The Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology has published the results of its 2014 practice analysis on infection preventionists and infection control practitioners in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Every four to five years, the CBIC performs a practice analysis to collect the demographics, professional experience and other information about IPs and ICPs. The multidisciplinary board then uses the results to develop the content of the infection control certification examination.
In 2014, a diverse group of subject matter experts from the United States and Canada worked with CBIC to carry out the first practice analysis since 2009. Part of the practice analysis included conducting a survey of nearly 2,500 medical IPs and ICPs across the two countries.
Here are 10 things to know about IPs/ICPs gleaned from the surveys.
[Editor's Note: Not all percentages add up to 100, either because respondents could choose more than one answer or because not all the results of the possible choices are being provided.]
1. Duration of employment in infection control and prevention
- Less than 2 years — 10.1 percent
- 2-5 years — 31.61 percent
- 6-10 years — 24.39 percent
- 11-15 years — 12.64 percent
- 16-20 years — 7.22 percent
- More than 20 years — 14.04 percent
2. Degrees and certifications in infection control
- Baccalaureate degree — 44.86 percent
- Master's degree or above — 31.53 percent
- CIC certified — 50.24 percent
- Of those not certified, 77.14 percent are planning on becoming certified
3. Professional background
- Nursing — 81.87 percent
- Microbiology/laboratory — 10.53 percent
4. Practice setting types
- Acute care — 86.6 percent
- Ambulatory and outpatient facilities — 10 percent
- Long-term care or rehabilitation settings — 9.42 percent
- Public health capacity — 2.41 percent
5. Acute care facility sizes
- Less than 200 beds — 46.61 percent
- 500 or more beds — 15 percent
6. Number of full-time equivalent IPs per setting
- One or fewer FTE IPs/ICPs — 51.04 percent
- More than 4 FTE IPs/ICPs — 12.3 percent
7. Responsibilities
- Most (62.3 percent) participants reported having other job responsibilities besides infection prevention and control, such as employee health and quality functions.
8. Age range
- Younger than 30 — 3.13 percent
- 30-39 years old — 15.76 percent
- 40-49 years old — 21.3 percent
- 50-59 years old — 40.6 percent
- 60 years or older — 19.21 percent
9. Gender
- Women — 92.76 percent
10. Preferred language
- English — 98.79 percent
More articles on infection prevention:
CMS data collection rules may detract from infection control
Infection prevention and housekeeping: A collaboration of equals
A better prescription for minimizing HAIs: Eight components to high-performing infection prevention and control programs