Her Story
About Christina
Christina is an experienced infection prevention professional whose career spans nearly three decades in nursing, with a strong foundation in acute care, emergency medicine, and forensic nursing. She currently works in infection prevention, where she conducts daily clinical surveillance, unit rounding, and coordination of infection control practices, including construction and procedural risk assessments (ICRA). Her role also involves preparing for daily huddles, reviewing isolation precautions, and ensuring compliance with regulatory reporting standards such as CMS requirements.
Christina began her nursing career in 1997 on a medical-surgical unit before transitioning into the emergency department, where she advanced into a charge nurse role. During her time in the ED, she was encouraged to become a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), which launched her into forensic nursing. She became certified, served as a forensic educator, and later held a director-level position at the University of Cincinnati, where she contributed to forensic program leadership and also worked in the morgue supporting medical and legal processes. She additionally authored three published papers during her academic and clinical tenure.
After more than a decade in forensic nursing, Christina transitioned into infection prevention, a field she entered through her strong background in emergency care and clinical observation. What began as a career pivot became a long-term professional passion, where she has now worked for over 13 years. She is a recipient of multiple honors, including a DAISY Award and recognition for excellence in forensic nursing and patient care. Today, she continues to combine her clinical expertise, regulatory knowledge, and commitment to patient safety as a trusted leader in infection prevention.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Christina
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my strong work ethic. Forensics is definitely not for everybody, and infection prevention is not for everybody either. These two fields in nursing are really just not areas that people want to be in - they want to be CNOs and stuff like that. But I've always had a genuine passion for helping others, and I believe that's what's made the difference. Even though nursing wasn't always easy, especially in specialties like forensics and infection prevention, I've found that the most impactful work often happens in the areas that demand the most dedication. My willingness to step into these challenging fields and commit to them fully is what I think has driven my success.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
In forensic nursing, I was fortunate to work alongside people like Dr.Soripala who modeled what it looks like to hold space for patients in their most vulnerable moments without losing clinical focus. That balance—between empathy and objectivity—is something I still carry with me today. I didn’t always have one single mentor guiding me step-by-step, but rather a group of strong colleagues whose practices I observed, questioned, and learned from over time.
In infection prevention, mentorship has looked different. It’s often been about collaboration with professionals who have deep expertise in public health, regulatory standards, and hospital systems. I’ve learned a lot from those who are willing to explain not just what needs to be done, but why it matters—especially when it comes to CMS requirements, reporting standards, and outbreak response.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If you're starting out in infection prevention, you really need to be able to read the rules - the governmental rules that go along with the infections - because we report to CMS. I think that's the hardest thing for people to understand. You need to ask questions and really read the definitions, not just skim them. That, above anything else, is the hardest thing for an infection preventionist to learn. The details matter so much in this field, and you can't rush past them. Take the time to truly understand the policies and regulations, because in infection prevention, those details can save lives.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In infection prevention, we are battling so many different outbreaks anymore, and they're very concerning. We're dealing with hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks, and being a hub for overseas travel, we see a lot of that come into the hospital as well. We just have to really stay on our toes and make sure we place those patients appropriately so we don't expose other patients. I think that's the biggest challenge right now - all of these measles outbreaks and everything else we're seeing. Beyond the clinical challenges, I've also become increasingly interested in healthcare legislation, especially issues involving childhood vaccinations in Florida. Right now, a lot of people are trying to get a bill passed about not requiring childhood vaccinations, and my profession has been very vocal about it. We've written letters to our legislation, and I'm a member of our legislative team with my organization. I never thought about government before - it didn't really interest me - but now I stay on top of it because I think it's really important.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Education has always been important to me. I earned my master’s degree in nursing and completed certifications in both infection prevention and forensic nursing. Those achievements required a tremendous amount of commitment and discipline, but they also reinforced my belief that healthcare professionals should never stop learning.
At the core of everything I do is a strong work ethic and a genuine passion for helping others. Nursing was not always easy, especially in specialties like forensics and infection prevention, but I believe the most impactful work often happens in the areas that demand the most dedication.
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