Collaboration Is Key! Dental Infection Prevention Education in Rural Ambulatory Settings

Session Description: This session will showcase how the Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) developed a successful training plan aimed at increasing the knowledge of Infection Preventionists (IPs) working in the dental field in rural Washington State. Prior to November 2021, the WA DOH program had one IP who supported dental facilities with infection prevention consultations. Due to the high demand and number of dental facilities additional support was needed which led to the development of a formal dental IP training program.

The training program consisted of three stages. A self-paced preparatory stage included a training plan document designed to allow the dental IP trainee to access assigned documents and recorded presentations through hyperlinks, and complete pre- and post-program knowledge assessments. This allowed for tracking progress through the program and evaluating the trainees understanding. Secondly, a practical stage involved visiting a dental assistant training program lab to provide the student with hands on learning in a simulated dental setting. This was done through a partnership with a local community college’s dental assistant program. Visiting the lab helped the program trainees become familiar with the dental equipment, procedures, and the design and flow of sterile processing areas in a conducive environment. Finally, trainees were also encouraged to shadow, co-lead and, when ready, lead dental infection control and response visits.

The first cohort started in November 2021 and included 4 WA DOH IP who completed the program and are now conducting consultative infection prevention site visits across the state. The second cohort has expanded to include participants from local health jurisdictions, ambulatory, and critical access hospital infection preventionists who have expressed interest in providing similar services. This IP training plan provides a model for an introductory course series that can be implemented with existing educational resources by other IP specialty areas.