A Bond University Professor has become the first non- North American to be elected to the Board of The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
Associate Professor Cathryn Murphy, RN, MPH, PhD, CIC holds an honorary academic position in the Faculty of Health Services and Medicine at Bond University on the Gold Coast. Her election to APIC’s board follows 16 years of global activity within the infection prevention and control community.
Dr Murphy said she was delighted to have been offered the opportunity to represent primarily Australian and also other non-North American infection control professionals in high level APIC deliberations.
“I am excited about being able to be an Ambassador for Bond University and being able to demonstrate the high level of commitment to patient safety that underpins the teachings of the Bond Medical Faculty,” Dr Murphy said.
“Personally, the result is a wonderful and exciting challenge – far beyond any dream I had the day I first began working as a nurse in 1981,” she said.
Dr Murphy’s timely election comes at a unique moment in history when consumers are becoming increasingly more aware of the inherent risks associated with healthcare and increasingly more demanding of accurate information and data that represents these risks.
“The recent emergence of infectious diseases such as SARS and avian influenza (‘bird flu’), as well as the imminent threat of an influenza pandemic compels professionals with my skills, knowledge and drive to assume positions of leadership as they arise,” Dr Murphy said.
She and ten other experts from Australia and New Zealand are planning an opportune seminar on the topic of Prevention and management of hospital acquired blood stream infections at Bond University on November 12 -13.
“This seminar is an excellent example of the collaborative efforts and high level support required at both clinical and academic levels to prevent and control the increasing problem of healthcare associated infections,” Dr Murphy said.
Dr. Murphy’s career highlights include working as a guest researcher in the Division of Healthcare Quality and Infection Prevention at the CDC, Georgia in 2000 and completing a short-term mission throughout Southeast Asia with the World Health Organisation during the height of the 2003 SARS Outbreak.
She managed the New South Wales State Government Infection Control Program from 1997 until December 2004 with programmatic responsibility for more than 200 hospitals.
On top of her university appointment, Dr Murphy is currently a Managing Director of Infection Control Plus, an independent, international infection control consulting company. She is also a member of the Editorial Boards of the Australian and American Journals of Infection Control and is widely published.
In addition to Dr. Murphy, six other APIC board members were elected this month.
APIC is a multi-disciplinary voluntary international health organisation with more than 10,000 members whose primary responsibility is infection prevention and control and epidemiology. APIC’s mission is to improve health and promote patient and employee safety by reducing risks of infection and related adverse outcomes.