The Joint Commission has mandated that infection rates as well as their etiologies be closely monitored and steps taken to prevent their occurrence. This series will look at infection prevention including the chain of infection; the proper techniques for good hand washing; and standard, contact, droplet, airborne, full-barrier, and reverse precautions as well as the rationale and personal protective equipment for each. Sterile dressing changes will also be demonstrated. In addition, core measures will be defined and explained through a case study, making this TJC mandate easy to understand. Finally, super bugs will be addressed.

There are four programs in the series:

BASIC INFECTION PREVENTION TECHNIQUES
This program will discuss the chain of infection as well as some of the basic interventions that can be performed to protect patients and staff including the use of standard precautions and personal protective equipment (PPE), proper hand washing, and cleaning personal equipment between patients. 16 minutes

PRECAUTIONS AND STERILE DRESSING CHANGES
This program will describe the various types of precautions used to prevent the spread of infection in in-patient facilities. Contact, droplet, airborne, full-barrier, and reverse techniques will be explored in detail with rationale for their use. In addition, personal protective equipment listed will be explained and sterile technique will be demonstrated. 18 minutes

CORE MEASURES
Core measures are defined as well as specific items that can easily be quantified in hospitals so trends in providing care within the facility can be noted, and comparisons of that same care can be made across institutions. The care measures were designed by The Joint Commission (TJC), formerly known as JCAHO, to improve the safety and quality of care patients receive in hospitals as well as support performance improvement activities in those facilities. This program will describe these measures. 21 minutes

SUPER BUGS
In this program, super bugs, or infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria that have mutated and become treatment resistant, will be described. Now, and in the coming years, these super bugs are going to have a more dramatic impact on healthcare. These pathogens have the ability to transform and create more threatening outcomes; much faster than science can create the medications to eradicate them. With diligent infection control, these germs' ability to have a negative impact on patients can be slowed down or even eliminated. 21 minutes

*Closed Captioned