1. Skills Needed to Advance your career – apic competency model
By Lori Schaumleffel, RN, BSN, COHN-S, CIC

2. APIC Competency Model Objectives:
Attendees will be able to identify the four domains of the APIC Competency Model
Attendees will be able to identify the three career states in the APIC Competency Model
Attendees will be able to identify 3 accredited colleges that offer online Masters in Nursing programs
No Disclosures to report

3. APIC Competency Model
The APIC Competency Model was first introduced in AJIC in May 2012
Outlines the skills needed to advance the IP field
Directs IP’s professional development at all career stages
Traditionally competency has been divided into 2 essential components: knowledge and skill
A more recent definition added communication, values, reasoning and teamwork.
A standard widely accepted comprehensive definition remains an elusive goal.
For most IP’s the elements of competency are defined by a IP job description and may or may not reference national standards or guidelines.
For this reason these is widespread variation in what elements and criteria these JD contain

4. Introduction
The model emphasizes those areas that will be essentially critical in the next 3-5 years.
Puts Patient Safety at the center
The model was designed to be used in combination with organizational training and evaluation tools that are already in place.
It puts Patient Safety in the center since it is the aspirational goal for everything else that moves outward from it.

5. Novice Middle Advanced Stages Identifies 3 Stages of Competency:
Early Career/Novice:
Has a position where IP is the primary, although not always the sole focus of the role.
Earning or has earned a BSN
Devolving the skills necessary and studying for the CIC exam
Actively acquiring fundamental infection prevention and control skills with an emphasis on learning how to do surveillance and reporting, and the basics of epidemiology and statistics, adult education principles, policy development, and committee planning.
They are working to understand and shape their role as an organizational patient safety leader.
Mid-Career Proficient:
Has earned an undergraduate degree and is often pursuing post-baccalaureate education. See attached reference for help reaching for your Masters Degree
May have management or supervisory responsibility
Has earned certification and may serve as a mentor to those pursuing the credential.
They have a diverse skill set, demonstrate critical thinking and function successfully in a team-based collaborative situations
They have further developed and are refining their leadership skills and are effective at managing their IPC programs.
They are highly skilled and professionally confident in their roles
Advanced/expert
Holds a graduate degree
Showcases expertise in leadership, management, education, consultation, analysis, and strategic planning
The expert promotes certification, mentors others and demonstrates the value of the credential.
An accomplished recognized leader in their own organization and beyond.
White paper table

6. Critical areas
Four Critical area of expertise needed for the expanding role of the Infection Preventionist
Leadership
Performance Improvement /Implementation Science
Technical
Infection Prevention and Control
These 4 specific domains represent the areas that APIC identified for future-oriented competency development.
Focusing on these 4 strategic developmental domains enables the IP to build on the core competencies and thereby advance his/her career from novice to expert.
Progress in the domains is not expected to occur simultaneously nor be maintained at similar levels at all times.
For example the IP may demonstrate advanced competency in technical skills, but be less proficient at performance improvement methods.
Or they may be an experienced leader yet only have basic technological skills.

7. Leadership Domain Influence rather than authority Collaboration
Followership
Program Management
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication
Leadership and Program Management Domain
Collaboration
As a team member, facilitator or leader of multidisciplinary improvement efforts the IP serves as a Champion for safety culture where prevention of HAI’s is everyone’s responsibility
Manages the competing priorities
Is a skilled negotiator
Team building and consensus building skills are critical
As are the ability to influence and persuade
Followership
As a team member the IP has the ability to provide expertise and exert influence in the absence of authority
Program management
Alignment of the infection prevention program’s goals with the organizational strategic priorities and annual operating plan is an important responsibility for every IP.
Strategic and operations planning and budget management
respond to shifts in regulatory and accreditation
Respond to the organizations many competing priorities
understand the economic environment
Critical thinking
proficient at understanding, utilizing and synthesizing scientific evidence, including methods for translating evidence into practice
Keen interpersonal skills which means being able to inspire, influence, and develop others.
Communication – likely the most critical
Effective communication takes into account the audience’s informational needs, their cultural background, and knowledge of the subject. Being concise, accurate, and timely in communicating critical information, and identifying barriers are skills taught in conjunction with the science of safety

