Infection Control Rubric

Hi everyone!

I was scheduled to go to Children's Hospital (Hematology/Oncology unit) this afternoon, but unfortunately a family emergency came up, and I was unable to attend. I was really looking forward to my first hospital visit with HIP, but I will have to wait patiently for another opportunity. On a great note, however, I have developed the infection control rubric that I plan to use to evaluate the HIP therapy teams. My infection control rubric consists of two parts. The first part is a checklist of basic infection control protocol, such as hand hygiene; proper grooming (bathe animal 24 hours prior to visit, claws trimmed, etc); appropriate records on file (vaccinations); and confirmation with staff (patient is able to be visited, has no pet allergies, no fear of animals, etc.). The second part has to do with the particular area that I am interested in knowing more about.

It hit me that rather than add another part to the checklist to evaluate in the facility, I would rather ask the therapy teams one on one regarding the perception of their own infection control skills. In my opinion, this is the source of an infection control skill that may not be carried out the proper way. Although these teams are provided with much information regarding infection control, I know first hand by being a nursing student that  a lot of information can be slightly overwhelming. The questions I would like to ask the teams are as follows: Do they think they are confident enough in their skills to explain infection control when needed? If so, is it safe to say they are completely competent or is there still room for a little improvement? If they are not confident enough, which aspect(s) of infection control are they uncertain about? For reinforcement, what do they think are their designated strengths and/or weaknesses regarding infection control measures? Lastly, if developed, would they be willing to attend a focus-based class to improve their infection control skills? I think this would be very valuable and helpful information for future reference because it is information directly related to the therapy teams. This could potentially pave the way for weaknesses to be identified and addressed. Thus, improving overall infection control measures. This could also allow strengths to be reinforced. To make a long story short, my goal is pretty much a focus-based assessment of HIP's therapy teams' confidence of their own infection control skills that will allow HIP to have a better visualization of where their therapy teams stand. I'm so excited to begin interviewing, which will start next week. I will keep you guys posted!!