A Day In The Life Of An APIC Board Member

Some of you will know that as a recreational hobby I am a keen cyclist. (the photo above is 16 of my fellow team members and myself at 6am this morning as we headed out for 2 and a half hour ride thorugh the rainforest). It’s a sport that I was encouraged to take up since moving to the Gold Coast, in southern Queensland, Australia in 2004. There have been a ton of fantastic physical benefits that I’ve enjoyed since taking up riding –fitness, flexibility, agility, balance and mindfulness. More importantly I’ve learnt an enormous amount about the value of teamwork. So in this posting I want to spend some time describing the team dynamics and explaining how my cycling experiences have helped me develop a  deeper appreciation for APIC and the many teams that contribute.

OK back to the bike. When I started out riding I knew nothing and I had no skill and no fitness. Within 2-days of riding a big clunky wide-wheeled recreational bike to the local coffee shop I spotted a flock of lycra-wearing cyclists. They each had a strange swagger as they headed up to the counter to order their coffees. (I later learnt the fine art of walking in cleated cycling shoes – I also learnt how failing to “click out” of your shoes at a traffic light invariably leads to a fall and some serious grazes, as well as hurt pride).

These same lycra-wearers invited my partner and I to join their table and after a few weeks of coffee they’d offered advice about trading in our bikes and upgrading. We did exactly that and so with thinner wheels and lighter frames  on our new hybrid bikes, (ie half mountain bike half road bike) we started to increase the frequency of our rides and the distance we covered. In those early days a 20-30 minute ride was about all we could muster but the whole time our cycling friends encouraged us, offering handy hints and providing critique of our cycling work. No-one ever laughed at us or made fun of us, rather they just kept telling us how good it was to ride, what beautiful adventures were just around the corner and importantly how everything we did in that year was setting us up for the next.

In February 2006 my father passed away somewhat unexpectedly and his death was a huge wake-up call to me. It made me realise that life is short and precious, that good health and physical activity matter and that his gene pool was not fabulous. To celebrate his life we upgraded to racing bikes. These are the ones that have rams horn handlebars and very thin wheels and even lighter frames. All the while our lycra friends were cheering us on. On lighter bikes and with some increased fitness we had a better chance of being part of the team and so we started riding more and more in groups or “packs” as they are more commonly called here. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings we headed out – up hills, over bridges, through rainforest, along the beach, across the river, down the freeway, on the plane – you name it, our bikes took us there.

A wonderful new world opened up to us and as it did we realised how important it was to be part of a team. When you are riding in a pack it’s critical that you keep an eye on the rider ahead, you stay close so you can be pulled along in their draught but not so close that you “clip their wheel” and cause an accident. You also have to place your faith in the leader of the pack. The leader is the person out the front of the pack. Their job is to set the pace so that everyone can keep up and maintain a forward direction. The leader also keeps their eyes wide open, scanning the environment for oncoming traffic and scouring the road for pieces of debris and fallen trees obstacles such as potholes or glass.

The leader follows the signs – when they say STOP the pack STOPs, when the path is clear and it’s safe the leader calls “CLEAR”. The pack places their faith in the leader and they each follow but cautiously they also scan their environment and reaffirm the leader’s calls to those that follow behind them. Best of all in any good ride the person leading the pack changes, that’s how you avoid fatigue and how you develop up the leadership skills of novices. New leaders have to earn the trust and the respect of the pack.

A thoughtful leader doesn’t change the pace unless the environment calls for it. The new leader may lead in their own style but they always read the signs of the environment knowing that their main task is to deliver the pack safely back to the end of the ride which is often a coffee shop. A good leader also knows when they are fatiguing and asks for support and to be relieved. They rely on the pack for feedback and for inspiration.

If the pack is well lead the wheels turn well. The ride is smooth and the scenery absorbed. The rides can be exhilarating and action packed, they can also be calm and relaxing. Usually the pack negotiates the agreed pace at the beginning of the ride and that’s what the pack sticks too. If any member of the pack experiences difficulty such as a flat tyre or a wobbly seat a call goes up “flat tyre, stopping” – it reverberates back to the last rider and the pack stops their ride only beginning when the comfort and safety of all riders is assured. Throughout the ride pack members call “all on” and subtly you check to see that all who started out the ride are keeping up. If not the leader reviews the pace and gives everyone a chance to re-group.