8. Infection prevention and control domain
Epidemiology and surveillance
Risk Assessment
Risk Reduction and Infection Prevention
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Use and interpretation of diagnostic tests
Education
Research
Epidemiology and Surveillance
Proficient at applying surveillance definitions – NHSN or McGeer for long-term care
And understanding the use of appropriate benchmarks for comparison
Able to appropriately review literature
Allows a proactive approach to target setting and identification of thresholds that require reaction
A basic understanding of statistics and run charts will allow the determination of statistical significance
Risk Assessment
The IP leads the organization in application and evaluation of basic institutional risk criteria such as that used in hazard vulnerability analysis (eg, current magnitude of the problem, current ability to control the problem, risk to patients) for specific situations and uses relevant data and methods to align the infection prevention plan with the results of the risk assessment.
Risk Reduction
IPs are involved in reducing infection risk throughout various health care settings. This includes consultative input into the physical design of patient care environments and establishing specifications for protective measures during construction and renovation.
IPs also play a key role in the evaluation of new procedures and clinical technologies for patient care. In addition, IPs monitor conformance with care processes that are correlated with decreased infection risk.
Use and interpretation of diagnostic tests
The IP needs to be familiar with complex testing methods and articulate the advantages and disadvantages of them
Antimicrobial stewardship: a inter-professional effort
Education: resource for patients and their families, and staff, meet the needs of a diverse work force
Research: the IP must be able to critically evaluate research and apply the findings to their practice

9. Information Technology Support Surveillance Technology
Technical Domain
Information Technology Support
Surveillance Technology
Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
The rapid escalation in the demand for HAI data highlights the critical need for IPs to use and advocate for standardized, validated, and reproducible data.
Managing these critical data will increase demands on the IP
To address growing demands for procurement of HAI data as efficiently as possible, better IP knowledge and skills in use of surveillance technology and health informatics will be necessary.
Information Technology support
Professional and practice standards and elements of board certification in infection prevention assume Preventionists will have access to information technology (IT) hardware and be proficient in use of associated applications (eg, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and communications applications, the health system intranet).
Ability to use internal data bases to access key clinical and administrative data
Ability to use external data bases - NHSN
Ability to validate the data as correct
Surveillance Technology
More advanced analytical tools are increasingly important to support surveillance. These include data mining services that use interfaces among laboratory information systems, ADT, pharmacy, and other health information databases.
The benefit of this emerging use of IT is reallocation of the preventionist’s time from data entry to intervention strategies aimed at prevention in collaboration with direct care team members.
EMR
Currently, only 12% of health systems in the United States have a fully functional EMR as defined by key attributes such as computerized provider order-entry and clinical care documentation.
Meaningful use

10. Performance Improvement – implementation science domain
Identify opportunities
Assemble PI team
Tools and methods
Implementation
Measuring success
Performance improvement encompasses all of the systems, projects, and team activities an organization implements to achieve its goals. These goals include the prevention of HAIs for patients, visitors, and staff.
Implementation science (IS) is “the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of clinical research findings and other evidence-based practices into routine practice and hence to improve the quality (effectiveness, reliability, safety, appropriateness, equity, efficiency) of health care.
Performance improvement (PI) methods and the principles of IS must be fully integrated into prevention program operations. If PI and infection prevention functions are separated within an organization, there must be sufficient coordination and communication between them to maintain successful partnerships. To accomplish performance/process improvement aimed at reduction of HAIs, the following 5 elements are required:
Identification of need for PI the IP is skilled at identifying timely and relevant opport.
Assembly of the PI team the IP has the skill to function in several PI roles lead, facilitator, or member
Tools and methods (facility specific such as PDCA, Lean, Six Sigma)
Implementation – 4 core elements engagement, education, execution, and evaluation
Measuring success – baseline comparison of benchmarks, selection of goals with challenging but accessible targets, and process and outcome measures appropriate to the project.

11. Competency and certification
Certification in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC)
Strategic Priority for all professionals engaged in Infection Prevention and Control
CIC denotes mastery of the fundamental knowledge required for competent performance in the practice

12. Using the APIC Competency Model
Compare your Job Description (JD) to the tool
Assess the differences and similarities
Use the tool to modify your JD with your stakeholders
Can be used to educate others to your expanding role
Use for annual goal setting activities
Do a self assessment of individual knowledge and skills and compare to the domains and categories
Use the model to help inform and guide new IP’s
Using a model that is endorsed and accepted by it’s professional constituents, helps to define the professional role to the IP and their stakeholders.
APIC views the model as part of the Associations long standing efforts to define and advance the profession.

13. Questions?