Healthcare Infrastructure: Nurses are The Backbone

Someone rightly said that nurses are the backbone of any healthcare infrastructure. It is once again proved right in the times of COVID-19. Everyone realised the vital role that nurses play in any healthcare facility and in our life too. Each healthcare professional agrees proudly on the importance of a nurse in saving the lives of a lot of people. They are the front line warriors amongst the whole team. A nurse is the one who first communicates with the patients and then on a routine basis takes a lot of care about every aspect of treatment guidelines as a pro. It is very important to have excellent communication skills for the healthcare professionals to clarify the patients’ doubts and build trust. Trust is the basis for successful treatment. Nurses remain with the patient 24x7 in hospitals.

Nurses are the front line warriors to carry out patient care at any healthcare facility and they used to play a vital role each minute to ensure the safety and speedy recovery of all the patients. Their selfless devotion in efficiently managing the COVID times is exceptional. The spread of COVID infection has imposed several challenges to come out as a winner. The entire healthcare infrastructure was on its toes day and night to fight the infection. It was a tough job to look after a large number of non-stop cases and to keep their safety at stake. But the healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and the whole staff were on rolls 24x7, looking after cases while maintaining all the safety precautions.

 

Nursing has been a noble profession for ages. It is indeed an exhausting and selfless job to look after any infected case without any hesitation. Nurses are the right hand of their team leader i.e a doctor or a surgeon in all aspects. With the support of their teammates and doctors, nurses keep on providing care to all the patients. They also keep them positive in every crucial situation, filling them with hope.

 

Nurses work tirelessly to fulfil the requirements of the patients with the utmost attention. Despite wearing the cumbersome PPE kit and other safety gadgets the team worked cheerfully and supported the patients emotionally as well. The whole team of healthcare professionals work under any circumstance. They may not have been keeping so well, were devoid of family and home, sometimes don't even get the food on time, but were always wearing a never fading smile to boost the morale of the patients. So a highly skilled nursing staff is an asset of the facility.

 

Hardships and challenges faced during COVID times emphasised the need for skilling and upskilling courses for the healthcare professionals, be it a doctor, a nurse or any other support staff working for the patients’ care. In India, recognised bodies like CAHO (Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations) are offering several courses like infection control nurse courses, communication skills, fire safety training programs, etc. for the training and upskilling of healthcare professionals. Interested professionals can visit CAHO’s website to check eligibility, course content and other details.

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The Guide to Becoming an Infection Control Nurse

Even in a sterilised and sanitary environment, a rogue infection can spread quickly and get out of hand. Though it depends on the type of infection and the area which has been infected, if left unchecked, people can become seriously ill and even die. As seen in the current pandemic of Covid-19, it can even transverse state and country boundaries, affecting people all over the world. That is why Infection Control Nurses are important for a healthcare organisation. They are the ones who are trained to prevent dangerous infectious diseases from spreading. 

Infection control nurses are extremely important for an organisation, as their job is to ensure precautions are taken to prevent the virus or bacteria from spreading. Even a small mistake can lead to the infectious agent to spread from a patient to a healthy individual, hence, they play a huge role in containing outbreaks and epidemic. To understand the scope of an infection control nurse, here are the answers to some of the frequently asked questions:

What do Infection Control Nurses do?

The main duty of an infection control nurse is preventing the spread of an infectious agent that can harm society. To do so, they often educate other medical professionals and civilians on the techniques to prevent the spread and protect themselves as well as others from contamination. They also might study the structure of pathogens and viruses in order to determine the best ways to contain or prevent the infection. In the event of an outbreak, they are the ones who isolate infected patients and take steps to contain the infection. 

Where do Infection Control Nurses Work?

There is no special difference between an infection control nurse and other nurses. The only difference is that the former opt for specialised infection control nurse course. Other than that, they work in similar medical facilities, such as hospitals and clinics. They can even become part of government agencies that raise awareness about different infections and their prevention. 

How to become an Infection Control Nurse?

For becoming an infection control nurse, all you have to do is obtain some experience in the nursing field, and then take up a course that will help you secure a specialised position. 

A good option is to check out the infection control nurse course offered by the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations (CAHO), which is a recognised non-profit organisation that aims to improve healthcare quality. With programmes such as fire safety training for hospital staff, basic nursing communication, cybersecurity in hospital, etc., they work to improve the quality and safety of healthcare services provided by the HCOs across the country. 

 

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