CT(IAC) Exam study plan

Build a one-page taxonomy of bacterial, viral, fungal, and prion pathogens mapping each to its chain-of-infection link (agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host).

Explain the immunocompromised-host risk factors that convert colonization into infection, listing at least six host factors and two iatrogenic factors.

Describe standard precautions and transmission-based precautions (contact, droplet, airborne) and state the specific pathogen examples that trigger each tier.

Differentiate colonization, infection, and contamination using three clinical scenarios you write yourself, and identify which surveillance definition applies to each.

Sequence the steps of a precaution decision from organism identification through precaution initiation, communication, and discontinuation.

Compare hand hygiene indications (WHO Five Moments) and explain why alcohol-based rub fails against C. difficile spores and norovirus.

Outline personal protective equipment donning and doffing order and identify the three most common self-contamination points.

Explain isolation precautions for multidrug-resistant organisms and describe the concept of contact precautions for MRSA, VRE, CRE, and C. auris.

Define incidence, prevalence, attack rate, and case fatality rate, and compute each from a synthetic line list you construct.

Apply the standard surveillance definitions for healthcare-associated infections (CLABSI, CAUTI, SSI, VAP/VAE) to three constructed patient scenarios.

Distinguish active vs. passive surveillance, laboratory-based vs. ward-based, and prospective vs. retrospective designs with an example of when each is appropriate.

Explain the steps of an outbreak investigation from case definition through hypothesis testing and control measures.

Calculate and interpret an odds ratio and a relative risk from a 2x2 table, and explain which measure applies to a cohort vs. case-control design.

Describe the purpose and process of an infection control risk assessment (ICRA) for construction and renovation, including class of activity and class of precaution.

Explain the role of the laboratory in surveillance: culture, molecular testing, and antimicrobial susceptibility reporting.

Identify the reporting requirements and legal/regulatory context for notifiable diseases and healthcare-associated infection reporting.