Poll: Hand Washing

[pat8585]

How many times do you wash your hands during ONE Shift?

Do you wash your hands BEFORE working with a patient ?

Do you wash your hands AFTER working with a patient?

We all know handwashing is the best way to prevent spreading infection.

i am taking a poll to see how many nurses are dedicated to it.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Before and after.........every time!

Sometimes it's just using the alcohol gel I carry with me everywhere, but I wash more frequently with soap and water than the gel. (Could be why I'm almost never ill, too). I just don't feel right if I don't use soap and water whenever I do something that requires the use of gloves.

[TRD]

-before entering a patients room

-before touching a patient

-after touching a patient

-before exiting a patients room

-before preparing meds

-after medication preparation

-upon entering the bathroom

-before exiting the bathroom

-before i eat

-after i eat

[woody62, RN]

-before entering a patients room

-before touching a patient

-after touching a patient

-before exiting a patients room

-before preparing meds

-after medication preparation

-upon entering the bathroom

-before exiting the bathroom

-before i eat

-after i eat

I washed my hands just as much as you do. The funny thing is, I suffered a severe staph infection, at a suture line, following surgery. My surgeon found out that I was a staph carrier when he cultured my nares. So, it is not only important that a nurse wash her hands as many times as we do but if you work in an area where infections occur frquently, such as a burn unit or infectious disease unit, you get your nares cultured every once in a while.

Woody:twocents:

[TazziRN, RN]

I carry a bottle of sanitizer in my bag. I use it before doing anything with my pt, then again afterwards. I don't wash my hands because some of those houses I go into I have absolutely no desire to touch their towels and I don't always see paper towels.

[JRD2002]

At our facility we have gel sanitizer canisters outside of every patients room. We have signs on the doors that say gel in/gel out and have people doing spot checks that watch employees entering and exiting and marking whether or not they are using the gel. Usually after two uses of the gel I wash my hands with soap and water since the gel really dries out my hands.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I gel up between every patient contact...on every enterance/exit, when I go to the nurses station to report something, I wash my hands.....

Then, when I eat, after I eat, whenever I get out of an iso room, whenever the urge hits me frankly...I feel better about myself whenever I do that.....

[RNperdiem, RN]

I use the hand sanitizer outside every patient door.

Most of the sinks are in patient rooms, and if a patient is on contact isolation, I want to wash my hands outside the room.

If I could design hospital floors and units, there would be many more conveniently located sinks outside the rooms. I think it would help increase handwashing.

[ChristyMNOP]

I use the hand sanitizer like its going out of style. Actual washing my hands with soap and water, probably 6-10 times a shift, more if I have an iso patient obviously. Always before and after eating, after using the restroom and after cleaning up a soiled bed. But honestly, I go through a lot of hand sanitizer.

[Drysolong]

How many times do you wash your hands during ONE Shift?

Do you wash your hands BEFORE working with a patient ?

Do you wash your hands AFTER working with a patient?

We all know handwashing is the best way to prevent spreading infection.

i am taking a poll to see how many nurses are dedicated to it.

I'm a dedicated hand washer with sanitizer and soap and water. sanitizer entering and exiting room, interspersing with soap and water often.

[kristenncrn]

Countless

Yes

Yes

:)