Hand Hygiene - Code Word (shhh!)

[Nissan350z]

Hi everyone,

As we all know hand hygiene is very important to protect ourselves as well as our patients. It is also a very simple and easy way to prevent the spread of infection. However, I have seen many nurses that simply walk into the patient's room without performing hand hygiene. Our unit uses the code word CHIPs (Cleaner Hands = Infection Prevention) to remind each other whenever we witness such an action, especially near the patient's bed. Does your unit have some sort of code word to remind each other to wash your hands? :)

[sapphire18]

Our hand sanitizer dispensers are in our rooms...I don't even know how they audit handwashing where I work!

[pixiestudent2]

High five, not sure if it is the phrase or actual action...

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

We are supposed to have a codeword. Someone told it too me once (not because I didn't wash my hands, but just because they had heard about it). I asked around and no one else had heard about it.

At my facility the appoint a 'secret spy' to make sure staff is doing proper hand hygiene. The thing I don't understand though...we are supposed to use the hand sanitizer going into and coming out of a pt room, washing hands under certain circumstances. If they don't actually follow me into the room, how do they know that I did or did not use the hand sanitizer in the room?

[Anoetos, BSN, RN]

That's a great idea that I think I will bring up on my unit.