Latest / Culture Positive: An Infection Prevention Podcast / CIC Anxiety
Transcript
- Ally: Welcome to Culture Positive, an infection prevention podcast where healthcare, public health, and real life meet. I'm Allie, and by day I work in infection prevention at an academic hospital, bringing my background in epidemiology and public health into everyday practice. Each week, We'll dive into healthcare stories, public health conversations, workplace realities, and the human side of this work. This is a space for curiosity, honesty, and hopefully some inspiration. I'm glad you're here. When I finished grad school, I remember telling my mom I was relieved because I would never have to take a test again. Like a lot of people, I get test anxiety and was so grateful for that chapter of my life to be closed. Little did I know I wasn't done. When I was looking at applications for infection prevention jobs. I noticed there was something called the CIC, Certification and Infection Control. It was included in every job description, stating having your CIC was highly preferred, or they would require you to take and pass the CIC within a certain time frame after hire. And there I was studying and sitting for another exam. have questions about the CIC or a little anxiety about the exam itself? As someone who studied and passed, I've got you. Let's get into it. The CIC, Certification and Infection Control, is a standardized measure for the basic knowledge, skills, and abilities expected of infection prevention professionals. The exam has 150 questions, but 135 of those questions are used for your score of pass or fail. There are eight different content sections that are on the exam. Processes to identify infectious diseases, surveillance and epidemiologic investigation, preventing controlling the transmission of infectious agents, employee occupational health, management and communication of infection prevention program, education and research. environment of care and cleaning, disinfection, sterilization of medical devices and equipment. It can sound very overwhelming, but don't worry. I will share all the tips and tricks that I learned to best prepare for the exam. How did certification and infection control come to be? Let's go back to the forming of APIC, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. APIC was founded in 1972 by a group of infection control nurses who understood the need for a standardized approach to preventing healthcare-associated infections. In 1978, the Board of Directors of APIC formed a committee that set goals and processes for certification and infection control. In 1980, the board approved education standards for certification, and later in that same year, the APIC Certification Association was created, and an independent certification board was developed. This board worked to analyze what job expectations were in infection prevention and determined how an individual would be deemed eligible to take the certification test itself. This board would eventually be known as Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, also known as CBIC. The first examinations were given in 1983. And the CIC has been administered ever since. This accreditation process helps provide a standard in infection prevention and control profession, along with providing professional development. You do have to meet a few requirements in order to take the CIC. They have all of the requirements on their website, but for a quick overview, they look for a completion of post-secondary education in a health-related field, work experience, that is, active infection prevention work, for at least one year of full-time employment, two years of part-time employment, or 3,000 hours of infection prevention experience earned in the three previous years. If you meet these requirements, you are able to apply to see if you can take the CIC. You cannot just walk into a testing center to take the CIC. You will need to fill out an initial application online through the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology CBIC website and be ready to pay the examination fee. At this time, the exam cost four hundred and forty-five dollars. Yikes. Make sure to check in with your employer because a lot of times, if you pass the exam, your place of employment will reimburse the cost of the test. After you apply, you will need to wait for approval from CBIC. This could take up to 10 business days. Once you have been accepted, you will receive an email with an eligibility ID, and you must schedule to sit for your exam. 90 days after receiving your ID number from CBIC. I did not apply to take the CIC exam until I was close to being ready to take the exam. Do whatever works best for you, but remember that once you are approved, You have to schedule your exam within 90 days. The testing center itself takes place at a prometric center. When I was looking to schedule my exam, I was able to find one within 30 minutes of my location. When you check in for the exam, you must put everything away in a locker. You cannot take anything into the exam with you. you are given a whiteboard by the testing center. Along with a dry erase marker, if you need to write anything down. You are assigned to a computer and there is no talking, no moving around in your seat, nothing. There are cameras all over the room making sure no funny business is happening. You are allowed a break halfway through the exam, but I personally powered through. I just wanted to get out of there. You will know if you pass or fail at the end of the exam, which is nice to not have to wait days or weeks to know if you have passed. When you do pass, it shows up so tiny on the screen that I had to do a double take. I couldn't believe I had passed the CIC. Is getting your CIC really that important? I can attest that it really is. Not only is it a great educational foundation to have as an infection preventionist, but if you want to be a competitive applicant for a job, it looks great on a resume. If you are applying to an infection prevention job and don't have enough experience to apply for the certification, that is okay. Oftentimes you will see employers ask that you complete the certification within a few years of hire. If you are able to speak to your intent of taking the CIC and know its value, that will take you a long way. