Bad Practice

[englishgeek]

I am a nursing student in my third week of nursing school. I come from a family of teachers and was myself teaching until this past year when I quit to go back to school. We started our studies off with infection control.

Last week, I sat through orientation for a job working as a PCT for the hospital in my town. I struggled to remain awake as the director of infection control for the hospital told me everything I had just heard literally the day before. I must have rolled my eyes a few times. "I get it already!" I yelled to her in my head. "Wash your hands." She also kept saying the same things my teacher had said, about not always seeing things done right. I thought, if there are people not practicing simple infection control measures, why don't they get rid of these (at most four) people?

Thus thinking, I walked in for my virginal day of work at a hospital. I was shocked. The very first room I followed my trainer into, she sauntered in without so much as using hand sanitizer. Nor was that the only room that happened in. Throughout the night, I had to watch my trainers leave their hands unwashed, using the same equipment on patients without sanitizing in between. Not only throwing, but using, blankets on the floor, and inventing numbers for breaths when taking vitals.

I went to my teacher the next day. Her attitude was, "I warned you." She told me that's why she always stressing that whatever we see others doing, WE know better. That's why I am vowing to do my very best to get things right now. It's easy to get into a groove and just continue to do things wrong. That is why I am going to make good habits now.

Does anyone else run into the problem of those around you not taking infection control seriously?

[pwiser69]

Not saying what you saw was right but there are always more to a situtation that you as a brand new PCT might not know. I understand that hand care needs to be done @ all X's but give it a few more days there and maybe things will be different or you might know when a piece of equipment needs to be cleaned before another patient has used it and when it doesnt. Personally I have seen a lot of

"do as I say not as I do" stuff, but in the end we are responsible for ourselves. You could mention it to your trainer that they are not doing correct infection control methods but as I assume you have already figured out that would not be the best thing to correct a senior staff on your first week.

Good luck hang in there and make a difference where you can.

Which is better than most people try to do.

[tomc5555]

Someone on this board once wrote about a similar situation and was advised to say, 'oh, let me wash my hands first'. This also served as a reminder for the trainer to practice hand hygiene.