Infection Control Nurse Resume Example & Guide (2026)
An infection control (infection preventionist) resume is one of the few nursing resumes where data literacy matters as much as clinical background. Hiring managers — usually an IP director or quality executive — look for three things: surveillance chops (NHSN definitions, SIR trends, device-day denominators), evidence you can move HAI rates rather than just report them, and the credibility to change bedside practice without line authority. CIC certification is the strongest single signal in the field; if you're not yet eligible, say 'CIC-eligible, exam scheduled' rather than leaving it blank.
Bullets should read like outcomes from your annual IP plan: CLABSI and CAUTI SIRs before and after, hand hygiene compliance trends, outbreak investigations you led, and construction risk assessments you signed off. The ATS-friendly example below shows how a bedside-to-IP transition resume carries both worlds.
Infection control nurse resume example
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Daniel Cho, BSN, RN, CIC
Professional Summary
CIC-certified infection preventionist with 4 years of IP practice and 5 years of prior med-surg experience. Own HAI surveillance and NHSN reporting for a 620-bed academic medical center, with a record of cutting CLABSI SIR from 1.1 to 0.62, reducing CAUTI 38%, and leading multi-unit outbreak investigations to closure.
Licenses & Certifications
- RN License, WA — Exp. 07/2031
- CIC (CBIC) — Exp. 06/2034
- BLS (American Heart Association) — Exp. 04/2031
Clinical Experience
- Own HAI surveillance and NHSN reporting (CLABSI, CAUTI, SSI, C. difficile, MDRO) for 14 inpatient units across a 620-bed academic medical center.
- Drove CLABSI SIR from 1.1 to 0.62 over 2 years through line-necessity rounding, bundle audits with unit champions, and monthly data feedback to nursing leadership.
- Reduced CAUTI events 38% year over year by co-designing a nurse-driven catheter removal protocol adopted house-wide.
- Led 5 outbreak/cluster investigations (norovirus, MRSA, respiratory clusters) — built case definitions and line lists, implemented control measures, and closed each without spread beyond the index unit.
- Complete infection control risk assessments (ICRA) for 20+ construction and renovation projects annually with facilities and environmental services.
- Provided care for 5 med-surg patients per shift while serving 3 years as the unit's infection prevention champion.
- Performed weekly CAUTI and hand hygiene audits, lifting unit hand hygiene compliance from 71% to 92% over 18 months.
- Piloted daily foley-necessity review on the unit, contributing to a 30% drop in catheter days ahead of house-wide rollout.
Education
Skills
Clinical: HAI surveillance (NHSN definitions), Outbreak investigation & line listing, Isolation precautions & PPE programs, Hand hygiene program management, ICRA / construction risk assessment, Device bundle auditing (CLABSI, CAUTI), Staff education & unit champion programs, Policy development
Technical: NHSN, Epic (Bugsy infection control module), Cerner / Oracle Health, Microsoft Excel (line lists, SIR trending), Tableau dashboards
Additional
- Organization: Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), member since 2022
- Publication: Poster: 'Nurse-driven catheter removal and CAUTI reduction,' APIC Annual Conference, 2025
Infection Control skills & keywords ATS scans for
Applicant tracking systems match on exact terms. Use the ones you genuinely have — in your skills section and inside your bullets.
- Infection preventionist
- CIC
- NHSN reporting
- HAI surveillance
- CLABSI
- CAUTI
- SIR
- Outbreak investigation
- Hand hygiene compliance
- Isolation precautions
- ICRA
How to write a Infection Control Nurse resume
- 01
Report HAI outcomes the way NHSN does — SIRs and rates per 1,000 device-days with timeframes — so an IP director can verify you speak the field's native language.
- 02
Name your surveillance scope: beds covered, units owned, and which HAIs you surveil (CLABSI, CAUTI, SSI, C. difficile, MDROs).
- 03
List at least one outbreak or cluster investigation with your specific role: case definition, line list, control measures, and how it resolved.
- 04
Put CIC (or 'CIC-eligible, exam scheduled') immediately after your credentials — it's the first filter most infection prevention job postings apply.
- 05
Show influence without authority: unit champion programs you ran, ICRA sign-offs with facilities teams, and committees where you changed practice.
FAQ
How do I move from bedside nursing into infection prevention?
Lead with everything IP-adjacent in your current role: infection prevention champion duties, CAUTI/CLABSI audits, isolation compliance rounding, and any quality committee work. Add APIC membership and coursework, state a clear target-role line, and note your CIC eligibility timeline — most directors hire the trajectory, not just the title.
Is CIC certification required for infection control jobs?
Many postings list CIC as preferred and expect it within 2–3 years of hire; senior roles often require it. It needs infection prevention practice hours to sit, so early-career IPs should write 'CIC-eligible' with a target exam date. The a-IPC entry credential from CBIC is a reasonable signal while you accrue hours.
What metrics belong on an infection preventionist resume?
SIRs or rates for the HAIs you owned (CLABSI, CAUTI, SSI, C. difficile), hand hygiene compliance trends, isolation audit compliance, immunization campaign rates, and NHSN reporting accuracy or timeliness. Always pair the number with the intervention — bundle audits, champion programs, feedback reports — that produced it.
How technical should my infection control resume get about surveillance systems?
Name the systems: NHSN itself, your EHR's infection module or reports (Epic Bugsy, for example), and any data tools like Excel or Tableau you used for line lists and trend charts. Directors want an IP who can pull and defend their own data without waiting on analysts.