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I'm watching my nursing skills DVD's that were assigned before I start class, and I've noticed that none of the nurses or students wash their hands - at all. They only use Purell.
Is this simply product placement? Do nurses wash their hands in a hospital/clinical setting? I know Purell is supposed to kill germs, but it surprises me a little that soap and water are never, ever used on these videos.
I come from a family with mild OCD about these types of things. Am I overreacting?
It literally impossible to only wash your hands according to guidelines. Hand sanitizer makes it more realistic. You are supposed to wash before and after just pushing a button on a pump. Even after you use gloves. If you don't use sanitizer, then you are either skating or washing 500 times a day.
Foam in, foam out. That is our motto. If the patient has a certain bacteria that can't be killed with hand sanitizer (the endospores, such as C diff) the the hand sanitizer is usually take down outside that room and you must wash your hands. I only was my hands if there are gross contaminants or before I leave the floor to eat lunch, take a break, or leave for the day.
springchick1, ADN, RN
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