How children's nursing students can challenge hand hygiene practice

Earlier this year, as a first-year student children’s nurse, I attended training on infection prevention and control and hand hygiene audits, organised by a local trust.
During the audit, I observed that hand hygiene procedures were not always followed to the letter on busy wards. To my surprise I witnessed a member of staff challenging a more senior professional who had failed to follow hospital policy after being in contact with a patient.
It was a brave action to take, as it could have resulted in serious, negative consequences. In this case the senior health professional expressed thanks for being reminded. This situation demonstrated to me that hand hygiene techniques must become commonplace for all professionals.
Educating childrenOn placement, I have used the ABCD song to show children how long they need to spend washing their hands. Afterwards children who had
...Want to read more?
Unlock full access to RCNi Plus today
Save over 50% on your first three months:
- Customisable clinical dashboard featuring 200+ topics
- Unlimited online access to all 10 RCNi Journals including Nursing Children and Young People
- RCNi Learning featuring 180+ RCN accredited learning modules
- NMC-compliant RCNi Portfolio to build evidence for revalidation
- Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests

This article is not available as part of an institutional subscription. Why is this?
