Show Me the Science
Name the most common bacteria living on your hands that is part of your normal flora and designed to protect you.
What is Staphylocococcus epidermidis?
Acting as a role model to others by performing hand hygiene as appropriate demonstrates this Our Best Begins with Me theme.
What is Shadow of Influence?
This is why when your hands are visibly soiled hand washing with soap and water is recommended.
What is because hand washing with soap and water physically removes the soil (proteins) from your hands.
Hand hygiene is the third most effective way to prevent the spread of infection in our organization.
What is False: It is the #1 way to prevent infection everywhere!?
20-30 seconds. Until the product is completely dry.
What is how long it should take for perform hand hygiene with hand rub?
Bacteria can live on surfaces for up to 2-3 hours! Name some common bacteria found on doorknobs, keyboards, and tables in the environment.
What are E. coli, Salmonella, and Staph aureus?
Taking ownership for performing hand hygiene appropriately upon each and every opportunity for it demonstrates this OBBWM theme
What is Accountability?
Viruses can be transferred from a smooth dry surface to another person or object up to this many minutes after landing there.
What is 20 minutes?
It does not matter what job title you have in the organization, you are still the best person to try to prevent infection by doing hand hygiene.
What is True: Every one encounters different opportunities for hand hygiene and at different rates but each is just as important as the next?
40-60 seconds.
What is how long it should take to perform hand hygiene with soap and water?
Name the man who in 1846 provided the first evidence indicating that cleansing contaminated hands with antiseptics may reduce the transmission of contagious disease better than just plain soap and water.
Who is Ignaz Semmelweis?
When you consider the hand hygiene audit data for your unit or across the hospital and how it impacts patient safety and outcomes you are demonstrating this OBBWM theme.
What is Role of Thought?
List the steps in hand washing with soap and water.
What are Wet, Lather, Rub, Rinse, Dry?
Studies show that moist or wet hands and/or surfaces are more likely to transfer germs.
What is True: Our hands, patients' skin, and fabrics are more likely to pass germs if not clean and dried appropriately?
The soap used suspends dirt and soil. The friction used pulls soil free from skin. The running water washes away soil and germs trapped within it. The drying with friction actually removes more germs.
What is how hand washing with soap and water actually works to clean our hands?
An average person, including us as health care workers and patients, too, shed up to 30,000-40,000 skin cells an hour - that is nearly 1 million per day - which spread to our immediate surroundings. List some common items in a patient room that could harbor a pateint's normal bacteria providing a source of potential transmission of those organisms and more.
What are patient gown and linens, bed and its parts (rails), bedside table, call light, TV remote, and telephones?
Gracefully receiving a well intentioned SNAP reminder and expressing feedback for it while performing hand hygiene demonstrates this OBBWM theme.
What is Listening or Appreciation?
List the steps in using hand sanitizer.
What are Apply, Rub, Dry?
Dress Code policy states guidelines for the number of rings allowed.
What is True: The dress code policy does state no more than 2 rings per hand. It also states that jewelry must not pose a potential safety (infectious) concern?
Flammable ingredient found in hand sanitizers.
What is alcohol at 60%?
Our skin is one of the body's largest organs made up 3 basic layers: superficial, epidermis, and dermis. Those layers are colonized with certain normal bacteria to protect us. Those bacteria can be called resident or transient. Resident normally resides in the deeper layers and are resistant to removal. Transient normal flora is more superficial and amenable hand hygiene. This type is more likely acquired in the patient care environment but can also be removed and prevent an health care associated infection.
What are transient bacteria?
Providing a co-worker with a SNAP reminder and hoping they understand is you acting with this OBBWM theme in mind.
What is Positive Intent?
Provide a few examples of how some specialized areas of healthcare require even more attention to hand hygiene. Such areas may include surgery and the neonatal intensive care unit.
What are: NICU requires a daily one minute hand wash into the unit using CHG soap and staff self time themselves for compliance using a timer at the unit entrance. The surgery department requires all sterile team members perform a surgical hand scrub. They also cannot wear jewelry, must clean under their fingernails, and must clean high up onto their forearms. ?
Use of gloves replaces the need for hand hygiene.
What is False: Gloves provide a barrier but can fail and do not replace the need for hand hygiene. It is possible to contaminate your hands in the process or removing gloves.?
This is the standard method for hand hygiene with and for any patient with unformed stools.
What is using soap and water?