Abstract
Background: The Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology appointed an advisory
committee to conduct a practice analysis (PA) of infection control professionals (ICPs)
to identify current practices of ICPs. Results of the PA would assist in the development
of a revised certification examination. Methods: Five thousand seven hundred fifty-three questionnaires were distributed to ICPs in
the United States and in Canada, as well as to a subsample of ICPs in other countries.
Decision rules and criteria were applied to each identified task in the PA. Results: A total of 1306 responses were available for analysis, for a 24% return rate. The
majority of the respondents were certified in infection control, had a background
as a registered nurse, and worked in a community hospital with 200 or fewer beds.
Six major categories, with 135 tasks, were identified in the PA. The following 2 new
categories were included: education and research and infection control aspects of
employee health. Conclusions: The PA reflects current changes in the practice of infection prevention/control and
applied epidemiology in the United States and Canada. The test specifications accepted
for adoption by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology will
be used to build all examination forms for a certification program for ICPs. (Am J
Infect Control 2002;30:437-48.)
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Article info
Footnotes
*Reprint requests: Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc., 1275 K St, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005-4006.
**This article is being published simultaneously in American Journal of Infection Control and Canadian Journal of Infection Control.
Identification
Copyright
© 2002 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
