Professional development of the infection preventionist remains an essential component of practice. Increased focus on patient safety, as well as more intensive public reporting and regulatory requirements, places increasing emphasis on developing and maintaining the skills of the infection preventionist. Achieving competence can be accomplished by addressing the domains of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology competency model and applying them to the infection preventionist's individual practice. The infection preventionist can begin the process by evaluating his or her current practice and using the tool to help determine areas for further improvement, as well as career goals. A focus of the infection preventionist's development should include demonstration of competence through success in the certification examination, with recognition by earning the designation of being Certified in Infection Control.