The procedure of double-gloving is often used when single-gloving is shown to be inefficient at protecting oneself and others. I, myself, have used this procedure in the laboratory while working with tuberculosis. Several studies trying to evaluate the benefits and problems of double-gloving have been conducted. These studies are very important because the safety of ourselves and others must be ensured.
One study evaluates the gloving procedure in the health care field in relation to virus transfer (Casanova, 2012). After the worldwide SARS outbreak, the CDC proposed a re-evaluation of PPE protocols to minimize patient exposure to infections. Casanova’s group states that CDC’s proposed protocol was “not empirically validated.” They suggest using model systems to develop this data. A previous study using a model system is cited and Casanova suggests alternatives to CDC’s protocol derived from the cited study. “One such alternative is double-gloving… When removing PPE, the outer pair of gloves is removed first, followed by the rest of the PPE items, and the inner pair of gloves is removed last” (Casanova, 2012). Casanova’s group used the model system to evaluate the viability of this double-gloving procedure. This study concluded that double-gloving does decrease the risk of disease transmission and suggests incorporating this into PPE procedures for health care workers.
Proper PPE use not only lowers transmission of disease, but can lower the risk of blood contact during surgery. A study has been performed to evaluate the use of double-gloving during surgery and its effect on dexterity and sensation (Fry, 2010). Fry defined sensitivity as “the ability to discriminate and interpret a stimulus applied to the fingertip” and manual dexterity as “the ability to move the fingers skillfully and to manipulate small objects with the fingers rapidly and accurately” (Fry, 2010). The Purdue Pegboard was used to evaluate the sensitivity and dexterity of volunteers using no gloves, one pair of gloves, and two pairs of gloves. Fry’s group concluded that double gloving has no significant impact on sensitivity and dexterity.
A study in Hong Kong also evaluates the use of double-gloving during surgery (Guo, 2012). This study fouses more on nurses instead of surgeons. They also focus more on glove perforation as opposed to sensitivity and dexterity. Guo states that “the purpose of our study was to assess the effectiveness of double-gloving in protecting perioperative nurses from having contact with patients’ blood and body fluids during surgery by comparing the frequency of glove perforation between single-gloving and double-gloving groups” (Guo, 2012).
Hinkle, J., Cheever, K., & , (2012). Textbook of medical-surgical nursing. (13 ed., pp. 586-588). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health
The term “safety comes first” or more simply put, “safety first,” is a message that patients not only want to hear, but also want to know is the focus of the professionals that are caring for them; in particular, when they are under anesthesia and have limited or no ability to speak up or lookout for themselves. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has implemented two initiatives; Rocognising and Responding Appropriately to Early Signs of Deterioration in Hospitalised Patients (NPSA, 2007) and How to Guide: Five Steps to Safer Surgery (NPSA, 2010). Understanding that human beings make up the healthcare professional workforce, it is evident that tools and checklist can and will only be as good as the how people utilize and follow them. Thus, these initiatives “have been developed with consideration of human factors” (Beaumont & Russell, 2012). I know firsthand, that if my healthcare team would have followed these standards, I would have avoided torture, fear, and long term side effects from a routine hysterectomy procedure.
“The CDC is the primary developer of national infection control and prevention guidelines, often in collaboration with its Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, which is responsible for research and dissemination of the latest information for preventing disease transmission” (Griffis, 2013, p. 175). Infection control will continue to be a topic of discussion as long as germ transmission is still happening. Among these studies is the concern the frequent nonadherence to contact precautions is a huge issue that many studies are still very concerned about (Jessee & Mion, 2013, p. 966). The writer is also concerned with the blatant disregard for hand hygiene that appears to be happening in the medical field. What about what is best for the patient. Do the people that do not use proper hand hygiene not understand how important it
"Preventing Exposures to Bloodborne Pathogens among Paramedics." Workplace Solutions (2010): n. pag. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
In our organization we have had many revisions to our safety process. Originally, it was at our hospital that the 1996 well known “Willy King” incident, about the amputation of the “wrong” leg occurred. As a response to the incident, we were required to develop a root-cause-analysis and develop a plan to avoid similar situations in the future. We were one of the first hospitals to establish a “safety process” in the surgical environment. Through inter-disciplinary collaborati...
The Ebola virus can be passed from one person into another by bodily contact. Airborne transmission of Ebola has not yet been confirmed, as there is no substantial evidence of this occurring. Researchers are still to this day observing the ways of transmission of this virus from one person to the next. In previous outbreaks, this infection has often occurred among hospital care workers or family members who were caring for an ill or dead person infected with the virus. Blood and body fluids contain large amounts of virus, thus transmission of the virus has also occurred as a result of hypodermic needles being reused in the treatment of patients. Under-financed health care facilities in countries such as Zaire, Gabon, and Sudan find reusing needles a common practice. This contributes the vast amount of fatalities of this virus in these cities.
