I had the opportunity to attend the 2025 APIC Conference virtually. It was difficult to just pick 2 presentations that were beneficial. These presentations were very beneficial, and I wanted to share some of the information they provided. I encourage any member to attend this conference either in-person or virtually.
1st Presentation
Air, Water, and Sewer Emergencies – Oh My
Aaron Preston, RN BSN AL-CIP, CIC
Jill Holdsworth CIC, FAPIC, CrCST, CHL, NREMT
This presentation was a great follow-up to knowledge I already knew and added additional resources that will be extremely helpful. They listed guidelines and standards that are very helpful for a water/ventilation management plan. These guidelines include the following.
Another great slide was a list of additional resources as well as important groups to include in the decision tree. This was a good list of how to reopen after an event. When an event occurs, it can be difficult to know where all of your resource documents are and who needs to be on the decision-making team. This is an additional list that is important to include.
This presentation also highlighted the needs for sterile processing and endoscopy as well. An important aspect was how much water for manual reprocessing is needed for 20 scopes….220 gallons. This amount highlights the importance of a plan. Water and healthcare go hand in hand, and it is often not if, but when there is an emergency.
This presentation is a great checklist of resources to keep when there is a water, air, or sewer emergency. It helps fill that gap when the unexpected happens and we need to know where to begin.
The Truth Is Out There – Strategies to Identify and Appraise Research Evidence
Pat Stone, PhD, FAAN, FAPIC,
Lisa Hall, PhD, FAEA, SFHEA
Emily Sickbert-Bennet, PhD, MS, CIC, FSHEA
Mohamed Yassin, MD, PhD
Janet P. Haas, Rn, PhD, CIC, FAPIC, FSHEA
No matter how many classes I have taken, research strategies are always at the back of my mind. I find that a regular update or primer is important for me to continue my understanding and to fill any knowledge gaps that occur. This presentation was a great refresher for me as I do not regularly perform research studies.
They discussed PICO and described how to create a focused question. While this is not new knowledge for me, I appreciated how they laid out how to perform this.
Study design is also an area of importance and the algorithm that was presented creates a visual that simplifies this often complex process.
They also discussed an appraisal tool that is a critical appraisal tool that can help us determine the relevance, results and rigor of published papers.
The most difficult aspect of this presentation was to identify the top 3 key learnings. The information will stay in my research resource folder.
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Gail Weeks, DNP, RN, CIC
Ambulatory Infection Preventionist
PeaceHealth
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