Hygiene After Hospital Shift

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I change before and after every shift, but that is because I work in the OR and am required to wear hospital provided and laundered scrubs. Really, as long as you are following infection control standards, you shouldn't be exposing yourself to anything that you won't find out in the community. And remember, that person who is in isolation in the hospital isn't isolated when he/she goes home. That person using the ATM keypad or shopping cart handle right before you might be that same patient in isolation for MRSA or VRE or what have you.

[Emergent, RN]

I sometimes change after work. Really, only if you are a clinic or ER nurse are you exposed to illness more than, say, the supermarket. Probably a cashier at the store or a bank teller is exposed more, since they handle money all day and don't have hand washing easily available.

I'd say that your average hospital patient is hospitalized for not communicable problems, but for things such as cardiac, renal, COPD exacerbation. Yes, there are pts with draining wounds, MRSA, pneumonia, but they are put on isolation, unlike the general population out there at the store, church, school.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

If you have a patient with anything major that can be transmitted, they will be on precautions. I know most nurses have an extra pair of scrubs in case they get blood or something on them. At my clinicals the other day in the nursing home they had a case of bedbugs the week before. They had been treated twice for it but we still had to put all of our personal belonging in a plastic bag, get rid of the air, and tie it up. Then before leaving we sprayed our scrubs and shoes with a 91% alcohol solution as a precaution. I always no matter what job I have had come home and take a shower. Even at 2 in the morning in retail I came home and took a hot shower. I always felt icky after a long shift.

[laKrugRN]

I keep a spare set of scrubs in my car in case I get splattered in who knows what. I change when I get home and shower right after. I may run to the store but I try to get out of them when I can. I guess it depends what kind of nursing you are in. I stay relatively clean working in the prison.

[RNperdiem, RN]

I have been in this business for almost 20 years and have never caught anything at work. Unless your immune system is weak, use handwashing, and a little common sense you will be fine.

Most people are in hospital for things like heart failure, cancer and diabetes. They are not any more "germy" than anyone else out in the community.

Hygiene for me means a shower when I get home and scrubs put in the laundry hamper.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I take no special precautions. I do not change my scrubs or shoes prior to going home. I do not bathe in antibacterial soap. You are more likely to get sick in your community than you ever will at a hospital.

Our communities are filled with people who have MRSA, ESBL, c-diff, VRE, TB, and other microbes. These people touch the same shopping carts that you and I use. They punch the same buttons at the ATM machine that you and I touch. They're the ones in line behind you with the hacking coughs. They're the ones who toilet themselves without washing their hands before proceeding to pick over fresh fruits and veggies in the produce section of the supermarket.

The typical healthcare setting is cleaner and more sanitary than the average person's home because it is sanitized with powerful cleaning agents by EVS staff (a.k.a. housekeeping) one or more times per day. The typical homeowner or apartment dweller usually does not sanitize their living quarters on a daily basis.

My point is to not be so darned afraid of germs. Embrace some of them. Each exposure strengthens your immunity.

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Germs are all around us. You are more likely to contract MRSA at Wallmart than through work.

[studentnursemon86]

I work in an ER and it really depends which part of the ER I am in.

We have an emergency behavioral health area where I just sit at a desk and chart while patients sleep (I work night shift). I don't even break a sweat. If I'm in the main ER I usually shower as soon as I get home; not so much because of germs, but because I feel icky and sweaty after.

[anon456, BSN, RN]

I get home, put my shoes in the garage, put my scrubs in the hamper, and usually just wash my hands and face and go to bed exhausted. I wear full protective gear at work for the contagious patients and wash my hands often all the time. I have found that I am much more likely to catch the cold or stomach bug that one of my children came down with first than to catch anything from work. I agree that MRSA and other bad bugs are in our community. I am very careful at work to prevent it from spreading patient to patient. It probably spreads more easily at the grocery store.

[AmyRN303, BSN, RN]

I come home, drop my shoes outside the door, and wash my hands, brush my teeth, and collapse into bed by 9 am. I shower before work when I wake up that evening.

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

I was WAY more concerned with my own hygiene when I used to do private duty nursing. Some of the homes I was in, omg.

[ponymom]

I changed before leaving the nh, standing on newspaper, pulling of my scrubs inside-out even. I felt *filthy* after a shift, just *icky*. I wore my shoes out to my vehicle, but changed into 'home' footwear out in the parking lot, and kept my nh shoes in a repurposed cat litter pan in the vehicle, and commonly Lysoled and Cavi-wiped them. They never went into my home. Kept the winter coat in the cellar. Washed my scrubs in Pine-sol and hot water, dried them on 'sanitize'. Walked inside my door and straight to the shower, no matter what time it was.

In my factory job I enjoy nowadays, I don't feel anywhere near as dirty.