Final Project Proposal Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1feUDqYRIc9lyxYJFJDJoF954qmAqIk4eF9CRwDF9Rcc/edit?usp=sharing

            For our final project my group choose to look at the importance of infection control to prevent hospital acquired infections. Prior to this research project I have never spent much time thinking about this problem. I knew that as nurses it was our job to try and prevent hospital acquired infection to protect our patient’s health and well-being, along with our own, however I did not know just how important it really was. My group chose this topic based on different practices that we observed while at clinical and due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak on our floor. I feel that it wasn’t until we conduct a literature review that I felt I truly started to grasp the importance of infection control. Everyone in my group choose and article and analyzed it and then we got together to discuss our articles and decided which ones best fit our study. I think that I was most shocked to learn not only the statistic around hospital acquired infections but specifically the statistics regarding COVID patients and hospital acquired infections. 

            An article that we reviewed found that of the 774 patients included in the Grasselli et al. study (2021), 359 (46%) demonstrated HAIs (hospital acquired infections) with the most prevalent being Ventilator Associated Pneumonia and Catheter Associated Bloodstream Infections. This was astonishing to me, COVID-19 alone has been proven difficult to recover from so to add a hospital acquired infection on top of it makes it so much harder to treat and recover form. I also was shocked to learn that part of the problem associated with hospital acquired infections was the lack of health care professional’s knowledge on how to prevent it (infection control). Going forward in my nursing career I hope to take this information that we have determined from our study and apply it to my practice. I want to not only prevent my patients from acquiring infections while at the hospital but also make sure that my peers know and understand the importance of this as well. I think that the posters and survey that my group decided on will have a large impact on our unit and furthermore on patient health. 

            My group has had great success with our project, and I am happy with the way it is turning out. My group continues to work well together, and I feel proud of the project that we have come up with. Since the beginning we have not had many problems with communication, meeting deadlines, or working together as a team. After turning in our draft project proposal we determined that we wanted to change the way in which we implemented out project onto the unit, but other than that we have been able to stick to our plan and accomplish our goals related to this project. I look forward to seeing the results of our survey and the impact that our research has once implemented onto the unit at our clinical site.