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Infection Control Professional

Infection control professionals work in a broad range of health-care and other settings. They ensure infection prevention and control standards are upheld. Their work helps protect individuals from the spread of infection.

Also Known As

Infection Control Practitioner, Infection Control Specialist, Infection Prevention and Control Practitioner, Infection Prevention and Control Professional, Infection Preventionist

NOC Codes

In Canada, the federal government groups and organizes occupations based on a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. This alis occupation may not reflect the entire NOC group it is part of. Data for the NOC group can apply across multiple occupations.

The NOC system is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in the labour market. Government forms and labour market data may group and refer to an occupation differently, depending on the system used.

Here is how this occupation has been classified over time.

2006 NOC

  • 3152: Registered Nurses*

2006 NOC-S

  • D112: Registered Nurses*

2011 NOC

  • 3012: Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses*

2016 NOC

  • 3012: Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses*

2021 NOC

  • 31301: Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses*

2023 OaSIS

  • 31301.04: Registered psychiatric nurses

*This NOC group is considered similar to the Infection Control Professional occupation. Because this occupation is only similar to the NOC group, related details and labour market information may not be accurate.

Duties
Updated Mar 31, 2024

Infection control professionals are expert consultants. They provide direction to leaders and staff regarding best practices for infection prevention and control (IPC) in health-care settings and partners such as schools and contracted service providers. Their goal is to minimize risk to patients, staff, and visitors by helping others prevent the spread of infections.

Infection control professionals:

  • Help develop and communicate IPC policies, procedures, education programs, and operating strategies
  • Follow IPC-related best practices as an example to other health-care workers
  • Educate and train staff, students, and others accessing the site on IPC practices such as hand hygiene and correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • Coordinate and provide leadership in outbreak management
  • Follow up on potential exposure situations
  • Conduct surveillance of infections, outbreaks, and other adverse events in health-care settings
  • Assess risk and implement control measures to prevent future adverse events
  • Prepare and submit reports detailing IPC surveillance, compliance, and strategies
  • Keep up with IPC standards and guidelines developed by agencies such as Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the World Health Organization as they apply to specific health-care settings
  • Perform and help others perform infection-control risk assessments
  • Conduct literature reviews on IPC, study the findings, suggest changes, and follow up as needed

Infection control professionals may also be consulted for new construction or site renovation. They ensure the area is prepared for infection control. This involves ensuring proper PPE is included in planning, along with built-in areas for:

  • Hand hygiene
  • Clean and sterile storage
  • Dirty utilities

Infection control professionals work closely with many other health-care providers, including:

Infection control professionals collaborate with medical health offices. They also work with hospital support staff. These can include staff from departments including workplace health and safety, maintenance, engineering, and housekeeping.

Working Conditions
Updated Mar 31, 2024
  • Strength Required Strength requirements vary

Infection control professionals work in various settings, such as:

  • Hospitals and clinics
  • Acute, urgent, or continuing care settings
  • Community health centres
  • Rural settings
  • Emergency medical services
  • Mental health and addiction facilities
  • Correctional centres
  • Schools

They may work remotely from home and travel to assigned sites to provide service.

Hours of work may vary. Infection control professionals often work standard weekday hours. However, they may also work some weekend and holiday shifts. They may work full-time, part-time, or on a casual / on-call basis. Some infection control professionals are always on call during off hours.

Interests & Abilities

In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2006 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.

Registered Nurses*

2006 NOC: 3152

*This data is for a NOC group that is similar to the Infection Control Professional occupation.

Interest Codes

Interest Codes for This NOC Group
SOCIAL

Interest combinations are unique to each of the occupations in this National Occupational Classification (NOC) group. Please consult the 2003 NOC Career Handbook for further information.

METHODICAL

Interest combinations are unique to each of the occupations in this National Occupational Classification (NOC) group. Please consult the 2003 NOC Career Handbook for further information.

