Dr. Susan Shaw practices intensive care medicine in a hospital in Saskatoon and also chairs the province's Health Quality Council. She understands the importance of hand hygiene as well as anyone in the world. Yet, when her daughter was being treated in a hospital, Susan noticed: "I didn’t see anyone wash their hands before or after they cared for my daughter."
She continues:
And I couldn’t get out the words “Excuse me, would you please wash your hands for us?” I’ve thought long and hard about why I didn’t say anything.
Read further to see her explanation and offer your own thoughts on the matter. Susan asks:
Have you as a patient ever asked a healthcare worker to wash their hands? What did it feel like and what was the response? Have you, as a healthcare worker, ever been asked to wash your hands by a patient? How did it feel? What did you learn?
She continues:
And I couldn’t get out the words “Excuse me, would you please wash your hands for us?” I’ve thought long and hard about why I didn’t say anything.
Read further to see her explanation and offer your own thoughts on the matter. Susan asks:
Have you as a patient ever asked a healthcare worker to wash their hands? What did it feel like and what was the response? Have you, as a healthcare worker, ever been asked to wash your hands by a patient? How did it feel? What did you learn?