On The Right Track With Classes

I first started to care about infection control when it affected my friends and family. First my mother-in-law acquired an infection when she visited the hospital for a simple test. Then, a good friend of mine acquired a highly contagious c. difficile infection when he went to the emergency department to get treatment for pneumonia.

While the risks for spa clients, estheticians, and spa therapists are fewer than for those who work in or go to hospital, it’s still a real risk. No matter the type of spa, whether it’s a high-end destination, a comfortable home-based location, or your busy and cheerful salon, the risk remains. Without vigilance, spa clients are susceptible to blood-, water-, and air-borne pathogens such as mycobacterium, staph, strep, and norovirus.

I think we all recognize the need for knowledge in infection prevention and control, but we know it’s not sexy. It is, however, one of the best pieces of education for workers in the spa industry – because it shows that we’re committed to helping our clients, even when it’s not all sparkly nail polish or blemish-free skin.

I’m so pleased to be fighting for clean and disinfected tools and surfaces, and to support estheticians and other spa therapists to become confident about their abilities to provide the safest space for their clients and staff. While I’ve felt pretty good about the work that I’ve been doing, recently I got a boost from two different areas of the infection control industry.

First was a visit from the manager of the Toronto BodySafe program, who attended a recent course. I was worried at first about why she wanted to be there, but when I met her I was reassured that her primary focus was to raise the bar in the industry, and to keep it safe for all of us.  On a break, I asked her how I was doing, and I believe her word was “fabulous”. How flattering and heartening that we seem to be on the right road with our education!

I was even more nervous when the Technical Specialist at Virox Technologies also registered for our course. What if the information I was presenting was incomplete? I was so pleased when she felt that I was knowledgeable, and she added some interesting scientific tidbits to the discussion.

Won’t you join us for one of our next series of classes? Register for a 4 hour class in Windsor, Kingston, Ottawa, Huntsville, Durham Region or Hamilton. It may not be as sexy as the latest nail art or as sophisticated as your trendy facial, but there will always be interesting stories, fascinating concepts to learn, and you can be confident that in everything you do, you’re bringing your best to your clients.