smilingbig

smilingbig has 6 years experience and specializes in Infection Control, Employee Health & TB.

smilingbig's Latest Activity

1. CIC exam

   smilingbig replied to f1j1nurse's topic in Disease

   When are you taking your CBIC exam?

2. Eight or 12 hour shifts

   smilingbig replied to LaJollalove's topic in Disease

   My acute nursing experience that I had prior to leaving the ‘bed-side' included cardiovascular/telemetry/step-down. But that was only about 1 1/2 -2 years. I then started working for the health district running their tuberculosis program. Having kn...

3. Eight or 12 hour shifts

   smilingbig replied to LaJollalove's topic in Disease

   I've been working in IC/IP for about 5 years and only for 2 different facilities. Both of my facilities are quite different, and the position of IP/IC nurse has permitted me quite a bit of flexibility as far as schedule goes. For the most part, I hav...

4. disease surveillance nurse in public health...CIC eligible?

   smilingbig replied to guest464345's topic in Disease

   You technically don't need hospital IP experience specifically. I actually know several people that belong to my APIC chapter that work for the state in different epi departments and are CIC. I would print out your job description and verify it direc...

5. Xenex X machine

   smilingbig replied to CriticalCareRN1's topic in Disease

   We had this in the last acute care hospital I worked at. I hope you were able to find some of the published research supporting reduced HAIs. I came across a bunch! It's relatively new technology so research that has been done is really starting to s...

6. Infectious Disease (ID) Nursing

   smilingbig replied to traumaRUs's topic in Disease

   I think it was meant to be; it's all semantics. As far as I know, the only nurses that I know that work in "Infectious Disease" work in an office for an Infectious Disease doctor. Infection Control Nurses are usually referred to 'Infection Prevention...

7. Good text for learning immunology?

   smilingbig replied to 504 medic's topic in Disease

   Thank you! Perhaps that video is helpful... I'm surprised how misunderstood TB is amongst many medical professionals I encounter. If you ever need additional resources for TB there are regional TB centers throughout the US that have TONS of info on t...

8. Good text for learning immunology?

   smilingbig replied to 504 medic's topic in Disease

   As an infection control nurse I've only needed to know the basics, but my husband is graduating med school in a couple weeks and had to be well versed in this. I know before medical school he had used Immunology Made Ridiculously Simple. While in sch...

9. Cic

   smilingbig replied to jallen326's topic in Disease

   I haven't taken the exam yet, but my entire department (6 IPs) has been studying for the exam. We (with the guidance of our CIC director) have been using the APIC text & review outline to go over the materials. The text has actually been revised...

10. Infection control concern in NICU

    smilingbig replied to Armywife08's topic in Disease

    I just wanted to point out a few things.... Acinetobacter are bacteria that are naturally occurring in soil and water; so unfortunately, there is a great chance that just about every staff member at your facility is carrying that around on their sh...

11. Disinfecting electric shavers

    smilingbig replied to Frankie123's topic in Disease

    I would contact the manufacturer of the electric shaver for instructions on what kinds of solutions/materials are approved to clean the different surfaces of the clipper/shaver. Depending on the type of metal, there are certain cleansers that can be ...

12. rejected from RN to BSN program at Texas Tech University

    smilingbig replied to Ms.RN's topic in Texas

    I don't mind questions at all, if you don't mind the delayed reply :) However, I think the school to which you are applying is different than what we were referring to in this thread. While the RN to BSN program was a second undergraduate degree for ...

13. How to land an infection preventionist position

    smilingbig replied to tronix304's topic in Disease

    APIC's educational offerings are tailored to Infection Preventionists/Practitioners so they are perfect for what you want to go into. When I first started in IC I found them instrumental in creating a foundation for me to build on. If the position th...

14. Disgusted in GA:Used ice paks in the freezer

    smilingbig replied to ckm2's topic in Disease

    Wow... It amazes me that these nurses have the time to go through the trouble to label, bag, and return to the freezer something that is typically deemed "single-use." Cost aside, if a manufacturer states something is single use it needs to be used a...

15. Precautions for hepatitis?

    smilingbig replied to Nursebetty2007's topic in NCLEX