I knew the topic for this week’s Talk Clean To Me blog would
be about Hand Hygiene, after all May 5th is World Hand Hygiene
Day. I had planned to share links to the
hand
hygiene videos that I found most entertaining – you know all those videos
that facilities have been creating as an entertaining way to get people to
realize just how important washing your hand is? The intent behind these are of course to
create a clear, compelling and hopefully memorable message that resonates with
the viewer so that they will take action and become part of the Clean Hands
Coalition.
It would be fun. It
would be cute.
This morning I came in as I do each morning, a little
earlier than most to have some quiet time and set myself up for the day. As is my morning ritual, I scan the various
news feeds and chat groups I follow, read a few articles, and check out what’s
going on in the world. This morning, an
article popped up from a colleague. It
was a heartfelt article about how he almost lost his mom to a Vancomycin-resistant
Enterococci (VRE) infection. It made me realize that fun and cute was not
working. Fun and cute, while well
intended, was not getting a clear, compelling and memorable message across
about the importance
of hand hygiene. It made me wonder
if we’ve become numb to the
stats that are spewed almost daily about HAIs. It made me wonder if we have become too
laissez-faire when it comes to hand hygiene and its impact on the health and
welfare of those around us. Those that
our jobs directly impact and those that our actions can directly harm.
The definition of laissez-faire is the practice or doctrine
of non-interference in the affairs of others, especially with reference to
individual conduct or freedom of action.
How frequently do you tip toe around your colleagues? How frequently have you seen firsthand
someone not wash their hands before an aseptic technique? How frequently have your witnessed someone
wash their hands only to contaminate them by touching a surface before
providing patient care? I know I
have. I know that I have kept quiet
because I was in the room observing how it was being cleaned but saw firsthand
a nurse perform an aseptic technique after her gloves were on and after she had
touched numerous surfaces.
I’m Canadian. We’re
known to be nice. We’re known to be
polite. Perhaps it’s time to
change. Perhaps it’s time to drop our
laissez-faire attitude and get right up in the face of those you see do
something wrong.
Thanks Rick
for the heartfelt article. Thanks
for being the inspiration to look at things differently. This may not be the most “clear, compelling
and memorable” blog I’ve written, but you can be darn sure the next time I see
someone not wash their hands and put a patient in risk, I’m going to call you
out on it and if I offend you, then so be it!
To quote the lyrics of the Dixie Chicks “I’m not ready to be nice,
I’m not ready to back down.”
Bugging Off!
Nicole
