Cheryl Rosiak, Infection Prevention and Control Specialist, Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section; Registered Nurse (BN UNISA); Graduate Diploma Infection Prevention and Control (UK); BTEC (UK) Investigative Practice; Graduate Certificate Perioperative Nursing.
Background in burns and perioperative nursing. Completed graduate certificate in Infection Control in 2000 prior to undertaking a Burns nursing consultancy in Papua New Guinea. Relocated to the UK in 2002 where I completed further studies in Infection Prevention and Control.
Worked fulltime in IPC at NHS Highland in the North of Scotland then moved to England in 2005 working as a senior IPC nurse for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Appointed to position of Modern Matron (IPC) with LTH NHS Trust in 2007. Very challenging working in England during this period dealing with high rates of MRSA, VRE and hypervirulent C. diff outbreaks throughout the country.
Left LTH NHS Trust to work as a full time specialist assessor with the Care Quality Commission in 2008 to support the Commission’s role in enacting the Health Care Act 2004 (Hygiene Code) to register, assess and monitor enforcement activities in relation to the Hygiene Code across NHS Trusts in England.
Returned to South Australia in 2010 and worked at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network as Advanced Nurse Consultant (IPC) until 2021 when I moved to Victoria to take up a position as Knowledge Lead with the Victoria Health COVID-19 response team. As the pandemic was starting to wind down, I was looking for new opportunities and was offered the role of Infection Prevention and Control Specialist with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern Section) based in NSW in May 2022 where I have been enjoying the challenges of managing an IPC program in a diverse and dynamic environment where we deliver health care in some of the most remote and challenging environments in Australia.