The Board of Ambulatory Surgery Certification recently launched its new ASC credential, Certified Ambulatory Infection Preventionist™ (CAIP™). Here are seven things to know about CAIP.
1. It is the first certification designed specifically for infection preventionists in the ASC setting.
2. The first CAIP exam — an online test — will be held October 1-31. Electronic applications must be submitted August 1-31.
3. The exam is a 150-multiple-choice test with five sections that test knowledge in the following categories:
• infection prevention program development, implementation and maintenance;
• infection prevention and control education and training;
• surveillance, data collection and analysis;
• infection prevention strategies; and
• instrument/equipment cleaning, disinfection and sterilization.
4. ASC professionals planning to test for CAIP this year will need 10 contacts hours in infection prevention earned over the last two years. Attendees of ASCA 2018 can earn up to 9.5 of those hours.
5. To be eligible to take the CAIP exam, the applicant must also meet the following requirements before applying for the examination:
• The applicant must be a licensed healthcare professional who is responsible for an ASC's infection prevention program.
• The applicant must have two years' cumulative experience in infection prevention as outlined in the applicant's signed job description or hold the Certified Infection Control (CIC) credential.
6. CAIP is the second certification for the ASC industry. BASC first awarded the other ASC credential — the Certified Administrator Surgery Center™ (CASC™) credential — in 2002.
7. To learn more about the CAIP credential, you can visit the CAIP website, download the CAIP handbook and subscribe to the free CAIP e-newsletter.