The increasing complexity of healthcare today requires professionals who can integrate technical, clinical, relational, and organizational skills. In this context, the Advanced Training and Specialization Course in Infection Control Link Nurse (ICLN), promoted by the University of Parma as part of its Master’s programs in Healthcare, was created.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent one of the main challenges to patient safety. Their prevention can no longer be entrusted to individual roles or managed in a fragmented way: it requires collective action, a shared culture, and an integrated approach. This is precisely why the ICLN Course aims to train healthcare professionals capable of working in multidisciplinary settings, acting as a bridge between clinical staff, infection risk prevention officers, and healthcare management.
The training program is designed to develop four key dimensions:
- The ability to translate scientific evidence and protocols into everyday care practices, adapting them to specific contexts;
- The competence to transfer knowledge and best practices to colleagues, promoting continuous on-the-job training;
- The creation of internal and external collaborative networks capable of integrating knowledge and responsibilities at all levels of the healthcare system;
- An active role in facilitating organizational change, guiding healthcare structures toward higher standards of safety, quality, and accountability.
This approach is not only theoretical but highly experiential: the course includes lectures, workshops, project work, and internship activities, ensuring training that is deeply rooted in the operational reality of healthcare services.
The ICLN thus becomes a key figure not only for the prevention of HAIs but for the entire system of healthcare quality and safety—a facilitator, an educator, a promoter of continuous improvement.
The ICLN Advanced Training Course is unique in the Italian educational landscape: it is the first structured program dedicated to training this professional role, aligned with Italian regulations and the latest international evidence on infection control.