DIRECTIVE

Interest combinations are unique to each of the occupations in this National Occupational Classification (NOC) group. Please consult the 2003 NOC Career Handbook for further information.

Your Interest Codes

To identify or change your interest codes, complete the Interests Exercise in CAREERinsite.

Reading Interest Codes
A Quick Guide

The interest code helps you figure out if you’d like to work in a particular occupation. 

It’s based on the Canadian Work Preference Inventory (CWPI), which measures 5 occupational interests: Directive, Innovative, Methodical, Objective, and Social.

Each set of 3 interest codes for this NOC group is listed in order of importance.

A code in capital letters means it’s a strong fit for the occupation.

A code in all lowercase letters means the fit is weaker.

Learn About Interests

Traits & Skills
Updated Mar 31, 2024

Infection control professionals need:

  • Self-direction and resourcefulness
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Speaking, writing, listening, and presentation skills
  • Critical-thinking skills
  • Conflict-resolution and problem-solving skills
  • Digital skills
  • Organizational and time-management skills
  • The ability to juggle many tasks at once
  • Analytical and decision-making skills
  • The ability to work on their own and as part of a team
  • The ability to translate complex information into clear, concise messages
  • The ability to deal with sensitive issues professionally

They should enjoy:

  • Working with people
  • Following guidelines and procedures
  • Aligning operations with standards and regulations

In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.

Top 10 Skills Employers Are Looking For

Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses*

2016 NOC: 3012

*This data is for a NOC group that is similar to the Infection Control Professional occupation.

This chart shows which job skills are currently in highest demand for this occupational group. It was created using this occupation's 104 most recent Alberta job postings, collected between Apr 28, 2023 and May 16, 2024.

Review these skills to learn:

  • Whether or not this occupation matches your skill set
  • What training you may need to get these skills
  • What skills to highlight in your resumé, cover letter, and interview.
Construction Specialization: Organized
Construction Specialization: Reliability
Construction Specialization: Team player
Construction Specialization: Accurate
Construction Specialization: Judgement
Construction Specialization: Excellent oral communication
Tasks: Collaborate to plan, implement, co-ordinate and evaluate patient care
Construction Specialization: Client focus
Health benefits: Health care plan
Health benefits: Dental plan
Educational Requirements
Updated Mar 31, 2024
  • Minimum Education 4 years post-secondary

Infection control professionals need at least a bachelor’s degree in any one of these fields:

  • Epidemiology
  • Medical laboratory science
  • Microbiology
  • Nursing
  • Public health or environmental public health
  • Other health-related sciences

They also need experience working in a clinical health-care setting.


Related Education

The following schools offer programs or courses that are related to this occupation but are not required to enter the field.

To expand or narrow your search for programs related to this occupation, visit Post-Secondary Programs.

Completing a program does not guarantee entrance into an occupation. Before enrolling in an education program, prospective students should look into various sources for education options and employment possibilities. For example, contact associations and employers in this field.

Certification Requirements
Updated Mar 31, 2024
  • Certification Not Regulated

There is currently no provincial legislation regulating this occupation in Alberta. However, employers often expect infection control professionals to become certified in infection prevention and control after hiring. They can do this through the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC).

As well, infection control professionals are often already registered members of an applicable regulatory body. This could include:

Employment & Advancement
Updated Mar 31, 2024

Infection control professionals work for:

  • Hospitals
  • Clinics
  • Provincial and federal governments
  • Group homes
  • Pharmaceutical, medical device, or grocery chain companies

Industry Concentration

This section shows the industries where the majority of people in this occupation work. The data is based on the 2016 Census.

In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups.

In the 3012: Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses* occupational group, 95.8% of people work in:

*This data is for a NOC group that is similar to the Infection Control Professional occupation.

