Infection control education and training

Continuous updating of skills and knowledge is important in the rapidly expanding area of infection prevention and control in order to promote sound decision making and policy formulation.

SA Health

  • Infection Prevention and Control Liaison Introductory Workshop
    Date: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
    Audience: for SA Health staff only
  • Surveillance Introductory Workshop
    Date: Wednesday, 16 March 2023
    Audience: for SA Health staff only
  • Reprocessing and Sterilisation 1/2-day Seminar
    Date: Friday, 17 March 2023
    Audience: for SA Health and private organisations
  • Winter Illness Outbeak Preparedness 1/2-day Seminar
    Date: Wednesday, 5 April 2023
    Audience: for SA Health and private organisations
  • Infection Prevention and Control Update Seminar
    Date: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
    Audience: for SA Health and private organisations

Note: all dates are subject to change.

Introduction to infection control

The Infection Control Service provides this education program for novice Infection Control Link, Liaison Nurses or “champions” (PDF 112KB) which is available for staff in all SA Health facilities.

This one-day workshop is designed to give nurses or other health professionals who have been appointed as an infection control "link", “liaison” or “champion” some basic training in the principles of infection prevention and control.

Introduction to surveillance

This one-day workshop introduces basic surveillance concepts to the novice infection control professional (ICP) and is available for staff from SA Health facilities who contribute data to the South Australian Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Surveillance Program.

Pre-requisite requirement for this workshop includes documented completion of infection control education, either:

  • the completion of the introductory IPC workshop held by Infection Control Service; or
  • the completion of the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) on-line training package (see below).

Infection prevention and control update

The one-day update seminar is designed to provide up-to-date information on new developments in the field of infection prevention and control.  For further information please contact the Infection Control Service.

SA Health eLearning courses

Infection prevention courses are available to all SA Health employees to support the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. There are currently three infection prevention and control related courses available to staff:

  • Infection Prevention and Control
  • Aseptic Technique
  • Safe Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Access to these courses are via the registration on the Digital Media e-Learning portal.  To unlock the Safety and Quality courses, click on “unlock course” and enter the access code.

Access code is available to SA Health staff only via the SA Health Safety and Quality eLearning courses intranet page.

Universities

University of Adelaide: Graduate Certificate in Nursing Science (Infection Control)

The University of Adelaide offers 6-months full-time or 1 year part-time online certificate, which provides graduates with the opportunity to build infection prevention and control competencies for senior and specialist positions in infection control  For more information refer to the University of Adelaide’s website.

James Cook University: Graduate Certificate of Infection Control

The James Cook University offers 6-months full-time or 1 year part-time equivalent online course.  For more information see the James Cook University course website.

Griffith University: Graduate Certificate in Infection Prevention and Control

The Griffith University offers a 1-year part-time online course.  For more information see the Griffith University course web page.

Griffith University: Master of Infection Prevention and Control 

Griffith University also offers an online a 1 to 1.5 years full-time of 3-year part-time course for Infection Control Professionals to undertake.  For  more information see the Griffith University course web page.

Charles Darwin University: Graduate Certificate of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control

Charles Darwin University offer an online or on campus (Casuarina, Darwin) 6-months full-time of 1-year part-time course. For more information, see the Charles Darwin course web page. 

Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC)

The ACSQHC offers an on-line training package that consists of a set of ten learning modules on infection prevention and control topics, designed for the novice Infection Control Professional. A module on infection prevention principles for general staff orientation is also available.  For more information see the  Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care website.

Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) Foundations of Infection Prevention and Control

The ACIPC Foundations of Infection Prevention and Control course provides a pathway for further learning and is an important resource for those wishing to pursue a career as an Infection Control Professional. The course comprises of eleven modules and is designed for professionals working in the areas of health and allied health care, acute care, rural and remote health, office-based practice, residential aged care, community health and health policy. There is a fee for this course, please refer to the website for details.

For more information see the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control website.

Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care COVID-19 Infection Control Training

COVID-19 infection control online training is available for health care workers in all settings. It covers the fundamentals of infection prevention and control for COVID-19. This training is for care workers across all health care setting.  Modules available include: infection prevention and control for COVID-19, training for aged care workers and training focused on rural and remote communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

For more information see the Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care website. 

National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) Online Learning Modules

The NHHI Learning Management System (LMS) hosts a suite of online learning modules on hand hygiene and infection prevention and control. These modules are suitable for healthcare workers, student healthcare workers and for other industries where infection prevention and control is important.

For more information see the ACSQHC National Hand Hygiene Initiative webpage.

Further information

For further information on education and training, contact SA Health's Infection Control Service.