Great New Reasons to Wash Your Hands, Often!

The semester is winding down, and exams will be upon us very shortly...in fact, as early as this coming Friday.  Friday's exam is a lab exam, which I truly love doing.  What a welcome change to be graded on "how" I do procedures and explain what I'm thinking and doing, rather than how well I can memorize facts and figure out how not to be tricked on multiple-choice questions.  Those types of exams will come in about two weeks time...

In the interim, I prepare and study.  Critical components of Friday's lab exam includes proper hand washing techniques, cleaning our stethoscope bell, and ensuring patient privacy -- and doing them at appropriate times.  We can fail the exam (and hence the entire course, which involves a significant theory component, too), if we forget to simply show proper hand cleansing during the simluation exam.  Ouch.

Here's an interesting list I came across, on an amazing nursing forum, called AllNurses.com.  If you click on the title below, it is a link that will take you to the actual site. 

I'll probably be thinking of this list from now on, when I push elevator buttons at a hospital.  UGH!!!  (Even more reason to take the stairs, and work in a bit of exercise!!!)

Kate

(870 more days to go....)

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Great New Reasons to Wash Your Hands, Often! - General Nursing Discussion

We as Nurses know this one. We even know little cute ways to know how long to wash them(i.e. alphabet song, happy birthday, etc.). A new study conducted by our University Hospital's Medical Tech Program reminded me that Bacterial Colonies, Fungal Spores, and Viruses love the things we touch the most!

Here is the list of the top 10 "most infected" surfaces according to 10 Students swabbing 218 Inpatient Hospital Items.

10. Toilet Flush Lever
9. Soap Dispenser Button
8. Salt/Pepper Shaker in Staff Cafeteria (see #6)
7. Rim of sink (cleaned daily)
6. Cafeteria Cleaning rag
5. An Elevator button (Ground Floor)
4. Water Fountain Handle
3. (TIE) A Patient's Bed's TV Button and Handle of a Patient's Thermos
2. A Stethoscope's Bell (Owned by Infection Control RN)
1. Nursing Desk Phone..."best(Worst?) in show"? The "S" key of one of the "Staff Only" Computers. Now I think "Staph Computer" may better sum it up.

"Dishonorable" Mentions:

Some surfaces' ranks that didn't make the top 10 included a toilet seat (#88), a hearing aid (#31), a BSC (#47), an Emesis Basin (#20), a used tube of Wound Gel (#11), and an abandoned pair of Dentures left in moist Zip-Lock bag (#12)!!!

Do you have any advice for Infection Control Methods?

What are some disturbing things you have seen, that, if given the authority to change, it would be safer/more sanitary?

Do you wash your hands in patients' room for them to witness?

Is enough hand hygiene taught at your facility, and if so do you see it being followed?