6 Essentials of Aseptic Techniques Training Program

Aseptic techniques are an essential part of the healthcare industry. One of the biggest concerns of doctors is to reduce the risk of infection to patients in the hospital. Practicing these aseptic techniques enables them to address this concern. It is unthinkable to think of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or operating room of a good hospital without sterilized instruments and hygienic facilities today. The hospital may even lose its license to practice. If you are a healthcare employee, you understand the importance of these techniques in a medical perspective.

It is required of healthcare employees specially those working in the surgical departments to enroll in an aseptic techniques training program. Here are 6 essentials of this training program.

· There are different levels of training available depending on your line of work. The duration for these different courses varies. For e.g. if you are a doctor or surgical nurse, you will need to undertake the specialized course which can take up to two years to complete. There are other aseptic training courses that are more basic and may last for around six months.

· It is not necessary for you to be previously experienced in surgical techniques. This training program consists of many steps and you will be taught everything you need to know as part of the program.

· In case you are sent as a part of a team from your hospital, they may require you to state that you will be serving a bond of certain number of years in their hospital after you complete your training program. This is generally applicable only to larger, well-known hospitals.

· In your training program you will learn about general aseptic techniques like scrubbing, hand washing, proper gloving and gowning for surgical procedures, and so on. Sterilization is a huge part of the course, which includes sterilization of equipments, clothing, and locations. You will be taught using real life situations will practical exposure, to help to understand better. You will also be taught the right way to prepare a patient for surgery, how to clean and sterilize the surgical area and how to drape the patient.

· If you are interested in specializing in a specific surgical field, there are aseptic course available for that too. For e.g. you can learn about aseptic techniques specific to pediatrics, orthopedics, and plastics departments, to name a few.

· Aseptic techniques training requires a lot of your time. It will take at least forty hours per work. It is better to do a good research before you enroll so you can prepare accordingly. You can also enroll in an online program if it is difficult for you to take so much time off work.

Aseptic techniques training includes practical and hands on experience in hospital settings. This will increase your confidence and sharpen your skills to help you be the best once you complete the course and join a reputed hospital. If you are a surgical employee, you will benefit greatly by undertaking this training program.

Is Your Organization Fun?

Last weekend was my annual pilgrimage to the National ArtsMarketing Project Conference hosted by Americans for the Arts. It has become my favorite conference of the year, not only because I get to catch up with friends from all over the country, but because it reminds me that sometimes the most profound marketing decisions are the most basic ones.

I attended a session entitled “The Curated Arts Experience” featuring Ceci Dadisman, Deeksha Gaur and Nella Vera. During this session, Nella started talking about something really fundamental – having fun. She gave several great examples of organizations that went out of their way to create fun and memorable experiences for their audiences. Immediately prior, we were treated to a lunch session featuring cdza, a trio of guys who create musical experiments.  With their experiments, they make classical music fun and accessible, and in doing so have millions of viewers worldwide. I have to wonder how many people have been introduced to classical music via their performances?

Cdza’s success is really pretty simple:

1)      They feature the work of brilliant artists – Michael Thurber is the “chief music guy,” a young man who from age 14 spent his life in a music conservatory and graduated from Juilliard.

2)      They don’t take themselves too seriously

3)      They create memorable and fun experiences 

Their motto: “first build your audience by offering them dessert before you introduce vegetables.” Simple. Clear. Brilliant.  

In previous blog posts, I’ve mentioned that when building audiences, you must program “gateway drugs” – a couple of options that are easily accessible and offer up a fun evening of entertainment in an attempt at proving that the non-profit arts can be a viable entertainment alternative to audiences that currently don’t view them as such. Great art doesn’t have to be devoid of entertainment value. It is possible to have art of the highest quality that is fun. 

Earlier this week, Adam Thurman of Mission Paradox reminded us that we need new audiences more than they need us. And here’s the painful truth – since art is essential to our lives, we like to believe that they are essential to everyone. That just isn’t the case. A good amount of the population does just fine without the arts. That isn’t to say that I believe the arts couldn’t enrich their lives, it is merely meant to point out that in the hierarchy of needs, we’re closer to the bottom. In today’s economy, merely meeting basic existence needs has become difficult, so convincing someone to spend their remaining disposable income on a discretionary item like the arts is harder than ever.  

We have to make our organizations inviting, accessible and fun. And understand that providing a fun experience doesn’t equate to sacrificing artistic credibility. We don’t have to sacrifice the core of who we are to attract new audiences, and those that make that argument, in my opinion, are short-sighted. 

New audiences need to be cultivated carefully. Create a path for them. Give them an easy entry point. Provide an amazing experience. Steward them so they return soon after their first experience. Build their confidence with multiple experiences, and then provide an opportunity to sample something a little more challenging. Introduce them to new experiences. At some point, if you don’t provide them with a challenge, they will grow bored. We are responsible for cultivating our audiences’ artistic growth. If we lack audiences for classical, challenging or new work, perhaps it is because we try to short circuit the system, and ask that new audiences sample what they would at first perceive as vegetables before getting to the dessert.  

