September 2021 • Volume 15, No. 11
From the Editor
In this issue we bring you news about NIFA—new website, new aspects to curriculum, new lead instructors!
For our health focus, we take a look at antibiotic resistance. The annual Antibiotic Awareness Week was observed Nov. 15-19 a health observance going on right now. According to a report from the CDC, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the U.S. each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. It behooves not only healthcare workers but all of us as patients to understand that antibiotics can save lives, but they can also contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance.
You will also find jobs we’ve collected for you and NIFA’s favorite links.
We’re thankful for you, our readers and community. A healthy and happy Thanksgiving to you from all of us at NIFA.
Enjoy!
Julie Lancaster, Editor
News
Website
The NIFA team has been busy revising the rnfa.org website. The site now contains information regarding all the programs NIFA offers: RNFA, APRN RNFA and NISE (Nurse in Surgery Essentials). Visitors to the site will also have access to other resources such as video testimonials, educational crossword puzzles, past issues of this newsletter and more.
For those wanting more information on the NISE program found on the ORNurse.org site, they will be automatically redirected to the rnfa.org site. Check us out!
Curriculum Change
The NIFA Educational team has also busy: they’ve revised and enhanced the curriculum in the NISE program to include more material pertinent to the CFPN (Certified Foundational Perioperative Nurse) test. The NISE program is the first perioperative training program to include this step in earning the new CFPN credential.
The CFPN credential was introduced in July, 2021, by the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI). To learn more about the new CFPN credential and why it was developed, see this article from OR Today.
New Instructors
We have added three new instructors to the NIFA Team page on our website: Bruce Jackson, BSN, RN, CRNFA, CNOR; Meaghan McGhee, ADN, RN, RNFA, CNOR; and Jessica McQuery, APRN, RNFA. Scroll down to read their mini-profiles!
Antibiotic Resistance (AR)
A Global Threat
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, according to the CDC. Their website provides a basic grounding in the topic, including prevention and infection control efforts in the U.S. and globally, specific issues for veterinarians, food and food animals, and more. Read more . . .
To go directly to the CDC’s specific tips for healthcare providers to protect their patients and stop outbreaks, click here…
Why Resistance is Common in Antibiotics but Rare in Vaccines
“Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem to the extent that there is a grave risk that common infections will soon become untreatable,” write Celia Souque and Louis du Plessis, both of the University of Oxford. “Meanwhile, vaccines developed nearly a century ago still protect us from deadly diseases. What might explain this difference?” Read more . . .
How COVID-19 is Shaping Antibiotic Resistance
Since the onset of the COVID pandemic, antibiotic use has risen dramatically worldwide, despite the fact that antibiotics cannot directly treat COVID. “Two factors of the COVID-19 response have driven increased antibiotic usage: an increase in standard antibiotic usage and several forms of misguided antibiotic usage,” writes Molly Sargen in Harvard’s Science in the News publication. Read more . . .
What Can Be Done About AR?
“Antibiotic resistance poses one of the most important health challenges of the 21st century. And time has already run out to stop its dire consequences,” writes Andre Hudson, a biochemist, biochemist and microbiologist at Rochester Institute of Technology. After summarizing statistics about the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria, Hudson explains the process by which bacteria become resistant to drugs, notes that no new class of antibiotics has been discovered since 1987, and looks at what it’s going to take from governments, academia and Big Pharma to effectively address the issue. Read more . . .
Antibiotic Resistance Videos
Student Spotlight: Three SutureStar™ Workshop Instructors
Although they have all been teaching as co-instructors in NIFA’s RNFA training for some time, these three instructors are now teaching independently and have just been added to the NIFA Team page on our website. Click on the links below to read more about each of them.
Bruce Jackson, BSN, RN, CRNFA , CNOR
- Fell in love with the OR during nursing school
- Avid fly fisherman who ties his own flies
- Read more…
Meaghan McGee, ADN, RN, RNFA, CNOR
- As a youth was fascinated with guts and gore on the TV show ER and eventually got drawn into nursing
- Loves renovating her house—the big stuff
- Read more…
Jessica McQueary APRN, RNFA
- Why nursing school? “I’m the oldest of four sisters, and I’ve always been the caretaker for everybody. I just felt natural in that role.”
- Knitter? Skydiver?
- Read more…
Jobs Front
Click here for the RNFA job postings we’ve collected for you this month.
NIFA – Office Hours
Monday-Thursday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm
Practice Resources
Here are several of the most-in-demand sites for our students, prospective students and grads:
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIFA. NIFA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the accuracy of statements made by our contributors and does not accept any liability for error or omission. It is the responsibility of all perioperative personnel to work within and adhere to their facility bylaws and individual scope of practice.
