The point of the training is not the software

NHSN training's stated mission is **to offer learning opportunities that
enhance the knowledge and skills of facility- and group-level participants and
their partners**, so that **they may effectively use the data obtained from the
surveillance system to improve patient and healthcare personnel safety.**

The last clause is the whole point, and it is easy to skip past. The training
is not primarily about submitting data correctly. It is about the facility
being able to use what it collects.

The four objectives

• **Convey data collection methods, submission requirements and analysis
  options**, so participants can acquire, submit and disseminate high
  quality, actionable data
• **Prepare participants to use the reporting application accurately and
  efficiently**
• **Enhance understanding of data quality and the value of adverse event
  monitoring**
• Encourage collaboration among participants and partners to improve
  safety across the spectrum of care

Only the second is about the software. The first ends at disseminate, the
third is about why the work is worth doing, and the fourth is about talking to
other facilities.

That ordering matters for a system whose commonest failure mode is a hospital
that reports faithfully for years and never looks at its own numbers.

Where to start

The NHSN Educational Roadmap — a guided tour of the training materials
needed for a solid foundation — and a separate New to NHSN? track covering
enrolment and setting up an existing facility.

*Source: National Healthcare Safety Network, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.*