Scrub-a Dub-Dub
Sing “Happy Birthday” twice while doing this.
What is washing your hands for 20 seconds?
The tiniest germ that needs a host to party.
What is a virus?
Hospitals love this chemical—it smells like a swimming pool.
What is bleach?
Negative pressure rooms are basically vacuums for this type of precaution.
What are airborne precautions?
Healthcare workers should get these annual shots to avoid spreading misery.
What are flu and COVID vaccines?
Hand sanitizer needs at least this much booze to be effective.
What is 60% alcohol?
This bacteria laughs at methicillin.
What is MRSA?
When cleaning equipment, staff must avoid this rookie mistake—using the same rag for the toilet and the tray table.
What is cross-contamination?
The three amigos of transmission-based precautions
What are contact, airborne, and droplet?
Germs love hanging out on these surfaces, so wipe them down like they owe you money.
What are high-touch surfaces (like doorknobs, bed rails, light switches)?
The #1 way germs hitch a ride from patient to patient.
What is on your hands?
This fungus is like the hipster of infections—it showed up recently, resists all the usual treatments, and insists on hanging out in hospitals where it’s “too underground to leave.”
What is Candida auris?
Wipes should stay wet long enough to kill germs, not just long enough to look busy.
What is contact time/dwell time?
Chickenpox patients are so special they get a combo meal of these two precautions.
What are airborne and contact precautions?
This practice ensures staff don’t bring germs home to their pets, kids, or Netflix binge sessions
What is changing out of scrubs before leaving work?
These latex fashion accessories don’t replace hand hygiene.
What are gloves?
This airborne germ makes you cough so hard, you feel like a Victorian novel character.
What is tuberculosis?
This color-coded bag is where infectious waste goes, not your lunch leftovers.
What is a red biohazard bag?
Airborne precautions require this mask, which makes you look like a duck but keeps you safe.
What is a fit tested N95 respirator or PAPR?
This term describes infections acquired in healthcare settings.
What are nosocomial infections?
The “Five Moments for Hand Hygiene” were invented by these global germ police.
What is WHO?
The CDC calls these infections one of the biggest threats to modern medicine
What are antibiotic-resistant infections?
This hospital department is often overlooked but is the backbone of infection prevention.
What is Environmental Services (EVS)?
These precautions apply to everyone, even your grandma.
What are standard precautions?
Infection control says this: “Keep them short, or you’re basically running a germ Airbnb.”
What are fingernails?