Welcome to the next step in becoming an Infection Preventionist. For new and aspiring Infection Preventionists, a coach/mentor provides significant benefits by offering guidance on building confidence in decision-making, navigating challenging situations, facilitating skill development, promoting professional growth, and helping to integrate seamlessly into the role.
Eight one-hour coaching/mentoring sessions are offered.
It is apparent by choosing to take this course that you have a strong interest in improving the safety of patients, families, communities, and populations through the best infection prevention practices. Let’s translate that interest into actions for success!
Curriculum
Coaching Session Topics
Week 1: Getting to know you – What are your goals?
Week 2: First steps: Expectations and preparing a plan
Week 3: Making connections/networking and professional organizations
Week 4: Education and certification – study plan
Week 5: Resources
Week 6: Traditional practice or consultant work?
Week 7: Your concerns and questions – what need clarification?
Week 8: Putting it all together
About the Instructor:
Sheila’s story illustrates the importance of following your passion. Her career in healthcare began, like many nurses, on a medical-surgical unit. Through this foundational experience, she learned about the importance of prevention. Because of this insight, she eventually discovered a love for public health, leading her to work as the administrator of a county health department. In this role, Sheila honed her skills in managing health initiatives, coordinating community health efforts, and investigating outbreaks.
After her tenure at the county health department, Sheila accepted a position as a nurse consultant for the state health department. This role further solidified her commitment to public health and broadened her expertise. Her career evolved as she took on various roles in public health and infection prevention across different healthcare settings, including behavioral health, ambulatory care, inpatient psychiatric, and acute care hospitals. These diverse experiences enriched her understanding and skills in infection prevention.
Sheila maintains certification in Infection Control and Epidemiology (CIC) and evidence-based practice (EBP-C), is a Fellow of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (FAPIC) and earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree in 2022. She has had the privilege of presenting at regional and national conferences and contributing to the APIC text as a chapter author and section editor. Recently, Sheila was honored to be accepted as an editor for Prevention Strategist, the flagship publication of APIC.
Reflecting on her career, Sheila sees a journey marked by a steadfast commitment to improving public health and infection prevention. Each step has shaped her professional identity and fueled her passion for making a meaningful impact by advocating for the best evidence-based practices in infection prevention. Sheila looks forward to continuing to contribute to this vital field by guiding and inspiring others to pursue careers as infection preventionists.
