Tips for Infection Control Trainers

"Where does this course fit in?"
'MRSA – you can make a difference' is designed to be a learning resource for professionals involved Infection Prevention and Control staff training activities.
The courses do not replace existing infection control training packages but aim to complement them. Both programmes may be used as stand-alone awareness courses or as part of your wider learning curriculum with follow up discussion or review sessions.

"How can I use this course?"
Self-study learners
It’s anticipated that many healthcare workers will access the course online, either from home or at work, in a self-study mode. The IC team will be able to monitor the progress of individuals who have started the course through the reporting tools function. This will also entitle the course coordinator to identify who is entitled to receive a personal copy of the post-course workbook.

Distribution of workbooks could be an opportunity to gain feedback from users and a chance to answer any outstanding questions they may have on local Infection Control issues.

Planned group sessions
Both courses are suitable for group training sessions either in sections or in their entirety, facilitated by the ICN, perhaps using the local educational facilities. You might set the scene by positioning the course at the outset, and the group would then do the course, perhaps raising discussion points along the way. Interactive sessions such as this can provide a valuable opportunity for the students to identify and discuss any local infection control issues.

Having completed the course, the group will receive their Workbooks, and a short follow-up session might be arranged, where individual Personal Action Plans could be reviewed and agreed.

Co-ordinated by the ICN
Successful roll-out of the courses will largely depend on your own vital role in supporting the programme. One way in which you can do this is by introducing your local policies and procedures into group sessions or sending out this material to self study learners as additional learning.

Remember, Infection Prevention and Control courses, including the 'MRSA – you can make a difference' programmes, will only achieve the overall objective that we are all striving, the reduction of HAI, if we all make a commitment to make them work!