Infection preventionists work in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and more. It should be no surprise that infection preventionists from different backgrounds bring unique perspectives, knowledge, and skills that contribute to a comprehensive understanding of infection prevention.

The Certification Board of Infection Control & Epidemiology, Inc. (CBIC®) is a multidisciplinary board with members with backgrounds in laboratory medicine, microbiology, epidemiology, nursing, public health, just to name a few. This results in diverse expertise, perspectives, and skills to collaborate on exam development, decision-making, and strategic planning. CBIC understands that a multidisciplinary team is crucial in infection prevention within all settings due to the complexity and multifaceted nature of preventing the spread of infections.

I sat down with Jill Holdsworth, CIC, FAPIC, NREMT, CRCST, Manager of Infection Prevention at Emory Healthcare, to learn more about her background, what hiring managers should look for when hiring infection preventionists, and the importance of a well-rounded team.

What motivated you to pursue a career in infection prevention and control (IPC), and how did you get started in this field?

I was one of those “lucky ones” you hear about that happen to fall into the field of Infection Prevention by accident.  I was working as a patient safety officer at a rehabilitation hospital and slowly began taking over the infection prevention responsibilities there. At the time, I had no idea this was such an unconventional way to get into the field. I took the Certification in Infection Control (CIC) exam after one year in the field, but I had to work really hard to learn the material—our hospital didn’t have an operating room, a lab, an emergency department or even a sterile processing department. I had to seek those out who were subject matter experts in these areas to help me learn these content areas and even visit the main hospital in the system to observe the departments we didn’t have. When I was in middle school, my required reading list included The Hot Zone, and from then on, I was hooked on being in the infectious disease field somehow! 

Could you describe your educational background and any relevant certifications and how it prepared you for a career in IPC?

I have a Master’s Degree in exercise physiology and was a cardiac rehabilitation therapist after grad school. I really loved this job and was able to work with open heart patients who were right out of surgery by helping them out of bed and doing their cardiac and pulmonary rehab as inpatients. This gave me great clinical experience to help me understand the inpatient world prior to moving to the quality improvement side of things when I took the patient safety officer role.

I was very fortunate to be pushed to become more proficient in sterile processing by one of my former CEOs, which allowed me to get the contact hours to become certified as a Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST). This has become such a valuable tool in my everyday role, but also something that I was able to prove to myself that I could achieve, even though I was scared and it seemed impossible. 

I am also a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and continue to volunteer as an EMT when I can. This allows me to continue to see the clinical side of patient care, which I really love. 

What makes a good infection prevention and control (IPC) team?

Over the years, I have worked with many teams and many infection preventionists (IPs). The best teams, and especially the best IP teams, are those that respect each other for their differences and thrive on those differences.  I have learned so much from the lab technician and microbiology IPs I have been blessed to work with in the past and I can’t imagine not having them as I was learning this role. I lean on the nurses on my team today, as well as those who have a Master of Public Health (MPH) for their own expertise. I love having a diverse team with a broad range of talents and expertise—this is what allows us to develop, grow, and succeed. 

What advice would you give a hiring manager that is hiring within IPC?

When looking to add to your team, consider what type of team member would best complement your current team and what you may be missing. If you could benefit from a person with a certain expertise, seek out that type of person. I strongly suggest never closing off to those who don’t have a certain type of license, or education or clinical experience before you can interview them—talk to them and give them a chance to see if they would be a good fit for your team. I strongly encourage programs to take down their guardrails of nursing only, MPH only, etc. We are a profession growing and thriving on diverse expertise and we need to continue to clear off seats at our table for those with a variety of backgrounds so we can grow and develop ourselves as teams, departments, and professionals. We can only get better by expanding our current knowledge, becoming more diverse, and sharing this amazing profession with others who bring new ideas and expertise to the table.

Do you have any advice for an aspiring IP?

As a non-nurse in the IP field, I know how hard it can be to break into a field that started out with nurses, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to never give up, keep learning and pushing yourself to follow your dreams if this is what you want to do. IP teams are strongest when they have nurses, med techs, pharmacists, SPD techs, MPH backgrounds, microbiologists, etc. We all have something unique to bring to the table that creates a strong, diverse team that will push our profession forward. Join your local APIC chapter, prepare to take the a-IPC, and never, EVER give up.