A quick break in proceedings has found me back at the suite (11.15); charging the phone (lots of Twitter time!) and trying to download my head onto paper…. A lack of internet means I cannot check emails or the like, which is probably a good thing – it helps keep me in the ‘Conference Bubble’ just that bit longer. Not quite sure when I’ll be able to post this however, but hopefully a random wireless signal can be snared later in the day…
So, this morning saw an early start with a great ‘Meet the Experts’ session – Professor Judith Tanner and Dr David Jenkins encouraging the audience to see their ‘little projects’ as so much more – to see them for what they really are; research projects to help benefit Patients. They explained how, with the help and guidance of the relevant experts, often key research can be developed right from the clinical level where it is experienced, involving if not indeed initiated by those working in that environment. Great examples of Nurse-led research helped inspire the audience, with clear advice regarding R&D processes, how to handle statistics (see an expert….!) and the Ethics process all being addressed in an informative yet unintimidating manner. Top notch.
The nest two sessions I attended were led by Claire Kilpatrick and Dr David Jenkins (again) – the former giving an overview of the past 10 years of HCAI progress in Scotland, and the latter asking the question ‘How can we prove that infection prevention works?’.
Both talks were highly relevant to me, and the speakers were excellent. It was a joy to see how far Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has come in their journey, especially seeing the slide relating to the impact of their Hand Hygiene campaign – and also to hear from Claire; a key figure in the WHO’s Clean Care is Safer Care programme, and something of an idol of mine…! David’s talk was acutely relevant at the moment, what with my current stats-limbo, and need to plan for future work – and it was great to see that there is a need, and understanding, for high quality research in the area of Infection Control. Glad to hear discussion of why it is hard to use the ‘Gold Standard’ of Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) in this domain, and very interested in the trend towards the interrupted time series design – particularly useful for case study design I think, to see local level results, and thus perfect for engaging those involved in a particular site, at all levels.
Off back for more sessions this afternoon – firstly an intriguing presentation about the over-use of gloves; a theme emerging from my work and one I am leaning towards following up in future works…. Also, presenting my poster at 14.30, so very much looking forward to chatting to more people about my project. Already spoken to lots of people about it; some great comments – very astute people here at IPS 2012, giving wonderful feedback, hints for future work, and potential links for areas to involve. Expect a flurry of emails and activity over the next few weeks….!!!
Back to the ACC now……………….
[...] I’ve met during my studies, as well as from within my academic circle. Great examples from Professor Judith Tanner helped illustrate how crucial research has often been born from the ideas of those on the [...]