6 Quick Hand Hygiene Facts

Hello Caring for You Members,

Below is a little light reading for you in regards to “Hand Hygiene” education.

Please know that the educational blogs that you read on the C4U website can also contribute towards your accumulation of CPD points.

Hand hygiene is crucial for healthcare professionals.

Ø  Hand hygiene prevents and minimises the transmission of Healthcare Associated Infections spreading among our community and hospital healthcare settings.

Ø “5 Moments for Hand Hygiene” was developed by “The World Health Organisation” (WHO), in response to identifying the key moments for hand hygiene to be performed. You will no doubt see these posters around your healthcare setting. The posters are easy to identify and learn.

Ø Healthcare professionals are to wash their hands with water and soap, or soap solutions when their hands are visibly soiled. When they are not visibly soiled then Alcohol Based Hand Rub (ABHR’s) is the product of choice.

Ø Application of 1-2 squirts of ABHR takes 10 -15 seconds, drying within 15 - 20 secs. 

Ø ABHR must only be applied to dry hands. Wet hands dilute the solution and therefore decrease effectiveness.

Ø There is no maximum number of times that ABHR can be used before hands need to be washed with soap and water (unless the hands are visibly dirty or contaminated (for example, blood and other bodily fluids).

Look forward to exploring more healthcare topics with you all.

If you have a suggestion in regards to a topic that you believe other members would love to read about also, please don’t hesitate to email me

laurenm@caringforyou.net.au

Kind Regards

Lauren McIver

Nurse Educator (C4U)

Food Handling and Safety Training

Hello,

Welcome to Caring for You and our official first Nurse Educator journal entry. Topics and information relating to nursing and education from a Caring for You perspective will be the center of this blog.

Firstly, to introduce myself – I’m Lauren McIver and I have been a practicing Registered Nurse for 15 years, working in both the acute and aged care nursing sectors.

I was recently privileged enough to become the “Nurse Educator” with Caring for You.

Recently I delivered an education session to staff at a care facility in Melbourne, focusing on the topic of “Food Handling and Safety.”

Rira Cassarino, Ally Vlahek, and Corinna Maule during Food Handling & Safety Training.

Although this is not a common topic delivered by nurse educators to date, it was surprising to learn the number of nurses who are involved within the daily task of managing food.

It became apparent that within all the roles a nurse encompasses, “food handling and safety” should be a priority on the list. Cross contamination and education regarding the obligations of a food handler are of vital importance to every health care establishment.

Our education session covered the importance of possessing knowledge relating to cross contamination, hand hygiene, food storage, identifying a potentially hazardous food, bain-maries, and policies and procedures for reporting hazards.

The group expressed dismay at learning that in the right conditions a single bacterium could multiply into more than 2 million bacteria within seven hours and that our hands are predominantly the leading cause of contamination.

The education session went for approximately 30 minutes. All staff who attended will be issued with a ‘Certificate of Attendance’, that adds value to their portfolio and contributes to their CPD points.

I look forward to writing about our next education topic, “hand hygiene”.