What does an infection control practitioner do?
An infection control practitioner is a highly qualified and sought-after medical practitioner. They operate in a wide range of environments and help prevent, investigate, monitor, and report infectious diseases in these environments. They must be able to formulate and execute effective approaches to minimize the spread of infections and have up-to-date awareness of infection-control methods. Due to the risk of infection in their work environment, they must strictly adhere to safety protocol.
Infection control practitioner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real infection control practitioner resumes:
- 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.
- Administer TB skin tests to staff annually.
- Develop and implement a hospital wide TB program.
- Utilize S3 software for collection of operative data for use in NHSN.
- Review and revise policies and procedures to maintain NYS and OSHA regulatory compliance.
- Coordinate isolation of in-patients as per CDC / DOH recommendations and hospital policies.
- Initiate treatment including the diagnosis and management of common acute and chronic problems in the adult through geriatric population.
- Specialize in diabetes and nutrition education.
- Utilize PowerPoint to present office-base educational sessions detailing the benefits of the nurse educator program to physician practices.
- Function independently leading hospital wind education efforts and education of patients and family members about wind care treatments and topics.
Infection control practitioner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Infection Control Practitioners are proficient in Patients, Infection Prevention, and Infection Control. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Infection Control Practitioners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 18%
Collaborated with Case Managers to educate community providers, patients and families to provide the appropriate environment for managing infectious processes.
- Infection Prevention, 8%
Served a highly vulnerable population and worked collaboratively to implement change to enhance and improve infection prevention practices.
- Infection Control, 7%
Developed plans for and assumed responsibility for supervising, evaluating and coordinating multiple facets of infection control and employee health services.
- Public Health, 6%
Communicate with all divisions and departments of the hospital as well as with outside public health offices.
- Infection Control Policies, 6%
Participate in environmental rounds to assure compliance with regulatory guidelines and Infection control policies within the facility.
- Infection Control Practices, 5%
Educated staff on infection control principles and practices; participated in orientation to address infection control practices and employee health issues.
Common skills that an infection control practitioner uses to do their job include "patients," "infection prevention," and "infection control." You can find details on the most important infection control practitioner responsibilities below.
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for an infection control practitioner to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, an infection control practitioner resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "developed a system of staff communication that ensured proper implementation of treatment plans and comprehensive patient care. "
Compassion. Many infection control practitioner duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so an infection control practitioner will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways infection control practitioner responsibilities rely on compassion: "have received numerous patient and peer compliments for outstanding leadership and caring, compassionate care delivered to patients. "
Detail oriented. infection control practitioners are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to infection control practitioner responsibilities, because "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." An infection control practitioner resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "provided detailed reports to cdc and community health departments. "
Emotional stability. infection control practitioner responsibilities often require "emotional stability." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." This resume example shows what infection control practitioners do with emotional stability on a typical day: "maintain a productive and quality driven atmosphere amongst staff, promoting emotional support and staff development. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for an infection control practitioner to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what infection control practitioners relies on this skill, since "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." How this skill relates to infection control practitioner duties can be seen in an example from an infection control practitioner resume snippet: "developed educational programs, coordinated the content with the organizational goals, objectives, policies and procedures. "
Physical stamina. Lastly, "physical stamina" is an important element of what an infection control practitioner does. Infection control practitioner responsibilities require this skill because "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." This resume example highlights how infection control practitioner duties rely on this skill: "assessed adolescents through older adults for sick visits, physical exams, minor trauma. "
The three companies that hire the most infection control practitioners are:
- Kindred Hospital - Baytown12 infection control practitioners jobs
- Covenant Care11 infection control practitioners jobs
- Kindred Hospital Delaware County10 infection control practitioners jobs
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Compare different infection control practitioners
Infection control practitioner vs. 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. Nurses should ensure that patients follow the medical advice given to them. They also assist patients in completing administrative requirements, such as filling out forms, validating details, and endorsing payments.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an infection control practitioner are more likely to require skills like "infection prevention," "public health," "cic," and "infection control policies." On the other hand, a job as a nurse requires skills like "home health," "cpr," "bls," and "acute care." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Nurses earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $63,263. On the other hand, infection control practitioners are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $74,851.On average, nurses reach lower levels of education than infection control practitioners. Nurses are 9.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Infection control practitioner vs. 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. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that infection control practitioner responsibilities requires skills like "infection prevention," "public health," "cic," and "infection control policies." But a staff nurse might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "bls," "cpr," "acls," and "acute care."
Staff nurses earn a lower average salary than infection control practitioners. But staff nurses earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $58,739. Additionally, infection control practitioners earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $74,851 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Staff nurses tend to reach lower levels of education than infection control practitioners. In fact, they're 11.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Infection control practitioner vs. Registered nurse supervisor
A Registered Nurse Supervisor oversees a team of registered nurses in a hospital or clinic, making sure that all operations are efficient and up to standard. Moreover, they are responsible for the daily management of nurses, such as when it comes to evaluation, development, and assigning schedules and patients. Aside from supervising and ensuring that everything is running smoothly in their field, they also have to communicate and coordinate with physicians and even families of patients. The responsibilities of a Nurse Supervisor is challenging; this is why they must be proactive and excellent at communication.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an infection control practitioner is likely to be skilled in "infection prevention," "public health," "cic," and "infection control policies," while a typical registered nurse supervisor is skilled in "rehabilitation," "cpr," "acute care," and "resident care."
Registered nurse supervisors earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $78,568. Comparatively, infection control practitioners have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $74,851.registered nurse supervisors typically earn lower educational levels compared to infection control practitioners. Specifically, they're 10.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Infection control practitioner vs. Registered nurse med/surg
The job of registered medical-surgical nurses is to care for patients with either surgical or non-surgical conditions. They are responsible for aiding patients to cope with their illness, prevent diseases, and promote good health. Entry-level registered nurses often rely on standardized care plans and medical procedures and make scientific-based nursing judgments. On the other hand, intermediate level nurses are more skilled in developing care plans that meet client needs. Requirements to become a medical-surgical nurse include a college degree in nursing, excellent assessment and observation skills, and patient education skills.
Types of infection control practitioner
Updated January 8, 2025
