Gloves and PPE in hallway

[SuperPT]

Hi everyone. I am not a nurse but rather a PT who works in a hospital. Our department recently had a meeting with infection control where we were told that gloves/PPE in hallways would no longer be acceptable. This impacts my job specifically because we ambulate patients in the hallway which often requires very close contact with the patient.

I feel it is unsafe to take off my gloves/gown and have bare hand contact with a patient who is in isolation precautions for MRSA, VRE, or C.diff. Infection control's stance is that as long as we change the patient into a clean gown and have them do hand hygiene we should be fine touching them with our bare hands. However it happens very regularly that we may come into contact with bodily fluids unexpectedly, i.e. patients become incontinent while walking. I even had a patient with hep c once whose nose started bleeding so much that their gown was saturated and there was blood on the floor. In that situation letting go of the patient to don gloves would have resulted in the patient falling, but without gloves on I would have been exposed to hep c.

I feel that as long as we touch nothing but the patient and do proper hand hygiene between patients we should be permitted to wear PPE in the hallway for our own protection. Do you all have any thoughts on this issue?

[whatwasithinking75]

In NJ this has always been the general rule. No gloves in the hallway. But also- any patient on isolation never walked the floors. PT, OT, or while I was an aide always had them ambulate in their rooms and do basic ROM. I suppose as long as it's not airborne or droplet the new gown and hand hygiene is ok but it's still gross. And I agree patients bleed, poop, and pee the times you need them NOT to. Like being on the floor where PPE is forbidden. I say just be cautious not to touch skin to skin and only skin to clean gown and stuff your pockets with gloves for the "just incase" even though you're not supposed to people will be seen with gloves on in the hall.

[EllaBella1, BSN]

Oh heck no. I 100% wear gloves any time I'm out of a room with a patient. If you reverse their knowledge, if you put on a clean pair of gloves before leaving the room with the patient it should be just as clean/ok. Most important thing is to protect yourself.

[Sour Lemon]

When people give me stupid rules to follow, I smile and nod and then do what I want to do. I don't think c-diff patients (especially incontinent ones) should be walking around in the halls, anyway.

[Laquita]

I always thought that masks where apart of PPE? So why are we allowed to where those mask in the hallways and room to room? It just doesn't make sense to me.