(B5) Couples Therapy: Bridging the Divide Between Specialties

Friday, September 19, 2025

1:45 PM - 2:45 PM ET

Location: Desoto 1-2

Earn 1 CE Hour(s)

Presenter(s)

Michelle M. DeVries, MPH, CIC, AL-CIP, VA-BC, CPHQ, FAPIC

Director of Clinical Strategy
ICU Medical
Schererville, Indiana

PDF of Slides

Co-Presenter(s)

Rebecca Crapanzano-Sigafoos, DrPH, CIC, FAPIC

Executive Director, Center for Resource, Practice, and Innovation
Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology
Tacoma, Washington
DJ Shannon, MPH, CIC, VA-BC, FAPIC (he/him/his)

Infection Prevention Manager
Community Hospital East
Fishers, Indiana
Sean L. Lau, MBA, BSN, BS, RN, VA-BC (he/him/his)

Patient Care Manager
Stanford Health Care
San Jose, California

Disclosure(s):

Michelle M. DeVries, MPH, CIC, AL-CIP, VA-BC, CPHQ, FAPIC: 3M: Consultant (Terminated, May 1, 2024); Access Vascular: Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, May 1, 2024); Baxter Healthcare: Consultant (Terminated, May 1, 2024); BBraun: Consultant (Terminated, May 1, 2024); Becton Dickinson: Consultant (Terminated, May 1, 2024), Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, May 1, 2024); Eloquest Healthcare: Consultant (Ongoing), Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing); Ethicon: Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing); ICU Medical: Employer (Ongoing); Nexus Medical LLC: Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, May 1, 2024); Teleflex: Consultant (Terminated, May 1, 2024)

Rebecca Crapanzano-Sigafoos, DrPH, CIC, FAPIC: Solventum: Solventum sponsored the implementation guide that I will be speaking about during my presentation. (Ongoing)

DJ Shannon, MPH, CIC, VA-BC, FAPIC: APIC Consulting: Consultant (Ongoing); Becton Dickinson: Consultant (Ongoing), Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing); ICU Medical: Consultant (Ongoing), Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing); Solventum: Consultant (Ongoing), Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing); Teleflex: Consultant (Ongoing), Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing)

Sean L. Lau, MBA, BSN, BS, RN, VA-BC: Becton Dickson: Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing); SJC Vascular Access: Owners/CEO (Ongoing)

In this unique, therapy-inspired session, attendees are invited to observe a facilitated conversation between two professional “partners” from vascular access and infection control and their couples therapist. The goal? To illuminate key points of tension, misunderstanding, and potential misalignment between the fields—and to work toward clarity, compromise, and collaboration.

Led by “therapists” and co-moderators Rebecca Crapanzano-Sigafoos and Michelle DeVries, this session will facilitate an evidence-based discussion to uncover differing perspectives and identify areas of conflict. By coaching for collaboration, the therapists will identify opportunities for synergy, shared decision making, and role clarity.

Learning Objectives:

Form a deeper understanding of where and why specialties diverge
Understand frameworks and language for navigating difficult interdisciplinary conversations
Identify reference materials for continued learning and integration post-session