Expanding infection preventionists' influence in the 21st Century: looking back to move forward.

The 5th Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections took place in Atlanta in March 2010. The conference was unprecedented in the variety, depth, and breath of scientific sessions and research abstracts informing the practice of health care epidemiology and infection prevention. However, noticeably absent were topics or related discussions focused on essential leadership skills and influence strategies required to implement the science into practice.