Conversation with Sinthuya Alston, MD, CIC

Welcome back to Voice for Infection Prevention! I'm your host, Jacob Hutcherson, and today I’m joined by Sinthuya Alston, whose journey into Infection Prevention is truly unique—coming from a medical background with a passion for infectious diseases, she originally planned to become an infectious disease physician but found herself falling in love with Infection Prevention instead.

In this conversation, Sinthuya shares how she went from an Infection Prevention Coordinator to a System Director, overseeing Infection Prevention, Employee Health, and Sepsis Care across multiple hospitals. She discusses how her medical background helped her build strong partnerships with physicians, how she integrated Employee Health and Infection Prevention programs, and why emotional intelligence and leadership skills are just as important as clinical knowledge in this field.

We also dive into her approach to mentorship, professional development, and process improvement methodologies like Lean Six Sigma, which have helped her optimize infection control efforts at a large scale. Whether you’re new to the field or looking to advance into leadership, Sinthuya’s insights on career growth and the evolving role of Infection Prevention are invaluable.

You won’t want to miss this one—let’s dive in!