Safety First: Standard Precautions in the Operating Department.

Cicconi, Claypool, and Stevens managed a quality improvement project to record data of how effective and beneficial the recommended practice of double gloving during surgery. The purpose of their quality improvement project is to decrease the amount of possible pathogen to skin contact from punctured gloves, reduce the amount of sharps injuries in the operating room, and to create awareness for healthcare clinicians of any potential biohazards in the workplace. Before the start of their project, their data in the year of 2006 showed that there were 26 surgery exposures out of 61 total hospital exposures (42.6% total exposure).

As outlined in Crow et al (8) following the standard precautions in wound management is essential to protecting the patient and health care provider from contamination of microbes. Microbes are essentially everywhere, on the body and in the environment (8). They are often found on equipment in the hospitals, long term care facilities, clinical care settings and are easily carried on the hands of health care providers (8). Health care providers are known to be great reservoirs for resistant microbes such as methicillin-resistance S.aureus (MRSA) (8). Lack of understanding and adherence of the standard precautions, i.e. proper hand washing, pose risk for microbes to be transferred from patient to patient and to be introduced into a patient`s wound (11). The susceptibility to infection is also much higher in certain patient populations (immunosuppressed, elderly, nutritional impaired) despite the strength or pathogenicity of the microbes

Healthcare associated infections have an impact on patients - how? Can be prevented greatly with compliance to hand hygiene protocols (REF).

The topics discussed in the brochure was the main challenge faced by people of the community when ill and taking to the hospital. Most nurses will fail to perform hand hygiene in carrying out procedures like indwelling catheter, wound dressing and so on thereby introducing and adding to the problems of the patients by bringing in pathogens. Health care associated infections (HAIs) are a major patient safety issue, resulting in a significant level of morbidity and mortality in the United States each year (Allen, G., 2015, Pg

In the 1966 film, Fantastic Voyage, world famous scientist Jan Benes suffers a stroke after being attacked on his way to the United State Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces (CMDF) lab. He possesses vital information that the US needs in order to defeat the Soviet Union, so they put Benes into a coma to prevent his brain from hurting itself further. Dr. Peter Duval, the lead surgeon, informs Mr. Benes’s Secret Service handler that the injured part of Benes’s brain is located in an area that they cannot operate on without fatally injuring the man. Their only option is to shrink an expert team of four engineers and scientists, along with Mr. Benes’s Secret Service handler, down to microscopic size and inject them through Jan Benes’s carotid artery

Dirty hands is the common source of spreading infection. It is very important to keep hands clean to avoid getting infected and spreading infection in the community. It is important to wash hands to keep hands clean. There are two ways to keep hand clean, one way is wash hands with soap and warm water while rubbing hands together for minimum 15 to 30 seconds. Indication of washing hands with soap and water is when hands are visibly dirty, before and after eating, feeding, using the toilet, after coughing or sneezing, after using gloves, taking care of patients. There is also second way to clean hands, but it is advisable to wash hands with soap and water all the time, but it can ignore when soap and water is not available so it is okay to use hand gel or foam in the form of sanitizer. This helps to clean hands or kill germs when hands are not visibly dirty.

Infections are the most common complication following surgical procedures and are associated with significant morbidity, mortality and increased cost in health care (Anderson, 2014). As a nurse working in a surgical capacity this is a concern for the patients. Working for a general surgeon, surgical site infections are not commonly seen in the office, however, it remains one of the top concerns for the well-being of patients. Many evidence based studies are aimed at nurses who provide care for patients in the pre, peri, and post- operative periods. Perioperative nurses prepare the skin for surgery to remove soil and microorganisms at the point of incision (Cowperthwaite & Holm, 2015). Surgical site infections are easy to reduce given the proper guidelines for prevention. This includes skin antisepsis, and surgical hand hygiene and technique.

Health facility approved clean, freshly laundered surgical attire has been shown to aid in containing the shedding and dispersal of skin cells into the environment. Surgical site infections (SSI) has proven to be a major problem for both the hospital and patient. Because the human body is known to be reservoir for bacterial and other microorganism. The purpose of the surgical attire is to protect the patient and staff by maintaining a limited microbial spread. In order to maintain a clean environment and adhere to OSHA regulations, surgical attire must be

The patient will perform a self-care technique using proper infection control measures as it is essential for medical-surgical patient to practice and understand the skills needed to reduce the transmission of MRSA. Firstly, educate the client on maintaining a clean environment, and with MRSA, this means changing bedding, clothing and towels every day, and hand washing frequently. The nurse will teach the client how to perform self- care using proper infection control techniques. Secondly, the client will be instructed about cleaning the equipment using soap and water and disinfecting it with an appropriate disinfectant. The nurse will demonstrate proper hand hygiene to the client, explaining that it should be done when in contact with body

Hello Mary. I agree there is a need for increased fall education and patient safety awareness of staff. We play a vital role in patient safety and quality improvement. I believe that being a nurse is a constant learning, we learn as we practice. Nursing research helps us to bring forth more efficient nursing care. According to Beck and Polit, it is important to emphasize the clinical nursing research to guide nursing practice and to improve the health and quality of life of our patients (2012). Unfamiliar environment, illnesses, and treatment increase the risk of the patient for falls. We are restraint free in our long-term care unit. Staffs are always looking for alternatives to prevent falls such as medication changes, alarms, 1:1 sitter,

Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings provides healthcare workers and patients with a variety of resources to reduce the spread of diarrheal and respiratory illness. Also, the latest technological advances in hand hygiene measure. Healthcare workers are obligated to continue to use healthcare antiseptic products recommended by CDC and HICPAC infection control guidelines and consistent with institution policy

Handshaking is perhaps the most widely recognized of greetings worldwide. While the culture context of a handshake is warm and friendly gesture. The surface of a person hands harbor pathogens and act as vector for infection. This could lead to hospital-acquired infections, a “localized or systemic condition resulting from an adverse reaction to the presence of infectious agent(s) or its toxin(s)”, which can be potentially life-threatening problem (CDC, 2016). In attempt to prevent the spread of infection and hospital-acquired infections many recommendations and polices have been put in place on proper hand hygiene

As we all know, patient safety in a healthcare setting is extremely important and is to be taken very seriously. This is a very challenging topic with any healthcare establishment, because people do make errors and it’s only human. It is everybody’s job within the facility, hospital, or any healthcare setting to work on making sure that the safety of every patient that enters and leaves their building is safe. We want patients to feel safe and confident when they have to go to the hospital for a procedure, or even to a skilled nursing facility to have rehabilitation or to eventually stay long term.

Sterile conditions is important when working in patients rooms or using the instruments when caring for wounds or surgery. The Aseptic technique is used to keep patients free from hospital micro-organisms as much as possible. While working in patients rooms with open wounds make sure that you are using good hygienic practice. Hand washing, the use of PPE, and sterile instruments are a must to reduce the spread of infections. Autoclaving is used to sterilize the instruments, but if they are disposable discard after one use in the proper manner.

Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) affect over 1.7 million patients each year, causing almost 100,000 deaths annually in the United States alone (Johnson, 2010). According to the World Health Organization, HAIs are the most frequent adverse event in the healthcare industry. Fortunately, most of these infections can be prevented with one single intervention, proper hand hygiene (“The Evidence,” n.d.). Four out of five pathogens that cause illness are spread by direct contact. Proper hand hygiene eliminates these pathogens and helps to prevent cross-contamination and HAIs (Linton, 2015; “Hand Hygiene,” n.d.). Reduction of cross-contamination and HAIs improves patient