Mastering Hands-On Infection Prevention Skills
Why Expertise in Infection Prevention Skills Matters
Achieving expertise in infection prevention, particularly in hand hygiene and the donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE), is crucial for maintaining safe healthcare environments. Effective infection prevention practices reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), safeguard patient health, and lower healthcare costs. This article explores the essential elements of mastering these skills, providing evidence-based insights to help infection prevention experts elevate their organization’s practices.
Enhancing hand hygiene and PPE donning and doffing skills can significantly reduce the incidence of HAIs, improving patient outcomes and reducing costs associated with infection management.
The Road to Mastery: Key Components
1. Deliberate Practice vs. Routine Practice
Routine practice involves performing a skill repeatedly without specific goals or feedback. While useful for maintenance, it is insufficient for achieving mastery. Deliberate practice, on the other hand, is characterized by focused, goal-oriented efforts and continuous feedback, essential for mastering complex skills like infection prevention techniques.
According to Ericsson et al. (1993), deliberate practice involves repetitive performance of intended cognitive or psychomotor skills, rigorous skills assessment, and specific feedback. In infection prevention, this means practicing hand hygiene and PPE protocols with clear objectives and professional guidance.
2. Repeated Attempts with Feedback
Repeated practice with immediate feedback helps practitioners identify and correct mistakes promptly. A study by Chase and Simon (1973) on skill acquisition emphasizes the importance of recognizing patterns and receiving feedback to enhance performance. In infection prevention, feedback can come from expert Infection Prevention trainers, automated training systems, auditors, or other forms of one-on-one assessment.
3. Timely Feedback
Timely feedback is critical in deliberate practice. It ensures that corrections are made and bad habits are corrected. Calderwood et al. (1988) highlighted that immediate feedback under time pressure improves decision-making and skill execution. For infection prevention, feedback should integrated into training sessions and simulations.
4. Hands-On Practice
Hands-on practice is essential for mastering infection prevention skills. The kinesthetic experience of donning and doffing PPE and performing hand hygiene procedures embeds these actions into muscle memory, making them second nature during high-pressure situations. Augmented Reality and AI systems enable cost-efficient methods of delivering hands-on practice with real-time feedback.
5. Valid Environment
A valid learning environment replicates the conditions under which the skills will be used. Hogarth et al. (2015) differentiate between "kind" and "wicked" learning environments. Kind environments provide clear feedback and replicable outcomes, ideal for initial training. In contrast, wicked environments present unpredictable scenarios, useful for advanced practice. Simulating real-world conditions in infection prevention training ensures that practitioners are prepared for actual challenges.
Practical Training Recommendations
1. AI and AR-Based Training
Incorporate AI and AR tools for realistic, immersive training experiences. These technologies provide controlled environments for repeated practice and immediate feedback, enhancing skill acquisition and retention. They also offer great scalability, consistency, and reach.
2. Regular Skills Assessment
Conduct regular assessments to ensure compliance and proficiency in infection prevention protocols. Skill assessments can be done with expert Infection Prevention professionals or with automated AI tools.
3. Structured Training Programs
Develop structured training programs that include both deliberate and routine practice sessions. Ensure that these programs are tailored to different skill levels, from novice to expert.
4. Emphasize Deliberate Practice
Encourage deliberate practice by setting clear objectives for each training session, providing detailed feedback, and progressively increasing the complexity of scenarios.
5. Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement
Promote a culture that values continuous improvement and lifelong learning. Encourage healthcare workers to seek feedback, engage in regular practice, and stay updated with the latest guidelines and research.
6. AI for Infection Prevention Training
AI technology, particularly as utilized by Blue Mirror, can revolutionize infection prevention practices by providing real-time, intelligent assistance and feedback. Blue Mirror's AI-driven platform uses advanced algorithms to monitor hand hygiene compliance and correct PPE donning and doffing procedures, ensuring that healthcare workers adhere to best practices consistently. By incorporating AI and Augment Reality, Blue Mirror enhances training programs with precision and efficiency, helping healthcare organizations maintain high standards of infection control and ultimately safeguarding patient health.
7. Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are both immersive technologies, but they serve different purposes in training environments. While VR creates a completely virtual space for users, AR overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing the user's interaction with their actual environment. AR's superiority in dealing with real-world settings lies in its ability to integrate training directly into the workplace, providing real-time guidance and feedback while they interact with PPE and the environment.
Conclusion
Mastering infection prevention skills, especially hand hygiene and PPE donning and doffing, requires deliberate practice, hands-on experience, and a supportive learning environment. By integrating these principles into training programs, infection prevention experts can significantly reduce HAIs and enhance patient safety. For comprehensive training solutions, including AI-driven training tools, visit Blue Mirror.
References
Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive psychology, 4(1), 55-81. Link
Calderwood, R., Klein, G. A., & Crandall, B. W. (1988). Time pressure, skill, and move quality in chess. The American Journal of Psychology, 481-493. Link
Hogarth, R. M., Lejarraga, T., & Soyer, E. (2015). The two settings of kind and wicked learning environments. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(5), 379-385. Link
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363. Link
Bialach, M., & Leszczak, J. (2021). The use of virtual reality in the process of training healthcare professionals: a literature review. Journal of Medical Education, 2(1), 1-7.
Zimlichman, E., Henderson, D., Tamir, O., et al. (2013). Health care-associated infections: a meta-analysis of costs and financial impact on the US health care system. JAMA internal medicine, 173(22), 2039-2046.
