Do You Know Where Your Stethoscope Has Been?

“It’s too time-consuming.” “It gets in the way of patient care.” “Who’s going to pay for it?” “Oh no, not another change!”

These were all of the protests issued when gloves were implemented as a critical part of patient universal care for infection control. However, when it comes to patient safety and infection control, barrier protection trumps relying on handwashing compliance every time. Ultimately, implementation is more reliable in protecting both the patient and the healthcare worker from vectors of infection and helps drive down the cost of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

For 24 years as a nurse, I have been privileged to work with some of the best doctors, nurses and healthcare workers around. Let’s face it, the very nature of this profession draws the helpful and giving hearts who want to make the world a better place. But one thing I consistently observe is that in our fervor to serve our patients and quickly attend to their needs, we rarely have the time to stop and clean our stethoscopes with alcohol in between patients. This is not an insult to my co-workers; it is the reality and perhaps, the best kept secret of our profession.