Partnering to Heal: Teaming Up Against Healthcare-Associated Infections (http://www.hhs.gov/ash/initiatives/hai/training/) is a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) interactive, computer-based resource to assist students, clinicians, and patient advocates understand infection control strategies and identify the contributions each can make to the "culture of safety." It is designed so that a participating trainee makes decisions relevant to hospital-acquired infections by following the activities of 5 main characters: a physician, an RN, an infection preventionist, a patient family member, and a third-year medical student. Through computer-based simulation, the trainee takes on the identity of each character and makes decisions as those characters do. Patient outcomes develop based on appropriate or inappropriate decisions made by each character participating in the activity.
The resource focuses on teamwork, communication, hand washing, influenza vaccination, appropriate antibiotic use, and proper techniques for insertion and removal of central lines, urinary catheters, and ventilator-associated equipment. Universal precautions and isolation procedures are addressed in relation to patients, visitors, and healthcare practitioners. Computer-based activities address prevention of surgical-site infections, central-line and bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and Clostridium difficile infections. The training provides outcomes reflecting both best- and worst-case scenarios and can also be used with groups. A facilitator's guide is available for download on the HHS Web site. The resources are meant for noncommercial educational use. As faculty members strive to improve their teaching strategies related to a culture of safety, resources such as this may be quite valuable.
Source: AHRQ. Friday, May 13 2011. HHS releases today new online patient safety training resources for clinicians and patient advocates. Daily Digest E-mail from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Submitted by: Robin E. Pattillo, PhD, RN, CNL, News Editor at [email protected]