Master Program in Infection prevention and control at the School of Medicine, European University Cyprus
MSc program “Infectious Diseases: Prevention & Control” Training hospital staff in the Control of Healthcare-acquired infections The Problem: Despite control efforts, the burden of health-care associated infections in Europe is high with an estimated number of 4.5 million annually, leading to 37,000 deaths and 16 million extra days of hospital stay each year (Lancet, 2015). Key priority is to protect patients, visitors & staff from risk of healthcare-associated infections, in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance under the Health and Social Care Act 2008. It requires Hospitals to have an Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) team with an IPC Director (often a Nurse), who leads on issues related to control of infectious diseases and supports staff to prevent cross-infection. In addition, all hospital staff require regular IPC training. In addition, the EU report of 2009/C 151/01 includes a recommendations on patient safety, stressing that Member States should ensure that healthcare institutions have specialized infection prevention and control staff. The Governing Bodies supporting IPC education:
- Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- European Center Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC)
Guidelines: Healthcare organizations and hospitals are required to have organized IPC teams, training & education programs and isolation facilities.
Organization of infection control at hospital / clinic level must include:
- Nursing staff – dedicated IPC profession Dedicated physician trained in infection control
- Microbiological support
- Pharmacy support
- Data management support
Requirements of the IPC professional:
1.Knowledge background:
- Epidemiology, statistics, research
- Patient care practices
- Occupational health
- Sterilization,Disinfection
- Infectious diseases, Microbiology
- Education & management
2. Duties:
- Continuous quality improvement
- IPC activities and capacity building
- Regulatory compliance & education
- Outbreak management
- Surveillance, Monitoring
Advantages of the EUC MSc program “Infectious Diseases: Prevention & Control”
- Covers all ECDC core competencies for infection control and hospital hygiene professionals across Europe
- Duration possible in 12 or 18 months (same ECTS and coverage of topics)
- Competitive tuition fees compared to other Master programs of its field
- Schedule of classes offered in block format to not disrupt the working program of attendees
- Listed in the official ECDC directory of Training courses on infection prevention and control
- Strong practical and research component
- Faculty and Advisory board are tightly related with the industry and local healthcare system
For further details contact us with subject ” MSc Infection Prevention and Control “at: Email: info@euc.ac.cy or Tel: +357 22 713000 , Fax: +357 22 662051,