Factors affecting annual compensation and professional development support for infection preventionists: Implications for recruitment and retention

• Published in: American journal of infection control Vol. 46; no. 8; pp. 865 - 869
• Main Authors: Knighton, Shanina C., Gilmartin, Heather M., Reese, Sara M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-08-2018
• Subjects: Compensation; Infection preventionist; Salary; Salary; Infection preventionist; Compensation
• ISSN: 0196-6553; 1527-3296
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2018.03.009

•There is very little understanding of factors that affect the compensation of infection preventionists (IPs).•Educational level and CIC® status positively influence the annual compensation of IPs.•Improved knowledge of compensation can help recruit, retain, and educate the IP workforce.
Factors affecting annual compensation and professional development support have been studied for various healthcare professions. However, there is little understanding of these factors for infection preventionists (IPs).
Using secondary data from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology 2015 MegaSurvey, we designed a descriptive, correlational study to describe IP annual compensation and professional development support. We tested for associations between demographic variables and annual compensation and investigated for predictors of higher annual compensation.
Median salary for IPs was $75,000. IPs who indicated that their compensation was based on industry benchmarks reported a median salary of $85,000 (P < .001). IPs with advanced degrees reported a median salary of $90,000. IPs with bachelor's degrees or lower reported a median salary of $50,000 (P <.001). IPs with CIC® reported a median salary of $85,000. IPs without CIC® reported a median salary of $65,000 (P <.001).
This study can be used to develop recruitment and retention guidelines that lead to a well-educated, well-compensated, and competent IP workforce.