Next course start date: 6th September 2021

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Veterinary Practical Infection Control

Overview

Infection control is a vitally important aspect of veterinary practice, and as we know, the consequences of poor hygiene can be catastrophic.

Are your infection control standards measuring up?

Are you doing enough to promote hygiene?

Do you feel like your protocols need reviewing, but are not quite sure where to start?

Do you have issues with implementing protocols and achieving staff adherence to them?

This course will explore the key factors of infection control – from basic practice hygiene to clinical considerations as well as helping to achieve guidelines set within the RCVS practice standards if you are part of the scheme.

Participants will be able to share their own knowledge and experience, look at current protocols with a view to gaining an understanding of the areas of strength and weakness in the delivery of infection control measures in their practice. This will lead to discussions on how improvements can be made to achieve best practice standards.

The flexibility of this course will allow each student to address their own practice situation and following study they will complete assessed coursewokr, enabling them to reflect on their current practice approach and how this can be improved, the practice risks in diagrammatical form, and develop a biosecurity standard operating procedure in a particular area.

We advocate the creation of practice ‘infection control champions’, and this course will enable you to take on this role.

Syllabus

Current challenges in infection control

Looking at individual and practice challenges
Identifying most urgent practice needs in infection prevention
Guidance and direction on creating an SOP

Cleaning and disinfection

From the waiting room to theatre – the fundamentals of basic cleaning and practice organisation
Common ‘danger’ zones in the practice
Selection of different disinfectants for different situations
Use of disinfectants – dilution rates, contact time, chemistry rotation and safety
Cleaning and disinfecting veterinary and patient equipment
Appropriate selection and use of cleaning equipment/tools
Consulting room considerations

Hand hygiene

The five moments of hand hygiene
Hand washing techniques
Hand hygiene products and equipment
Scrub versus rub
Ensuring/checking efficacy of hand hygiene
Sanitiser stations
Which glove for which task?
Hand care to prevent skin damage
Managing client hand hygiene

Barrier nursing

Biosecurity and creating a tiered biosecurity system
Best practices in barrier nursing
Managing isolation facilities
Making the best of the facilities you have in your practice
Reverse barrier nursing
Creating a ‘barrier nursing pack’ fee

Correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE)

The variety of PPE available
Re-usable or single use?
How to don and remove PPE effectively
Adhering to H+S and COSHH guidelines
Protecting staff and patients for ‘dirty’ procedures
Consulting room attire and PPE
Care of the veterinary team

Theatre

Managing the ops list to promote infection prevention
Infection control in-between patients
Moving from prep room to theatre – patients and equipment
(Theatre practice will be touched upon, but is covered in more detail on our Theatre Practice course)

Laundry

Correct procedures for patient bedding
Washing contaminated items
Staff uniforms
Special equipment for laundry

Implementation, compliance and monitoring

Creating a team approach to infection control
Education of all staff
Infection control as part of the induction process
Inter-staff training
Surveys and questionnaires
Constructing and using checklists
Promoting and monitoring adherence to protocols
Efficacy versus time – finding the balance
Performing an audit on infection control
Looking at results of C&S testing, swabbing of surfaces, ATP testing
Protocols when ‘sharing’ your practice with an OOH team
Client education

Course content covered will be dictated by the needs of the participants on the course, so you are able to raise any topics related to infection control that are relevant to you and your practice and team.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, successful candidates will be able to:

Appreciate current issues regarding infection control within their own clinic
Understand the concept of an infection control programme and its importance within clinical practice
Have confidence creating infection control SOPs and procedures for all areas of their clinic, and in implementing and managing these policies

Resources

This course is:

Three weeks in duration (two weeks of interactive learning, one week of self-study for coursework completion)
Interactive and engaging forum-based learning, with expert tutor guidance and support throughout the learning forum duration
A mixture of short lecture/s and other resources, interactive learning and guided self-study
Accessed via our easy-to-use learning platform, alongside fellow vet professionals and your tutor
Flexible – whilst run over set dates there is flexibility to complete study where and when you can during the course run dates – there are no set times that you need to be online.
Structured and practical, and includes assessed coursework, which you will receive personalised feedback on from your tutor

Course resources include:

Access to our flexible online learning environment for the duration of the course
Lecture/s that can be viewed at any time, and as many times as you like
Interactive, tutor-guided learning forums
Supporting materials, tools and ideas for assisting with and supporting your learning
Assessed coursework with constructive feedback from your tutor
Practical documents created by you, tailored to the needs of your practice
Access to the course materials for a period after the course

Course Summary

Course duration: 3 weeks (8 hours flexible/self-directed study time)

Course type: Fully supported and interactive online learning with assessed coursework

Tutor: Emma Gerrard

Suitable for: Vets, veterinary nurses & technicians and students. Those in a leadership position in practice looking to update infection control protocols would also benefit from this course, and anyone who has an interest in infection control protocols and procedures.

This course is accredited by AMTRA for 32 SQP CPD points.

Please advise at registration if you require these points.

£149.00

See what some of our past candidates have said…

“I found this course extremely helpful. This is such an important topic and it is too easy just to “do what you’ve always done”. This course made us think about what we were doing, why we were doing it and what we could do better.”

Sue Bielby

“I have found ONCORE an excellent pathway to help me achieve practical, evidence-based processes for our business. I would recommend ONCORE to any colleague who wants to use their CPD time and budget constructively.”

Laura Shaw

“It made me think a lot about what we are doing and what we could do better. I just wish it ran longer so I could savour the experience a bit more!”

Carrie

“I really enjoyed the course. It opened my mind to different aspects of infection control. The discussion forums are a great idea to encourage people to discuss any issues. The literature provided was very informative. The lectures were easy to listen to. The VLE was easy to understand due to the step by step guidance provided.”

Suzanne Flynn

“Much more interesting than I thought it might have been, really enjoyed it. Excellent.”

Emmeline Macedo

“I thought Emma’s contributions to the course were very detailed and thought provoking and I have gained a better knowledge of how to support my current practice with infection control.”

Carolyn Turrall

Your Tutor

Emma Gerrard

Dip HE CVN Dip AVN (SA) BSc (Hons) CVN RVN RAMA (KSQP) PHC

Read tutor profile

Complete your purchase

Simply add the courses you wish to book to your shopping cart, also selecting the start dates of your choice. You will then be guided through the secure checkout to complete your purchase.

Fill out the registration form

Once payment is complete, you will receive an email asking for candidate details. Complete the form and submit. We must receive your registration in order to process your enrolment.

When do I start learning?

When you have successfully submitted your candidate registration, you will receive a confirmation message. You will be contacted prior to the course start date with information on how to join the VLE.

Have a question about this course?

Next course start date: 6th September 2021