So.....the infection control nurse busted me.....

BostonTerrierLover, BSN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

Lol, there's a bunch of infection control nurses out there that could freak out a nazi gastapo guru!! Lol! It's good that their so passionate about what they do. If a hand was truly washed on everytime they recommended, we would have to sleep with our hands covered in Boudreaux's Butt Paste every night. I use common sense, gloves, and santirub!

I wash before any patient contact. But I'm here to tell the truth, or I would be wasting time. If I walk into a room and it requires contact, or touching ANYTHING connected to them, then yes, I will wash right there in front of them. If we followed everytime they recommend, we would have some raisin pruny hands.

Before Touching a patient

Before leaving a room

Before leaving the floor

Entering the floor/care area

After eating

After smoking

After bathroom

After touching face

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

When you consider the number of nosocomial infections that patients get every year, how insurance companies including Medicare are starting to refuse payment to hospitals for treating nosocomial infections, and because of that how most if not all facilities are striving to get that nosocomial infection rate down to zero...you can understand why they are fanatic about this. A nosocomial infection is basically the hospital's fault.

Neverminding how hand-washing is the best way to prevent the spread of germs, both in real-world nursing as well as the ivory tower nursing world of NCLEX.

When you're a nurse--and based on your prior posts you aren't yet one--you can do whatever you like as it's your job and license on the line. But if you want to get to the point of becoming a nurse, then you should follow your clinical site's policy no matter whether you think of them. Students have been failed for such "little" things.

So you got busted, and rightfully so. Learn from it. Remember to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer every time. Or if you're in a place where there aren't many wall-mounted sanitizer units around, carry a pocket-sized bottle of hand sanitizer with you...any generic unscented one from CVS or Walgreens is fine--fragranced ones are nice but those scents can be stronger than perfume.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

Does this policy seem a little excessive? It doess to me......

Did she write up the incident? If she did not, you say, "Thank you" and send her on her way.

If she did write you up, then your facility is doing extremely well on infection control to have her spend time sending your infraction up the chain.

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

i strongly believe that you got the point from the above posts, therefore, i won't lecture you about your own safety in this manner...so i shall leave you with this quote "some pages turned, some bridges burned, but there were lessons learned" aloha~

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

My pts (in a quad room) were all sleeping and I stepped into the entry way into their room to take a peak and check on them. This was not an infection control room.
The infection control nurse comes up from behind and asks if I washed my hands before leaving the room. I said no, I did not really go in to the room and I did not touch anything.
She says, well you just violated policy. You are to wash your hands before leaving a patients room.
Now I know that bacteria are wiley, tricky, sneaky and devious organisms but I never knew they could jump 30 ft and purposefully land on my hands.......
We do not have the hand sanitizer at every door. To wash we must use the sink, soap, paper towels the whole nine yards..........
Does this policy seem a little excessive? It does to me......

You can never wash your hands enough. I keep and sanitizer in my pocket.

deftonez188 · Apr 20, 2012

All of the hospitals I've worked at had alcohol solution dispensers inside/outside rooms. These are typically less harsh on your skin, and are great unless your hands are visibly soiled (need washing then).

Teacher Sue · Apr 20, 2012

No this policy is not excessive. It's not just about the hospital's financial health, it's about protecting your patients. No one goes into healthcare with the intention of making people sicker, but that is what we often do. How would you feel if you knew a patient developed an infection because you carried microorganisms from one room to another? Several years ago, our hospital was 50% above the national benchmark for nosocomial infections. Through education, auditing of staff, and aggressive enforcement, our rate is now 50% below national benchmarks. Several units have not had a single hospital acquired infection in over a year.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Apr 20, 2012

Before Touching a patient
Before leaving a room
Before leaving the floor
Entering the floor/care area
After eating
After smoking
After bathroom
After touching face

To this I would add BEFORE eating and using the bathroom....

Also, after touching anybody's hair (including your own), after blowing your nose, after wiping a patient's face or touching anything s/he has touched (bed rail, overbed table, food tray etc.) and certainly after picking up something off the floor.

Teacher Sue · Apr 20, 2012

And BTW, every room is an infection control room.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

It might be excessive, however, imagine the following situation:

You don't use hand sanitizer before you enter the room, knowing you're just going to peek in at your patients. When you look in, you see one of the patients- a very unstable woman- getting up from bed and about to fall. If you don't run to her immediately she will fall.

Hospitals have a wash-in, wash-out policy because you just don't know what you might have to touch on the way in or out. The door handle, the countertop of the nurse's station, the chart, the curtain separating the beds, the wall that you steady yourself against, etc. There can be germs on all these places that you don't even think about. Even if you don't intend on touching a patient, you might find yourself in a situation where you can't prevent it.

It sounds like the infection control nurse was reminding you of policy. That's her job. Sometimes your workplace will have policies you don't agree with, don't like, or think are unnecessary. If you want to avoid disciplinary action and keep your job, you'll follow policy. When it's something as simple as using hand sanitizer before your enter or leave a room, it's hardly worth worrying about.

tokmom, BSN, RN · Apr 20, 2012

Nope it's not excessive at all. If you gel in and out it will become a habit. If you think it's ok now, one day you will think it's ok to not gel in to fix a beeping pump, mark on the whiteboard etc.. It's gotta be an all or nothing thing IMO.