Deep Dive: Deep Dive Into Respect for Infection Preventionists

Linda Spaulding RN-BC, CIC, CHEC, CHOP, is an infection preventionist and a consultant who helps hospitals and other health care systems (but mostly hospitals) solve their infection prevention problems. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, IPs were not only respected, they were the much-sought-after experts whom other health care professionals turned to when they had questions about how best to protect their patients and themselves from SARS-CoV-2. Flash forward some 20 months and IPs are once more being treated as the step-children in health care, says Spaulding.