Safety is a primary concern in the health care environment, but there are still many preventable errors that occur. In fact, a study from ProPublica in 2013 found that between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year suffer preventable harm in the hospital (Allen, 2013). Safety in the healthcare environment is not only keeping the patient safe, but also the employee. If a nurse does not follow procedure, they could bring harm to themselves, the patient, or both. Although it seems like such a simple topic with a simple solution, there are several components to what safety really entails. Health care professionals must always be cautious to prevent any mishaps to their patients, especially when using machines or lifting objects, as it has a higher
Safety is focused on reducing the chance of harm to staff and patients. The 2016 National Patient Safety Goals for Hospitals includes criteria such as using two forms of identification when caring for a patient to ensure the right patient is being treated, proper hand washing techniques to prevent nosocomial infections and reporting critical information promptly (Joint Commission, 2015). It is important that nurses follow standards and protocols intending to patients to decrease adverse
Recent research shows that, there are three major means by which infections can be transmitted and they include direct transmission, indirect transmission and airborne transmission (Hinman,Wasserheit and Kamb,1995). Direct transmission occurs when the physical contact between an infected person and s susceptible person takes place (division of public health, 2011). An example is a health care worker who attends to an Ebola patient, without gloves, gown and mask plus forget to wash his or her hand with soap and hot water and or a person having flu without the use of mask or washes his hand after sneezing easily passes the infection to the other through hand shake or surface touch, living the bacteria there for another vulnerable person to also touch if the surface is not disinfected with bleach. Studies makes it clear that, the spreads takes effect when disease-causing microorganisms pass from the infected person to the healthy person through direct physical contact such as touching of blood, body fluids, contact with oral secretion, bites kissing, contact with body lesions and even sexual contact. However, measles and chicken pox are said to be conditions spread by direct
The operating room is a place in the hospital where surgical operations are carried out in a sterile environment. When patients undergo surgery, their anxiety levels may vary. I have observed that the two patients who came in for robotics hernia repair were prepared for the surgery and their level of anxiety were not as pronounced. Their family members were with them and have provided them the support they needed. They were both calm and agreed to the surgical procedure with no doubt and were reassured by the staff that their safety is of utmost importance. The pre-surgery nurse, operating nurse and the post anesthesia care unit (recovery) nurse provided the patients with great level of assistance and education. Patients in the operating room were identified by age and the type of surgery they have to go through. Before the surgery, the patients were given one (1) gram of Ancef (cefazolin) which is an anti-infective indicated for perioperative prophylaxis (Davis, p. 284).
Health and Human Services. Pincock, T., Bernstein, P., Warthman, S. & Holst, E. (2012). Bundling Hand Hygiene interventions and measurement to decrease healthcare-associated infections. American Journal Of Infection Control, pp. 113-117.
(2014) shed light on two key components for infection control, which includes protecting patients from acquiring infections and protecting health care workers from becoming infected (Curchoe et al., 2014). The techniques that are used to protect patients also provide protection for nurses and other health care workers alike. In order to prevent the spread of infections, it is important for health care workers to be meticulous and attentive when providing care to already vulnerable patients (Curchoe et al., 2014). If a health care worker is aware they may contaminate the surroundings of a patient, they must properly clean, disinfect, and sterilize any contaminated objects in order to reduce or eliminate microorganisms (Curchoe et al., 2014). It is also ideal to change gloves after contact with contaminated secretions and before leaving a patient’s room (Curchoe, 2014). Research suggests that due to standard precaution, gloves must be worn as a single-use item for each invasive procedure, contact with sterile sites, and non-intact skin or mucous membranes (Curchoe et al., 2014). Hence, it is critical that health care workers change gloves during any activity that has been assessed as carrying a risk of exposure to body substances, secretions, excretions, and blood (Curchoe et al.,
The IC Model will be designed to prepare nurse faculty to teach clinical staff the fundamental principles of IPC focusing on the chain of infection (COI), transmission routes, standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, donning/doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE), and post-exposure management (PEM) procedures. The purpose of the IC Model is to provide faculty a comprehensive overview of IPC strategies based upon scientific evidence, which can be incorporate...
There were two scrub technicians. They prepared a clean and sterile field, before each case, dressed up in the ppe, and followed surgical asepsis precautions. Their main job while doing the procedure was to provide the surgeon with the materials in which were needed in an appropriate time manner. Before the surgery took place, the ST received a card of what type of supplies were needed, by the surgeon. When the surg...
Although the importance of aseptic technique has been continually reiterated, I have realised its substantial role in the perioperative environment. Aseptic technique refers to the practice of creating and maintaining a sterile environment used for sterile procedures (Laws, 2010a). This is incredibly important as repetitive minor breaches of the sterile environment is one of the major factors increasing the risk of surgical site infection (Harrop et al., 2012).