I decided to shorten an unsightly water pipe in my kitchen. There was no need for a plumber as insultingly suggested by my husband. Having consulted the internet, I held all the knowledge needed. I had to adapt the first step, turn off the water, as there was no stop tap in my flat. The task was simple, cut the pipe then put a stopper on the new end.

I performed the procedure as the online video instructed, however the stopper kept flying off the end of the pipe with water jetting all over. Like the ‘Little Dutch Boy’, I placed my finger in the end of the pipe and consulted the internet again, discovering I required something called an ‘olive’.

Needing a replacement finger while I visited the DIY store, I called my husband. It was time for him to get out of bed anyway! He looked at me with admiration and said, ‘You infuriate me’. He gets confused with words sometimes, I suppose he meant, ‘You inspire me’. On my return with the olive, it was evident that he had left his post, but I decided not to mention this; we can’t all be perfect.  

Ten minutes later, the pipe was no longer leaking. Success! A year later we had the boiler replaced and the plumber turned the water off using the tap which I thought turned off the gas. Translating theory into practice can be challenging and perilous.

In 2009 I was working in a community health service when WHO declared an influenza pandemic. I was asked to apply for the vacant infection prevention and control (IPC) nurse post. I had near zero knowledge of IPC, but they were desperate to have someone to support the emergency response. I was appointed, having negotiated they fund a master’s degree in IPC to provide me with a theoretical foundation. Four days into the job the pandemic was declared over. Was I really that good, or was this a coincidence?  

I was now the ‘lead’ for IPC and required to provide expert knowledge and skill which I did not have. My first task was to write the IPC audit plan and find validated audit tools to use. These audits across hundreds of sites within my remit flagged up that the clinical handwash sinks were not compliant with Health Technical Memorandum 64 (now replaced with Health Building Note 00-10 Part C, for the interested reader!). Essentially this guidance said clinical handwash sinks shouldn’t have a plug, have a wall mounted lever action tap and concealed services for the purpose of reducing the risk of hand contamination.

But how do you apply this theoretical knowledge to practical situations? My dilemma was compounded by being the sole IPC nurse with no one to turn to.

I spoke with nurses in neighbouring organisations to see if they had encountered this issue. They invited me to join a professional forum of IPC nurses who met to discuss guidance and research and how this related to practice. I now had a network to help me bridge the theory-practice gap.

I presented the audit report to the board detailing the sink issue with some suggestions to mitigate the risk (involving hand sanitiser and use paper towels to turn off taps). The board accepted the mitigation and as part of any renovation the sinks would be replaced with compliant ones. Another plumbing success to add to my list of achievements.

I have removed ‘Plumbing’ from my CV and have tried to flush HTM-64 from my mind. The most useful thing when trying to apply theory to practice is to speak with colleagues, especially when this is new knowledge. Being part of a professional network makes this much easier.