Infection Control Nurse Career Overview

Infection control nurses educate other healthcare professionals and staff, patients, and the public on preventing infections and either apply or recommend evidence-based best practices. Responsibilities for infection control nurse jobs may include the following:

Infection control nurses mostly find employment in hospitals, residential care facilities, and other healthcare settings, but they also work for government and emergency preparedness organizations.

Infection control nurse jobs can be very gratifying because they play a vital role in public health. Additionally, infectious disease nurse salaries are typically above the U.S. average. However, one of the challenges of being an infection control nurse includes managing frustration when people, sometimes even healthcare professionals, do not comply with protocols.

The average annual salary for an infection control nurse is $72,152, comparable to the $73,300 median annual salary for all RNs. However, NPs generally earn a higher salary than RNs, including those who specialize in infection control. The median annual salary for nurse practitioners is $115,800.

Overall, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 7% growth for all nursing jobs. It is possible but not certain that there may be a higher demand for infection control nurses post-COVID.

Professional stewardship encompasses accountability, ethical standards, appropriate management of resources, and other forms of responsibility to the profession and to stakeholders.

Research includes not just conducting and publishing research but evaluating others’ research findings, understanding how to identify the most effective practices from research studies, and applying those findings as appropriate.

IPC operations includes all aspects of infection prevention control, such as routine cleaning and sterilization, epidemiology, appropriate use of antibiotics, and education.

Quality improvement is the discipline of consistently gathering and analyzing data about performance to identify improvement opportunities at every level of detail and complexity.

IPC informatics involves the gathering, storing, and analyzing of relevant data. This also includes finding new ways of gathering data, such as performing surveillance, to receive earlier detection and respond faster to infections.

Leadership includes communication and critical thinking, understanding management and behavioral sciences, collaboration with various teams, program management, and mentorship.

It takes two years for the ADN degree and four years for the BSN. Certification and upper-level infectious disease nurse positions require additional experience, typically at least two years for certification or to enter a master’s or doctoral program.

During a pandemic, infectious disease nurse duties include communicating credibly about risk, rapidly identifying and evaluating new information and research findings, applying research as appropriate, and creating and improving new processes and approaches to infection control.

An a-IPC certification is valid for three years and is not renewable; candidates are expected to get the CIC certification as the next step. CIC certification requires renewal every five years.

Infectious disease nurses must be good at processing information quickly, communicating with a variety of audiences, adapting to change, and using their authority to ensure that patients and staff understand and follow the appropriate procedures. Infection control nurses must understand and apply both clinical and behavioral sciences.