Employment Outlook

Employment outlook is influenced by a wide variety of factors including:

  • Time of year (for seasonal jobs)
  • Location in Alberta
  • Employment turnover (when people leave existing positions)
  • Occupational growth (when new positions are created)
  • Size of the occupation
  • Trends and events that affect overall employment, especially in the industry or industries from the previous list

In Alberta, the 3012: Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses* occupational group is expected to have a below-average annual growth of 1.8% from 2021 to 2025. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 695 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.

*This data is for a NOC group that is similar to the Infection Control Professional occupation.

Note
NOC groups often include several related occupations. Although there is labour market data for the larger NOC group, this occupation makes up only a part of that group. It means data for this occupation may be different than the data shown. For example, only some of the new positions to be created will be for this occupation. It also applies to other data for the NOC group such as number of people employed.

Source: 2021-2025 Alberta Regional Occupational Demand Outlook

Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.

 

Related Alberta Job Postings
Wage & Salary
Updated Mar 31, 2024

Earnings vary by employer. For information about current collective agreements in the public and not-for-profit sectors, see the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) website.

In Alberta, this occupation is part of 1 or more 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) groups. If there are multiple related NOC groups, select a NOC heading to learn about each one.

Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses*

2016 NOC: 3012

*This data is for a NOC group that is similar to the Infection Control Professional occupation.

Average Wage
$46.21
Per Hour
Average Salary
$72,818.00
Per Year
Average Hours
30.2
Per Week
Average Months on Payroll
12
Survey Methodology Survey Analysis

Source
2021 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey

NOC 3012 Wage Profile

Unless otherwise noted, the data shown here is for all industries and all regions in Alberta.

All wage estimates are hourly except where otherwise indicated. Wages and salaries do not include overtime hours, tips, benefits, profit shares, bonuses (unrelated to production), and other forms of compensation.

To see the full survey data for this NOC group, visit the wage profile.

Other wage sources
To make an informed wage and salary decision, research other wage sources [pdf] to supplement this data.

B: Good Reliability
Data Reliability Code Definition

Good Reliability, represents a CV of between 6.01% and 15.00% and/or fewer than 30 survey observations and/or if survey observations represent less than 50% of all estimated employment for the occupation.


Hourly Wage

For full-time and part-time employees
  • Low
  • High
  • Average
  • Median
Starting
Overall
Top

Hourly Wage

For full-time and part-time employees
Wages* Low (5th percentile) High (95th percentile) Average Median
Starting $36.86 $38.09 $36.85 $36.86
Overall $43.63 $47.78 $46.21 $46.51
Top $49.34 $59.44 $56.12 $59.44

Swipe left and right to view all data. Scroll left and right to view all data.

* All wage estimates are hourly except where otherwise indicated. Wages and salaries do not include overtime hours, tips, benefits, profit shares, bonuses (unrelated to production) and other forms of compensation.

Pay brackets for hourly wages

  • Starting pay: average pay offered for entry-level positions
  • Overall pay: average pay across all employees in this occupation
  • Top pay: average pay offered to top-paid employees

Industry Information

ALL INDUSTRIES
Health Care & Social Assistance
Public Administration

Skills Shortage

Employers that Recruited in the Last 2 Years
56%
56%)
Recruiting Employers that Experienced Hiring Difficulties
33%
33%
Employers with Unfilled Vacancies of over 4 Months
15%
15%
Vacancy Rate
5%
Related Post-Secondary Field of Study
  • Health Care and Medical Sciences
  • Sciences
Other Sources of Information
Updated Mar 31, 2024

Alberta Health Services, career profiles webpage: www.albertahealthservices.ca/careers

Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC) website: www.cbic.org

Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) website: hsaa.ca

Infection Prevention and Control Canada (IPAC) website: ipac-canada.org

Get information and referrals about career, education, and employment options from Alberta Supports.

Updated Mar 31, 2024. The information contained in this profile is current as of the dates shown. Salary, employment outlook, and educational program information may change without notice. It is advised that you confirm this information before making any career decisions.

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