In some circles in Washington, DC, the Kennedy Center has been criticized for programming work that isn’t as challenging as some would like. I however, appreciate the role the Kennedy Center plays in our ecosystem. Each year they introduce thousands of people to the performing arts for the first time. This in turn acts as a feeder system to other arts organizations.  

A balanced meal is important, but so too is the order of consumption. Start with dessert, and the chances increase that the full meal will be finished. Roll out complex foods to a novice palate, and you may not make it past the first course. 

Five Things You Didn't Know About Aseptic Technique Training

No matter which area of healthcare you are employed in, aseptic technique training is beneficial, necessary, and required by law. The aseptic techniques help to prevent infection and stop the spread of disease in infectious situation. It helps to protect both the patients and healthcare employees from the risk of infection and spread of disease.

Because of the crucial nature of techniques, all healthcare employees that come into contact with patients need to undergo aseptic techniques to maintain a sterile environment. Even though the training is widespread, there are some things you may not know about training and the options. Here are five things you may not know about training:

1) There are many training programs that available completely 100% online. The online course can often be taken 24 hours a day, 7 days a week allowing for complete flexibility for healthcare professionals. This is exceptionally handy for those healthcare professionals that work nontraditional schedules and constant overtime.

2) Aseptic technique training programs can be taken as a group or individually. With some traditional on-location training programs, a group setting is required. With online courses, you can take the courses online alone or in tandem with your coworkers. Even if the online courses are taken simultaneously by a group, each individual needs a specific log in to ensure the tests are taken individually for certification.

3) The costs of aseptic technique training course can vary greatly. A lot depends on which type of course offered, traditional on-location or online for instance. Different companies offer different prices for different reasons. Also, if an entire group enrolls many programs offer group discounts. Some programs offer discounts for certain types of organizations like non-profits or schools. Online training programs tend to be less expensive than traditional training programs because they have reduced the cost of staff and facilities.

4) Some courses can be completed in under an hour, but there is no need to rush. If you decide to pursue training online, the course can be taken at your own pace. This gives benefits to both those who feel stifled and slowed down by group settings and also those who like to review materials multiple times before taking an exam. The materials can be reviewed as many or as few times and you need to fully absorb the information.

5) If you do not pass the aseptic technique training technique the first time, you can retake it as many times as you need. This helps to relieve some of the pressure from those individuals who experience test anxiety.

Armed with this new knowledge of aseptic technique training information, you should be fully confident in your decision to purse certification whether you are a healthcare employer or healthcare professional. The wide variety of options and flexibility of aseptic technique training programs help to assure that all individual needs can be met within a healthcare organization regardless of hectic schedules and learning style.

6 Objectives of Aseptic Techniques Training

Healthcare employees who are regularly in contact with potentially infected patients are required to undertake the aseptic techniques training. Other individuals whose jobs require them to deal with products that may cause spread of infection must also be trained.

Here are six objectives of this training program.

· The first objective of this particular training is to teach healthcare employees certain guidelines that they must follow to ensure that do not cause further damage to a patient. While treating patients, you want to heal them, but cause further infection from other sick patients. These hospital-acquired infections are known as Nosocomial infections.

· Another objective of this training is to teach employees precautionary measure to practice in order to protect themselves from contracting dangerous diseases from infected patients. For e.g. employees need to be careful and wear protective clothing while treating a Hepatitis B patient.

· Aseptic techniques training for healthcare workers also help in reducing the risk of healthy individuals getting infected. In case of a healthy individual coming to donate blood, there is minimal or no chance of him contracting infection if the technician or nurse follows these precautionary measures while drawing blood. This can also be said for those individuals who come to the hospital for routine tests or those healthy individuals who donate organs and so on.

· This training is especially important for laboratory technicians and microbiologists. It helps the technicians to understand how they can prevent their samples and specimens from getting infecting with microorganisms from outside. Laboratories have seen that with practice of aseptic techniques the accuracy of the investigation increases. As with these technicians, it helps even microbiologists prevent their cultures from getting infected by microorganisms. It also protects them from getting infected themselves by the cultures they work on. Practicing aseptic techniques reduces the chances of wrong results and therefore indirectly benefits the patients too.

· It is not only human blood that can spread bloodborne diseases, but animal blood as well. The pathogens may be transmitted from the animal to a human through bites, licks, cuts and wounds, and so on. Spread of such infection may lead to hazardous results. Therefore, this training is essential for veterinarians too. It prevents cross contamination.

· Pharmacists who work in the laboratories preparing and making chemical compounds will also benefit from aseptic techniques training. if they understand how infections and the risk of contamination, then they will follow measures to ensure sterility of the product. This again benefits patients too as they are now using medicines prepared with the utmost care and safety.

There are so many more reasons that aseptic training techniques are useful listed about are six of its most important objectives. You would now understand that it is not only health care employees who need this training but others too. Several employers are now making this training mandatory for all employees, especially in the health care industry. All these above mentioned objectives can be summed up in one, to build a safe and sterile environment for individuals.