The Proper Handwashing Technique

The Proper Hand Washing Technique:

A Successful Healthcare Initiative

Kandyce Livingston

American Intercontinental University

Abstract

The following research presents an argument for the use of the proper hand washing technique among healthcare workers. The writings will explain how to properly perform the hand washing technique as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure effectiveness. Also, an explanation of hand sanitizing will be presented. In addition to these two points, a discussion takes place showing why it is important to use the proper hand washing technique as a way to prevent the spread of illness and infection among healthcare workers and patients. And, finally, the essay will show some of the different types of infections and viruses that can be prevented by using the technique of proper hand washing.

The Proper Hand Washing Technique:

A Successful Healthcare Initiative

Look at any pair of hands and what do you see? Do you see anything or nothing at all? Or can you only see the lines that create your hand print? When most people take a good look at their hands, they just see two ordinary hands. The problem with this is that the hands carry so much more than just a hand print. They carry dirt, germs, bacteria, infections, illnesses, and so much more. Now, just imagine what you might find on a healthcare worker's hand. In the healthcare industry, the only number one way to ensure clean hands is to have properly washed hands. In order to protect healthcare workers, patients, other hospital personnel, and guests as well as to help prevent the spread of infection and illness, top healthcare professionals are pushing for preventative healthcare initiatives, such as the proper hand washing technique. The proper hand washing technique has the potential to become one of the most successful preventative healthcare initiatives among healthcare workers and in hospitals and other facilities nationwide. However, this can only be made possible if healthcare workers know how to perform the correct hand washing technique to ensure effectiveness as well as the difference between hand sanitizing and hand washing. In addition, workers need to have a clear and solid understanding of why it is so important to properly wash their hands as well as what kinds of illnesses, infections, germs, and bacteria can prevented and possibly eliminated through the use of the proper hand washing technique.

In an article titled "Hand-hygiene compliance...there's the rub," Susan Cantrell states "there's a lot on our hands we can't see and if spelled out in ink, one might see diarrhea, vomiting, cold virus, flu, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), Clostridium-difficile, and much more" (2010, p. 28). How would you feel if you could see all of these things written on your hands? The bottom line is that the hands and the germs that are carried on the hands can make anyone sick. In the editorial "Washing hands to save lives," it says "In the U.S., only forty percent of hospital staff wash their hands after treating each patient" (www.timescolonist.com, 2011, November). Because of outrageous statistics like this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed specific hand washing guidelines for healthcare workers to follow to ensure the effectiveness of clean, washed hands. As found on the CDC website (www.cdc.gov, 2011), healthcare workers need to wet both hands with clean running water, warm or cold, and apply a generous amount of soap. Then, the hands should be rubbed together to create a soapy lather and scrubbed well. Here, the CDC puts a special emphasis on scrubbing the backs of both hands, in between each and every finger, as well as under each fingernail. Also recommended by the CDC, the scrubbing should continue for at least a minimum of twenty seconds. A person can keep track of their scrubbing time by singing or humming the "Happy Birthday" song twice (www.cdc.gov, 2011). Once this step is complete, both hands needs to be rinsed well, again under clean running water. Then, without turning off the faucet, the CDC says to dry both hands using a dry, single-use towel or by allowing the hands to air dry. Finally, the running water should be turned off using the single-use towel but only after the hands are dry. This is to prevent the hands from being contaminated again by touching the dirty faucet. To put this point into perspective, Sheree Smith (Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2009, p. 786) says it best in stating "It seems that if hand washing is important in containing infections and/or preventing their spread in primary care and community settings, the hand washing technique may play a crucial role."

So, if hand washing is so important to healthcare workers and others in the healthcare industry, what is hand sanitizing? And, is hand sanitizing effective? Hand sanitizing is the use of antiseptic agents to cleanse the hands when soap and water are unavailable (George, 2010). These agents are used as a way to prevent and protect a person, in this case healthcare workers and patients, from the passage of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that can cause infections. Hand sanitizing is considered a good alternative to hand washing with soap and water; however, it does not eliminate all types of germs like hand washing. For hand