Hello, I'm Mike from Surgtech Academy and today I'm going to review the basic
hand wash. The basic hand wash is the most important practice in reducing
healthcare associated infections. How do we do that or really what's the purpose
of the basic hand wash. Well it is to remove visible debris and transient
microorganisms from the fingernails hands and forearms. It also decreases
those deeper and hard-to-get resident microorganisms and to inhibit the growth
of all microorganisms. Now a good question is when should we wash our
hands. And the quickest answer is to make sure you wash your hands before and
after everything you do. Alright, the long answer is wash your
hands before and after you leave the department, when entering and leaving the
operating room, before and after opening supplies, before and after eating, before
and after going to the restroom, before and after patient care, before and after
opening supply.. I may have missed a couple of circumstances but I think you
get the picture. Just do it before and after everything we do. Next we have to
assemble our equipment. Luckily sinks, soap, and paper towels are located all
over the place. Make sure we're not wearing any jewelry. And surgical
technologists we do live by two universal truths, no jewelry and no
pretty nails for the rest of our lives. Be sure to check your hospital policy
but AORN says that nails have to be less than a quarter of an inch and that
polish is okay as long as it's not chipped and this tends to happen about
four days. Now, for my students and to anybody else who will listen, my rule is
that no polish and no nails should be visible when you're looking at them from
behind because anything less or more than that, it's gonna tear your gloves.
Alright the process, we're gonna turn on the water. The optimal temperature is
about 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit and this prevents any type of dermatitis.
But let's be honest in the winter it's a little hotter in the summer
it's a little cooler. So although my so next we ought to wet our hands.
After we wet our hands we get some soap. I like to work up a quick lather. Now, the
basic rule is we need to wash our hands for at least 15 seconds and to make sure
we rub all of our surfaces. The method we use here at Surgtech Academy is we do
three palm strokes, three rotary strokes, three interlacing strokes, three wrist
strokes, and three nail strokes. And it looks like this.
Once we've washed her hands we rinse our hands from two inches above the wrists
down to the fingertips with our fingertips pointing down.
Turn off the water, grab a couple of paper towels, and slowly pat. Starting at
our fingertips and moving down to our wrists. Throw that away get a couple more.
Start at the fingertips, go down to the wrists. Now, if your hospital or clinic
still has the type of sinks that you need to turn off with the handle go
ahead and grab one more towel wrap it around your hand and turn off the faucet.
And that's it. We've just learned how to do a basic
hand wash. So Mike from Surgtech Academy wishing you a great day in
surgery and reminding you to be a superstar in your O.R.