out all the patients on isolation precautions in the hospital, and start my journey to the units. While walking through the hospital, I grab a surgical mask on the third floor to prevent myself from getting sick during this upcoming cold and flu season.

During my rounds, my eyes are constantly looking at small details such as isolation signage, PPE use, and hand hygiene.

My lunch break with a coworker on the outside patio goes by in an instant. This is a necessary exhale in my day, with time in the sunshine before I jump back into the rest of my day.

In the afternoon, I decide to focus on environmental testing by swabbing some high-touch surfaces in inpatient rooms using our ATP machine. With our new machine, I am able to sync results from swabbing surfaces in a room to an online data spreadsheet. This provides a more hands-free approach than previous methodologies with pen and paper.

As the workday comes to a close, I put in my earbuds to listen to ambient music as I wrap up my day by inputting data.

My drive home tests my patience going through endless school zones, but it provides a much needed transition from work to home.

After dinner and dishes, I scroll social media one last time before I open my laptop to begin another kind of work. My lingering tabs are a reminder of my ambition but also my exhaustion, hoping to be more ambitious tonight. There is a balance between work and school while also finding the time to take care of yourself. I decided to take my own advice and watch TV to end off my night, usually some competition reality show to give my mind a rest.

Every day provides a different set of challenges and lessons, but the purpose remains the same: protect patients and staff and prevent harm. Balancing work, education, and personal life does not always look the same each day, but a balance I continually strive to achieve.

I decided to take my own advice and watch TV to end off my night, usually some competition reality show to give my mind a rest.

Every day provides a different set of challenges and lessons, but the purpose remains the same: protect patients and staff and prevent harm. Balancing work, education, and personal life does not always look the same each day, but a balance I continually strive to achieve.