Gloves in the hall

Nurses General Nursing

Published

hello everyone,

i need some input from all of you. i work in a hospice center at this time in my career, have always worked in a hospital. i am now the infection control resource nurse here. we had an inicident where a ca got a talking to by a nurse for wearing gloves in the hall on both hands while carrying dirty linen:nono: . the ca stated she was allowed to wear gloves as long as carrying dirty linen. i was always told "no gloves in the hall!" this was beat into my head:trout: over and over. i have heard it was ok if while carrying dirty linens to wear one glove and have one clean hand and one dirty hand.i am trying to research this for my administrator. i have emailed our local dhec and the infection control dept at our local big hospital (where i used to work). what is your input. 2 gloves, 1glove or no gloves and why????

thank you

psss i love all the new smileys

We are lucky to have linen carts in every room. (I fought for this when they expanded our floor.) Recently, I was "caught" :nono: by the Infection Control nurse taking a plastic garbage bag full of a poopy adult diaper to the dirty utility room. I had gloves on...or one glove, I can't remember. I asked if she expected me to carry the dirty bag with bare hands. She replied that I should have unrolled the glove so it was between me and the bag but not over my hand.

and what the h$ll difference would that make????

Specializes in Cardiac/ED.
We are lucky to have linen carts in every room. (I fought for this when they expanded our floor.) Recently, I was "caught" :nono: by the Infection Control nurse taking a plastic garbage bag full of a poopy adult diaper to the dirty utility room. I had gloves on...or one glove, I can't remember. I asked if she expected me to carry the dirty bag with bare hands. She replied that I should have unrolled the glove so it was between me and the bag but not over my hand.

I agree with the above poster: What difference would that have made?

Specializes in nursery, L and D.
I agree with the above poster: What difference would that have made?

Except maybe that rolled up glove would have slipped and then your hand would have been contaminated. Honestly, people take some stuff too far.:uhoh3:

Specializes in floor to ICU.
and what the h$ll difference would that make????

beats me:uhoh3:

I thought the no gloves in the hall had something to do with some regulation, like with OSHA or DHEC.

Specializes in Neuro ICU, Neuro/Trauma stepdown.
I've been doing this unconsciously and never thought about it till now! :lol2:

That's funny, me too!

bring a laundry hamper into the room before you start stripping the bed or bathing the patient.

I do in facilities where that is possible. For instance, the place I worked for the longest time, had big hampers that were three in one. They were big and bulky and it wasn't feasible to drag around. (Although on nights we did) I worked at one also that had barrels on wheel that they would let you bring out into the hall. The clean linen was on a cart too that you could bring out also; they just couldnt be on the same side of the hall. :idea:

. I guess it saves a few steps...

It saves many, many steps. In the LTC, bedtime is like working in a factory. Its one right after another at an incredible pace. Its not even logical to go up and down the halls like that. I always perferred to start and the bottom and work my way up (as much as doable taking current residents prefs into mind, of course)

We are lucky to have linen carts in every room.

I float to ICU a lot where its all big and new and they have them in every room. Nice!! Comes in handy!!

If JCAHO is not onsite:

You remove your right glove, dipense antimicrobial handgel into your palm and smush it around as best you can with your fingers, pick up the dirty linen with your left hand and run to the dirty linen room, making sure the infection control nurse is not around. There you throw it in the shute, remove the remaining glove and wash your hands thoroughly.

IF JCAHO is onsite:

You remove your gloves, wash both hands throughly, go to the clean linen closet and get a plastic bag. Go back to the room, wash your hands thoroughly, put on gloves, put the dirty linen into the plastic bag, making sure not to touch the dirty linen to the outside of the bag, remove the gloves and wash your hands. Than take the dirty linen in the bag to the dirty linen room. Put the dirty linen in the shute. Then wash your hands. (It only takes 15 minutes!)

Specializes in Telemetry, Nursery, Post-Partum.

Am I the only who's never heard of wearing gloves in the hall being a no-no? Maybe I missed that day in school, and also at work? I've never heard of that being so bad.

I do not want to carry poopy,pee ect. to the soiled linen or waste bend in my bare hands BUT I was taught that we must never wear gloves out of the room.So as part of my tools of the trade itams I carry in my scrub pockets there is always a couple of those clear trash bags.One of my classmates saws on extra pockets on our scrubs for those of us who want them.This has worked well for me so far....no dirty stuff in bare hands and no gloves in hall.....

Specializes in floor to ICU.
If JCAHO is not onsite:

You remove your right glove, dipense antimicrobial handgel into your palm and smush it around as best you can with your fingers, pick up the dirty linen with your left hand and run to the dirty linen room, making sure the infection control nurse is not around. There you throw it in the shute, remove the remaining glove and wash your hands thoroughly.

IF JCAHO is onsite:

You remove your gloves, wash both hands throughly, go to the clean linen closet and get a plastic bag. Go back to the room, wash your hands thoroughly, put on gloves, put the dirty linen into the plastic bag, making sure not to touch the dirty linen to the outside of the bag, remove the gloves and wash your hands. Than take the dirty linen in the bag to the dirty linen room. Put the dirty linen in the shute. Then wash your hands. (It only takes 15 minutes!)

:rotfl:

You know, now that I think about it - I almost never use my palms/hands to open doors anymore!

It's mostly my elbow/shoulder/hip or if I'm in a hurry, the back of my wrist.

I've been doing this unconsciously and never thought about it till now! :lol2:

I even wash my hands the right way at home and in public. You know - turn on the faucet with a paper towel (or towel if at home), lather, rinse, dry, and get new paper towel and turn off faucet. I get some strange looks when I'm in public. I flush toilets with my feet and when I was in Korea I turned on a faucet with my foot - thank God I'm flexible!

We don't have alot of linen carts on our floor and the NM doesn't allow them to be in the hall. They have to be in the soiled utility room. But I work weekends and she doesn't so I take them out, position them outside of rooms where I know I'll be doing alot of changing and then at the end of shift push them back to the utility room. I don't take the carts inside the room because of germ reasons.

And I don't wash my hands in pts rooms. I find their bathroom to be more disgusting than the local diners. I don't feel like I'm getting clean so I will use the alcohol provided and then immediately go to the sink without touching my pen.

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