As I explain  my interpretation of a great ride you may see the similarities between being a good and fair APIC leader and a good and fair leader of a group ride. The basic skills and approaches are very similar and while it is infrequent that I ever have the bike handling skills and athletic speed to lead my riding pack I truly hope that my experiences of being lead several times a week will continue to guide me and inspire me as I work towards being the best leader that I can for APIC. I hope that you’ve enjoyed this analogy and if any of you are riders let me know and please feel free to share any tips and tricks.

Here’s to good leaders, strong respectful teams and safe rides in and external to APIC!

 The photo on this page with my best mate Dee (far left) and friend Justine (far right) was taken in November 2007 minutes before we competed in the annual Noosa Triathalon. It was my first Olympic distance triathalon and represented a pinnacle of the past 18 months when I radically reviewed my lifestyle and health. There were multiple drivers and compelling circumstances that initiated the lifestyle changes. Throughout it all I have been and continue to be well supported and encouraged by wonderful friends and a great group of fellow fitness enthusiasts who coincidentally happen to be great coffee drinkers. Interestingly, I’ve noticed a direct parallel between increases in my physical fitness and increases in my professional growth and the career opportunities which have presented themselves.

Fighting infections and contributing effectively to a professional association like APIC requires enormous commitment and dedication. Planning is also critically important. Clarifying your vision, determining your mission and setting goals enables you to stay focussed and to gauge the effectiveness with which you are influencing behaviours and contributing to a safer patient care environment. They are critical elements of a succesful Infection Prevention program. Imagine then my amazement when I realised that achieving fitness and a healthy lifestyle and sustaining that lifestyle requires exactly the same skillset. The realisation was blinding and now seems so obvious.

Most days for me start with an exercise session. Typically it’s a ride or a run or a swim. Which activity it is is pre-planned according to a set program devised for me by an expert who also happens to be a great friend and a source of endless inspiration. Surrounding yourself with inspiring people who have expertise different to your own  is another strategy that can help goal achievement. However, just having a program and being inspired is not enough, there comes that critical time each morning when it’s easier and much more tempting to roll over rather than to get up and hit the road or the pool. Staying focussed and staying motivated are good tools to keep you on the path at this point. Just like taking regular exercise, staying focussed on preventing infections is really tough these days especially when healthcare systems all around the world are underresourced and typically understaffed. How do you get around it? Well one way is to just keep thinking of your goals and asking yourself if the work you are doing is consistent with those goals. Does it get you closer or further to them? Being prepared and having contingencies is another good strategy. Think about possibilities. What would you do if all of a sudden the Chief Executive Officer of your hospital who was a long term supporter of your Infection Prevention program announced his/ her retirement? Would your program fold or flourish? If an outbreak of some dreaded disease hit your hospital how would you cope? If you had good contingencies in place you would survive and in planning those contingenices you are setting yourself up for success not failure.

So in these few mixed but hopefully wise words of the day I hope I’ve started you thinking about new ways to increase your Fitness To Fight Infections, it’s probably the biggest Marathon you will ever face. Stay tuned for more updates as the Australian season of Summer sports rolls out! Google Noosa Triathalon 2008 if you have an interest in triathalons, but most importantly - keep up your personal and professional fitness, it’s really really important.   

Last week my partner and my Mum both had cataract surgery. While it’s been a time for bad jokes and references to “the blind leading the blind” and “two blind mice” etc it was also a time when I realised how critically important the work we do day in and day out is. I can only imagine what it must be like to have someone you care about develop an infection as a result of consuming health care. For the patient I am sure there is a sense of overwhelming frustration and anguish.

Fortunately in my case both patients are doing well and to date there is no sign of infection in either of their eyes. Strict instructions have been given regarding the importance of hand hygiene and good technique for administering the eye drops. Of course it helps that unlike years ago when cataract patients were brought into hospital the night before surgery and spent the first 24 post operative hours with their head immobilised between two sandbags, patients these days are in and out of the day procedure centre within about 3 hours. It’s a remarkable advancement in surgical technique and management. The less exposure to the health care environment the less opportunity for infection spread, and hey who knows what potentially pathogenic organisms might have been lurking in those sandbags.

So for all of you who have ever consumed healthcare or supported friends or family through the journey three cheers for infection-free outcomes and as always heres to hand hygiene and all things aspetic.