Veterinary surgeon and practice director, Martina Eyre-Brook, provides us with an account of her experiences on our Practical Infection Control course. Martina’s practice went on to achieve an ‘outstanding’ in the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, which includes an element covering infection control.
Martina Eyre-Brook DVM MRCVS, Vets4Pets Cirencester (Director)
Course information: Practical Infection Control – protocols into practice
Tutor: Louise O’Dwyer
Delivery: Online, lectures, self-directed, tutor led research & interactive discussion
Course outcomes: A draft, evidence-based Infection Control protocol for practice
How does the course work?
Let’s just give a brief outline first of how the course works. Infection control is a tricky topic – there is so much to cover, and also it is vital that protocols fit with the practice requirements – staff, caseload, and any particular challenges.
The course offers an introductory lecture, and the participants then spend two weeks exploring the topic with the guidance of their tutor. They are able to share and discuss issues and solutions from their own workplace and use their learning to create their first draft protocol to take back to practice. The topic of implementation and compliance is also covered, resulting in protocols that are far more likely to be adhered to in practice.
Martina’s account
Before I started the ‘Infection Control Course’ I thought that my current protocols and understanding of Infection Control were fairly good. I learned so much during this course! I rediscovered my love for infection control and focused even more on attention for detail on Infection Prevention.
We looked at new topics in Infection Control and the (over)use of antibiotics using sources provided by the Bella Moss foundation, BSAVA and others.I really liked the ‘further reading recommendations’ and found them very useful for my coursework, especially how the Canadians are dealing with Infection Prevention and Control of Best Practices. It is always good to stay open minded and to see how the rules and regulations are in different countries.
I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed doing this online course and how easy I found it to change, improve and update existing protocols in my practice.
Result?
Martina’s hard work paid off when their practice achieved OUTSTANDING in their recent RCVS Practice Standard’s Scheme inspection, which of course includes consideration of Infection Control. Well done Vets4Pets Cirencester!
The Practice Infection Control course runs in collaboration with the Bella Moss Foundation, and a donation is made to the Foundation for every participant on the course.
The course is also kindly supported by JAK Marketing, and participants are eligible for special offers on certain JAK products during the course.
