Invisible Bugs

Nasty invisible bugs are just about everywhere. It's not a pleasant subject, one that many people want to ignore. Maybe because there's enough to worry about without having to stress about something you can't even see. In health care settings however, there has been and will continue to be a spotlight on pathogens, the tiny creatures that cause infections.

In fact, most hospitals have a staff of infection control people who keep track of germs and educate workers on ways to avoid spreading them around. In one of my RN refresher assignments, I came across the website of an infection control lady who has brought the bugs alive. She calls her business nanobugs, Inc.

It's never too early to start teaching children about bacteria, viruses and fungi. Not all of these bugs are out to get us, some are very good friends and necessary to life. Nancy has turned the bugs into “morphologically correct” cartoon images. There's a lot to learn at nanobugs, Inc and there's even coloring pages. Microbiology can be fun.

Nancy Haberstich is a registered nurse certified in Infection Prevention and Control. She is self-employed as an international consultant, providing consultation to hospitals in Japan, the UK, Canada, and Brazil. Nancy served as the infection control coordinator in a 300-bed municipal hospital for 17 years and has served as technical advisor and scriptwriter for 13 training videotapes on a variety of infection prevention and control topics utilized by hospitals throughout the United States. Nancy spent one year as a volunteer in Liberia, West Africa in 1999/2000 to reopen a school of nursing and paramedical training programs that had been destroyed by ten years of civil war. At the invitation of the Canadian Ministry of Health, Nancy consulted with one of the Toronto hospitals involved in the SARS crisis in 2003. Nancy is the founder and owner of nanobugs, Inc.

http://www.nanobugs.com/