Determination of education needs of infection control nurses

This study was conducted to determine the educational needs of infection control nurses and the frequency with which they utilize educational skills during in-service training. This descriptive and cross-sectional study included 403 infection control nurses across Turkey, reached through snowball sampling. Data were collected using the Introductory Information Form, the Educational Needs Assessment Form, and the Educational Skills Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation analysis. The results revealed that infection control nurses' educational needs varied by topic. Higher need scores were identified for the "Educational Needs" and "Legal Aspects" modules, while the "Educational Skills" and "Infection Control Precautions" modules were rated as moderate-level needs. Although nurses reported a high frequency of using educational skills, there was a consistent need for both orientation and developmental training. Statistically significant differences were observed between the total score of the Educational Skills Scale and variables such as age, education level, and years of professional experience. In conclusion, infection control nurses were found to need more comprehensive and continuous training related to the implementation and evaluation stages of the educational process, as well as in areas such as special unit practices, surveillance, legal issues, and microbiology. Therefore, it is recommended that regular, module-based, and need-specific in-service training programs be offered to infection control nurses in either face-to-face or online formats.