CBIC Celebrates 40 Years

Certification in infection control (CIC) is highly regarded certification in the infection prevention and control field, and the exam is developed by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc, (CBIC). Recently, the 2023 president of CBIC, Elaine Larson, PhD, RN, CIC, LTC-CIP, FAAN, FAPIC, Columbia University School of Nursing, Bridgeport, Connecticut, spoke with Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®) about the CBIC’s strategic plan.

Additionally, as CBIC marks its 40th anniversary this year, CBIC wants to showcase certificants who have achieved certification milestones on their website. If you have been certified for 5 or more years, you can fill out the CBIC Milestone form to be featured. She will also presenting the CBIC Overview Panel Discussion at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition, held in Orlando, Florida, June 26 to 28, 2023. She and other presenters will have a panel discussion on initially and maintaining CBIC certifications and the future of CBIC certification.

“The certification board for infection control, epidemiology has been around…for 40 years,” Larson told ICT. “The idea is to provide infection prevention and control professionals, both infection preventionist, but also microbiologists, physicians, anybody who's interested in showing that they have developed and have possessed the core competencies that are necessary to run and to begin an infection prevention practice. It's a way to demonstrate your competence in your field. Many of the advantages are…a valid and reliable way to show other people, your peers, administrators that you have the basic core competencies for practicing in your field.”

ICT asked Larson about any updates with CBIC. “Our mission hasn't changed. Our mission is to provide pathways to demonstrate and maintain competence in infection prevention and control. So that's our mission to demonstrate and maintain confidence. But our new priorities are building on what we're already doing….We want to expand accessibility to certification for a variety of people across settings. We have the Associate Program certification [a-IPC]. Now, we also have the long-term care [exam]. We're looking at other sites such as ambulatory care and global health, and thinking about the importance of having the core competencies.

Larson also explained that infection is global, and CBIC needs to be relevant globally. “Every country has their different cultures, and the culture does change these things. But we want [to find] ways to have support for people from areas that can't afford it.”

She also explained the 3 priorities for CBIC, and that “in organizations where there are high numbers where the professionals are certified, they're more likely to have best practices. So we're always asking ourselves, How can we show whether what we're doing has an impact on patient outcomes? That is a challenge. But it's one we keep in mind all the time.”