Engaging Infection Preventionists in the OR

Abstract

s health care providers continue to reinfrom 60 to 147. Curchoe et al also demonstrated A vent their roles and respond to new federal mandates about health careeassociated infections (HAIs), the role of the infection preventionist (IP) has been undergoing similar changes. In a recent qualitative study, IPs reported that their traditional role has evolved to include added skills with greater responsibilities, such as increasingly using technology for tracking and comparing data, validating the results of data reports, and contributing to patient safety. However, what has not changed is the need to foster better working relationships with staff members in all specialty areas, including the perioperative setting. Perioperative personnel have been inundated with new protocols while adjusting to mandatory requirements associated with the prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) as well as factors associated with patient safety. Because perioperative nurses assist in the overall monitoring of the surgical setting and continue to be the patient’s first line of defense in the prevention of SSIs, it is imperative that perioperative nurses and IPs work together. Perhaps it is time to redefine how perioperative personnel can fully engage IPs in the surgical environment to facilitate proactive methods that can reduce the rate of postoperative HAIs.