Educational theory into practice: development of an infection control link nurse programme.

Nationally, 9-10% of hospital in-patients acquire an infection during their admission. These infections are a major source of avoidable morbidity, mortality and additional resource use. Many could be prevented by use of effective infection control practi ces. However, the theory-practice gap affects compliance with infection control procedures in the same way that it affects other areas of nursing practice. Infection control link nurse groups have been implemented by some infection control nurses as a me thod of improving practice at clinical level. However these programmes often rely upon traditional models of nurse education, which may not meet the educational needs of link nurses. This will limit the ability of link nurses to implement theory in pract ice. This paper discusses the application of educational theory to an infection control link nurse programme. It explains why each aspect of the programme is important, and why traditional models are not suitable. By applying theory to the practice of in fection control education, it should be possible to develop a group of infection control link nurses who are clinical opinion leaders. These staff will be ideally placed to influence practice using a number of different strategies, which should in turn r educe the theory-practice gap at clinical level.