Infection control and the education of students

Abstract

The importance of infection control in clinical care has long been recognised by healthcare practitioners (Meers et al, 1981), but in the last decade the public have become much more aware of healthcare-associated infections through the media and in particular its attention to MRSA and the increase in rates in the UK (BBC, 2005a). Clostridium difficile has added to the concerns regarding the care provided in hospitals and has reinforced the need for urgent action in the control of infection if patients are to receive high quality care. Since the appointment of the first infection control nurse over 40 years ago, education has been at the centre of infection control and prevention (Jenner and Wilson, 2000) As most healthcare students now undertake their theoretical work in universities it is essential that they have infection control input to prepare them, not only for their placements, but also for being future practitioners. There must be a robust approach to the teaching and learning of infection control issues and its preventative and control strategies, both in the academic and practice environment. There is a lack of evidence regarding explicit infection control in the curricula of most healthcare pathways, which needs to be addressed if infection rates are to be reduced.