We've all been taught the importance of washing our hands since we were kids. And when we got to nursing school, the importance was stressed even more. I don't know about you, but antibacterial soap and water is all we had when I hit the floor as a brand new nurse. Heck....we didn't even use gloves unless we were doing "sterile procedures", which did not include the handling of bodily fluids.
Now, we have even more options for protecting ourselves and others from those nasty germs that are waiting to infect us. One almost feels naked these days without donning gloves as well as appropriate PPE.
In spite of all the various types of PPE, we can all pretty much agree that frequent use of appropriate hand hygiene is the basis of protecting everyone involved.....whether or not they work in healthcare.
There has been debate over the years about the effectiveness of hand washing vs. sanitizers when it comes to infection control in hospitals and other healthcare settings. Studies conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) found that health care workers follow hand washing guidelines as set forth by the CDC only about 40 % of the time. It is common sense that sanitizers are more convenient for the healthcare team, and thus would help in increasing compliance. But do we know how to use hand sanitizers effectively? How long must we rub our hands together for the gel to do their deed of sanitizing? Is a squirt and go method enough?
Research presented June 18, 2016 at ASM Microbe 2016 (a meeting for the American Society for Microbiology and the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy) recommended that in order to kill bacteria, you need to rub for at least 15 to 30 seconds. There is no gain in effectiveness for rubbing longer than 30 seconds.
How many of your workplaces have a policy for hand hygiene?
Are there any punitive actions taken if you don't comply?
We have policies for certain things we have to wash for. Like, physically wash our hands. For the most part, it's foam in and out though. I hate that honestly. The alcohol foam leaves a film on my hands so I honestly wash after 3-4 foams.
I feel gross with that film on my hands. We do have to scrub for at least 15 seconds on hands.
Oooh I abhor that foam. It feels nasty. I do not like most alcohol sanitizers either. The only one I like is genuine Purrell. But I only use it if no other option: I prefer plain soap and water.
I always wonder about the efficacy of washing ones hands IN the patients room? Its good to see comments by other healthcare staff in this thread. The light switches, many of which are not automatic/faucets and/or sink are used in various ways throughout a shift, by several personnel and there is no cleaning going on throughout the shift of the faucet/sink.
I am not super germ-phobic, but I try to go and rewash my hands in another employee sink, after assisting with various patients on contact precautions. I also wash my hands with non-anti-bacterial liquid soap after two to three uses of the in/out alcohol-based sanitizer pumps, which per our facility policy, we must use.
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
I always wonder about the efficacy of washing ones hands IN the patients room? Its good to see comments by other healthcare staff in this thread. The light switches, many of which are not automatic/faucets and/or sink are used in various ways throughout a shift, by several personnel and there is no cleaning going on throughout the shift of the faucet/sink.
Didn't anyone teach you to turn off the faucet with the paper towel after you dry your hands off?
My hospital includes hand washing in educational videos, have posters everywhere, hand sanitizer pumps and stations set up all over the units and also have infection control folks sneaking around watching out for compliance. I was shocked to learn that they " caught" 4 out of 10 nurses NOT washing their hands, just simply donning gloves and then pitching them, no hand washing and moving on to the next patient. I am so busy most days that I nearly wet myself before I can get a restroom break but I ALWAYS wash my hands!! No excuse is good enough not to do it.
Adele_Michal7, ASN, RN
893 Posts
Oooh I abhor that foam. It feels nasty. I do not like most alcohol sanitizers either. The only one I like is genuine Purrell. But I only use it if no other option: I prefer plain soap and water.