gloves?

[geerd]

It is an ongoing question in the skilled facility I work in of where to carry gloves. Is it appropriate to carry a supply of gloves in the pocket of your uniform in order to have them handy when you need a quick change of gloves at bed side? It is my opinion that the inside of our pocket would be considered a "dirty" environment and if you want to carry gloves in your pocket, they should be inside of a bag of some sort to keep them clean. This question comes up repeatedly especially during doing pericare, when frequent quick glove changes are required.

[T-Bird78]

It's an infection control issue. Never carry gloves in your pocket, and never carry supplies from one room to another. If it's a dressing change or something where you know a change of gloves will be needed, bring a few pair in that room with you but don't keep a supply in your pocket just for making rounds.

[Asystole RN]

Carrying any item that has not been cleaned from one room to another is an infection control issue.

That said, clean gloves are not sterile gloves. They are designed to be a barrier between you and the patient but are not considered inherently microbial free.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

I don't think it's an infection control issue and assuming you wear a clean uniform every day (I never even wear the same lab coat every day...I wash everything daily), your pocket is clean.

Consider the following (not including isolation patients).

Do you touch just one glove in the box? Nope...you touch several, whether your hands are washed or not. Does anyone ever throw away the box in the room, even when the patient is discharged? No, they do not.

That is why it's ok to carry your gloves in your pocket...however, you would not RETURN them to the box after they have been in your pocket if some is left over..just carry a couple that you know you will use.

I don't think it's an infection control issue (if the gloves are deep inside the pocket), because you don't change your clothes between patient rooms either. You can carry microbes on that just like you can anything else.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

The inside of your scrub pants pocket is not dirtier than the outside of them. Probably cleaner. :)

No IC worries about carrying a few gloves around. However, don't save them from today to tomorrow in your locker, and don't take them out of your pocket in one room and put them back before you go somewhere else even if you don't use them. Throw them away as soon as used or exposed to a patient's immediate environment.

[mrsboots87]

I am just a student, so disregard if you want. My instructors has advised the same as GrnTea and Jory. Unless you have another patients bodily fluids in your pockets (ew for not changing scrubs) or like to put dirty hands in your pockets frequently, then the gloves are fine in there. I wouldn't put my gloved hand, after touching a patient, in my pocket so there shouldn't be any patient "germs" in there. You will inadvertently touch multiple gloves when pulling out a set from the box in the room and not throw the whole box away when the patient is discharged. The patient could decide they want some gloves for the house and stick their hands in the box for some gloves and get some of the remaining in the box dirty. Once that glove box is open, anyone and everyone could be touching them. The gloves in your pocket seem like they could potentially be cleaner than the ones in the rooms. Especially if you grab yours from the supply closet. I wouldn't take my pocket of gloves in an isolation room of course, but in the general patient rooms, I see no IC issue.

I have also been told that gloving is more for nurse safety. To protect the nurse from the patient, and not the other way around. If the nurse is practicing proper hand washing protocol, then their bare hands should be no danger to the patient. However, since we don't know what the patient could have on their skin, we protect ourselves with gloves. The only exception being sterile gloves to protect the patient from infections.

[Katie71275]

We have boxes of gloves outside of our patients room on the walls(they are about every 2 pt rooms. Also we have gloves in the room on the wall.

[sbostonRN]

I usually like to keep a pair in my pocket for emergencies. Like if I run into a room and my fall risk patient is halfway to the bathroom and the glove box is across the room. But I don't use my "pocket gloves" for dressing changes or anything else. It's more for keeping me clean if something comes up.

[Asystole RN]

Many posters have given common sense reasons as to why in reality it may not be any worse of a vector than other things but I will tell you with absolute certainty that and IP nurse or JC surveyor will jump all over it as an infection control issue.

I tend to work very close with IP nurses and get more attention from JC due to the nature of my work and I can tell you it is a big no-no to transport any non-durable medical equipment between patients. Even the durable equipment is supposed to be thoroughly cleaned between patients.

Hell, I got into trouble for wearing my surgical cap outside of a room because I was bringing disposable medical equipment out of a room.

In reality is it an issue? No. Will someone like an IP nurse or surveyor jump over it? Yes.

[T-Bird78]

I was taught to never carry gloves in your pocket or even carry from one room to another. As a nursing student I was fussed at by a LTC nurse for wearing gloves in the hall.

[itsmejuli]

We keep our gloves in quart size baggies in our pockets.