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, APIC, recently released the results of their mega survey. It is a cross-sectional online survey of IPs that collects data on IP professional background, highest degree achieved, age range, gender, salary, certification. Years of experience and five-year plans. APIC was able to compare results from their 2015 and 2020 mega surveys. The mega survey from 2025 gives great insight into the current landscape of the infection prevention field, along with current expectations of infection prevention professionals. When it comes to the CIC, 53.8% of respondents in the 2025 survey reported being certified in infection control. Along with the CIC making you a competitive applicant or increasing your value at your current place of employment, IPs who have their CIC certification are associated with a higher salary. compared to those without a CIC certification. IPs earn approximately ten to thirty thousand more annually than those without certification. As of July 22nd, 2026, 12,509 individuals currently have their CIC. Interested in joining that group? Let's chat about tools for studying. I'm gonna be honest with you. I studied hard for a couple of months. My free time was used to study, and I would send myself to the library for hours on end. I would always get myself a sweet treat, coffee, and a big water so I could hunker down. In a previous episode, I mentioned not judging people. If they drank tea or a morning diet coke over coffee. My brother called me out on this. This one's for you, Elijah. I would also like to say, I won't judge if you drink an energy drink. But please limit it to one. You don't need the caffeine shakes while you're studying. Anyway, having a good, reliable setup for hours of studying is key. And it does take time and effort, but it's worth it in the end, I promise. There are two main tools I used for studying for the CIC. The first was the APIC certification study guide. This was the foundation of my studying. There are over 650 practice questions in total, but the study guide itself has three different sections. The first section focuses on test taking strategies and provides more information on the CIC exam itself. Section two of the study guide is where I spend most of my time and what I also found to be the most helpful. Section two consists of eight chapters that covers eight areas of infection prevention work that you will be tested on. I listed those at the top of the episode so I I won't run through them again, but instead I can talk about how the chapters are set up. Each chapter has key concepts and a list of primary and secondary references, including notable chapters from the APIC text that will help you to understand the concept in more detail. You then move on to a handful of practice questions that focus on that certain topic. For example, If we were reviewing chapter 5, it would all be focused on preventing and controlling the transmission of infectious agents. There is an answer key and rationales that are also included. I loved using the rationales when I didn't understand a concept because it also provided more references. And readings for me to continue learning. The final section includes three exams that are very similar to the actual CIC. Each exam has 135 questions and reflects all eight competencies that you will be tested on during the CIC exam. I took the practice CIC exam test when I started to average an 80% on the chapter tests. The APIC certification study guide was really helpful for me, and I recommend adding it to your toolkit for studying. Another study tool that truly was game-changing for me can be found on YouTube. I recommend the CIC Epidemiologist channel to everyone. It is truly incredible. The channel has close to half a million views, and I totally understand why. There are 49 videos that go through different APIC chapters, review various concepts, and go through practice questions. Each video is around an hour long and lecture style teaching. Core topics and themes that are in the CIC exam are covered in detail in these videos. I would listen to these videos while I was working out, cleaning my house, or walking my dog. The presenters are incredible teachers and they would come up with great acronyms to remember more challenging concepts. I will make sure to include a link to the CIC Epidemiologist channel in the show notes. Some local APIC chapters will also host study sessions, and those can be very useful. Do not hesitate to reach out to those who you know have taken the exam. In my experience, people want you to succeed and pass, so reach out to your contacts. This CIC exam is testing whether you can think like an infection preventionist. Do not feel like you need to memorize every chapter. Work on feeling comfortable with the concepts, and use critical thinking during practice questions and the real exam. For our Huddle Corner, a section for some takeaways before signing off. If you are anxious about taking the CIC, don't worry, everyone is. Show yourself some grace and be kind to yourself. Make sure you are giving yourself enough time to study and prepare. Don't forget that you need to apply for eligibility to take the CIC, and once you are approved, You have 90 days to take the exam. Use your connections, check out the CIC epidemiologist channel on YouTube, and don't forget to breathe. Maybe do what I did and take the exam on St. Patrick's Day. I was making a wish on that day, and the luck of the Irish pulled through. Thank you for listening to Culture Positive. If you have any questions or ideas for an episode, please send me an email at CulturePositivePod at gmail.com. References for the episode can be found in the show notes. Infection prevention is about more than policies and protocols. It's about people. Until next time, stay curious, stay compassionate, and keep building a culture that's truly positive.