DEEPA BASNET M1919372 RJ1

Reflective Journal 1

Name: Deepa Basnet

Student ID: M1919372

Class: 20NAEPIQC1B

Course Unit: Unit 1 NNS5806 (Nursing & The Health Care System In Australia)

Coure Coordinator: Navjot Chinna

Topic: Hand washing

Due date:31/01/2020

Word Count: 253

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Description

I work in neurosurgical ward as assistant nurse. During very busy time of the day, after

following proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for infected patient, I used to escape

handwashing. One of the patients told me that she got paralyzed due to Healthcare-associated

Infection (HAI). She was earlier admitted to hospital with no infection. Postoperatively, one

of the nurses while doing her dressing, did not do proper handwashing after caring an infected

patient and hence transmitted the infection. The infection later spread through hip until spine

and patient was paralyzed.

Feeling

I regret escaping handwashing. I realised that not practicing hand hygiene can affect other

patient’s quality of life.

Evaluation

I was alarmed by this, as I believed that after following PPE, there was no chances of

infection transmission. My presumptions were made strong after watching other nurses

avoiding handwashing.

Analysis

I learnt from the incident, the importance of handwashing according to hospital’s

guideline of 5 moments of handwashing for better compliance (Al Ra’awji, Almogbel,

Alharbi, Alotaibi, Al-Qazlan & Saquib, 2018).

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Conclusion

One of the major reasons for high morbidity and mortality among patients is HAI due to

poor hand hygiene (Jemal, 2018). By following proper hand washing techniques, HAI can be

significantly decreased (Sickbert-Bennett, DiBiase, Willis, Wolak, Weber & Rutala, 2016).

Hence, I would follow proper hand hygiene in future.

Action Plan

In future, I would always abide by the policies and procedures of hospital in terms of

hand hygiene. I will also encourage other staffs to improve hand washing practices.

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References

Al Ra’awji, B. A., Almogbel, E. S., Alharbi, L. A., Alotaibi, A. K., Al-Qazlan, F. A., & Saquib,

J. (2018). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of health-care workers regarding hand

hygiene guidelines in Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia: A multicenter study. International

journal of health sciences, 12(2), 3. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5870328/

Jemal, S. (2018). Knowledge and Practices of Hand Washing among Health Professionals in

Dubti Referral Hospital, Dubti, Afar, Northeast Ethiopia. Advances in preventive

medicine, 2018. Retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/apm/2018/5290797/

Sickbert-Bennett, E. E., DiBiase, L. M., Willis, T. M. S., Wolak, E. S., Weber, D. J., & Rutala,

W. A. (2016). Reduction of healthcare-associated infections by exceeding high

compliance with hand hygiene practices. Emerging infectious diseases, 22(9), 1628.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994356/