How to hire an infection control practitioner

How to hire an infection control practitioner, step by step

Here's a step-by-step infection control practitioner hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an infection control practitioner job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new infection control practitioner
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an infection control practitioner do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your infection control practitioner job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an infection control practitioner for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an infection control practitioner to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an infection control practitioner that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of infection control practitioners and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Infection Control Practitioner	Description	Hourly rate
   Infection Control Practitioner	Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members.	$24-50
   Nurse	Nurses are medical professionals assigned to a specific department in the hospital and provide their trusted department services. Nurses are in charge of taking patients' medical histories, getting vital signs, preparing patients for checkups or procedures, explaining upcoming practices, answering any questions, and communicating any concerns to the assigned doctor... Show more	$18-41
   Staff Nurse	Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents... Show more	$20-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Infection Prevention
   • Infection Control
   • Public Health
   • Infection Control Policies
   • Infection Control Practices
   • Educational Programs
   • Infectious Disease
   • OSHA
   • TB
   • Infection Control Committee
   • Patient Safety
   • NHSN
   • HAI

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Treat acute illnesses and manage chronic conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, chronic pain, and diabetes.
   • Manage team of medical support personnel, orient new clinical employees and develop new guidelines for chemotherapy administration.
   • Provision of care includes health maintenance, disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment with specialty consultations as indicated.
   • Develop IC plans, ICRA, performing CDC NHSN surveillance.
   • Develop blood borne pathogen policy and exposure management program to meet OSHA and CDC requirements.
   • Work collaboratively with staff, departments and administration to reduce the risk of hospital-acquir infections among patients.

   More infection control practitioner duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your infection control practitioner job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An infection control practitioner salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, infection control practitioners' average salary in iowa is 47% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level infection control practitioners earn 53% less than senior-level infection control practitioners.
   • Certifications. An infection control practitioner with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an infection control practitioner's salary.

   Average infection control practitioner salary

   $73,111yearly

   $35.15 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level infection control practitioner salary

   $50,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average infection control practitioner salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$96,686	$46
   2	California	$94,469	$45
   3	Pennsylvania	$92,076	$44
   4	Washington	$91,180	$44
   5	New York	$91,051	$44
   6	Maryland	$87,642	$42
   7	New Jersey	$86,384	$42
   8	Oregon	$85,757	$41
   9	Ohio	$84,623	$41
   10	Nevada	$83,187	$40
   11	West Virginia	$79,074	$38
   12	Georgia	$77,734	$37
   13	Illinois	$77,574	$37
   14	Connecticut	$76,529	$37
   15	Minnesota	$76,305	$37
   16	Arizona	$75,711	$36
   17	Alaska	$75,298	$36
   18	North Carolina	$72,663	$35
   19	Colorado	$71,154	$34
   20	Idaho	$70,913	$34

   Average infection control practitioner salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Children's Hospital New Orleans	$110,370	$53.06	1
   2	Mayo Clinic	$106,402	$51.15	1
   3	Children's Minnesota	$105,446	$50.70	8
   4	University of Maryland Medical System	$101,785	$48.94	63
   5	Baystate Health	$97,790	$47.01
   6	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$94,667	$45.51	18
   7	Cottage Health	$90,597	$43.56	4
   8	UMass Memorial Health	$90,460	$43.49	10
   9	Massachusetts General Hospital	$89,954	$43.25
   10	Children's Hospital Colorado	$89,895	$43.22	8
   11	Children's Hospital Los Angeles	$89,238	$42.90	5
   12	GradyHealth	$88,312	$42.46	1
   13	Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Inc	$87,133	$41.89
   14	Highmark	$86,927	$41.79	14
   15	CHKD Thrift Store	$86,474	$41.57
   16	Mercy Health	$86,456	$41.57	49
   17	UT Health East Texas	$86,390	$41.53
   18	Olympia Medical Center	$86,334	$41.51
   19	Tenet Healthcare	$86,330	$41.50	92
   20	PeaceHealth	$85,844	$41.27	59

4. Writing an infection control practitioner job description

   A good infection control practitioner job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an infection control practitioner job description:

   Infection control practitioner job description example

   Cottage Health has been a leader in Santa Barbara County for many years, and is consistently recognized by Fortune in the top 10 best places to work in healthcare.. As a non-profit healthcare system, we are dedicated to the well-being of our community and beyond. Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital has over 450 beds, making us the largest hospital system on the central coast. We are a teaching hospital, non-union and a level I trauma center.
   
   Cottage Health seeks full-time Infection Control Practitioner to assist with data collection, education and research activities. Performs surveillance activities and applies an epidemiological approach to problem solving. Abstracts clinical data from various internal documentation sources and enters data into internal and external databases. Utilizes externally defined criteria/algorithms to determine healthcare-associated infection. Uses sound nursing judgment and ensures accurate and timely data entry required to meet reporting deadlines. Able to perform analysis and meaningful presentation of data. Participate in process improvement teams as directed.
   
   Required: Bachelor's Degree in Healthcare/Science related field (e.g. Microbiology, Epidemiology or Nursing).
   
   Preferred: Master's in Public Health & didactic course work in infection control, including either the CDC or APIC course.
   
   Certification required within 2 years of employment: Board Certified in Infection Control and Epidemiology (CIC).
   Preferred: Current California RN license and 2 years of infection control experience.
   
   Must be able to work independently with minimum supervision. Intermediate computer skills in such areas as spreadsheets, databases, and electronic medical records.
   We offer an excellent compensation package that includes above-market salaries, premium medical benefits, optimal staffing ratio and a good life/work balance. Relocation and rental assistance available.
   Cottage Health is a leading acute care hospital system, located on the central coast of California, widely known for our superior patient care, innovation, medical research and education. Our health system operates primarily in Santa Barbara, Ca, since 1888, and consists of three acute care hospitals, a Rehabilitation Hospital, multiple clinics and a multi-site Urgent Care system. Our mission is to serve the central coast communities with excellence, integrity, and compassion. Every day we touch thousands of lives in many different ways, resolute in our mission to put patients first. We take pride in helping our patients get back to living their lives - in the places they love.
   
   Cottage Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Cottage Health applicants are considered solely based on their qualifications, without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, transgender, gender expression and identity, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military status or any other classification protected by law. This policy applies to all aspects of the relationship between Cottage Health and an applicant or employee. Cottage Health is committed to upholding discrimination-free hiring practices. We strive to cultivate an environment where exceptional people bring diverse perspectives and find belonging, support and connection to their work.
   
   Any Cottage Health applicants who require assistance or reasonable accommodations during the application process may request the need for accommodation with the Recruiter.
   Full-Time, 8 Hours, Day Shift, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Infection Control Department

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find infection control practitioners for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   To find infection control practitioner candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit infection control practitioners, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new infection control practitioner

   Once you've selected the best infection control practitioner candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new infection control practitioner. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an infection control practitioner?