Hand-washing. It might not seem like something that should be taught in college, but it’s a… Hand-washing. It might not seem like something that should be taught in college, but it’s a lesson that Pitt’s medical school stresses to its students, who will come in contact with diseases on a regular basis.

Despite the many precautions health care workers take, hospitals can be places where people catch infections.

‘[Registered nurses] have too many patients to take care of,’ said Patricia Eakin, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. ‘I’ve seen people cut corners.’

Eakin has been a registered nurse since 1976.

She said that even though she makes a vigilant effort to stave off infection and encourages others to do the same, over the years she has seen other nurses neglect this responsibility.

Hand hygiene, a broad category that includes hand-washing, glove-wearing and the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer, is sometimes ignored when health care workers are pressed for time.

Eakin said, ‘Maintaining a safe environment for patients is extremely important. We want to do everything we can to make the hospital a safe environment.’

Dr. John Mahoney, a dean at Pitt’s medical school, said hand-washing is the most effective way to fight infection.

Mahoney, who oversees the development of the medical school’s curriculum, said students are taught the proper hand-washing techniques before they enter their first lab at the opening of the medical school and in the context of a specific course concerning patient care.

Dr. Elizabeth Wettick, medical director of Pitt’s Student Health Center, also stressed the importance of the prevention of the spread of infection between staff members and students.

‘All the staff here are extremely diligent about sanitation and cleanliness,’ said Wettick in an e-mail. ‘I believe we are extremely aware and conscientious about the issues.’

Wettick said good hand-washing practices are No. 1 in importance when it comes to preventing the spread of infection.

As such, examination table paper is changed between patients, and an anti-bacterial solution is used if body fluid is present.

The application of these infection control techniques, however, depends in large part on the initiative of the medical professionals themselves.

Mahoney also said that even though not everyone is perfect, and though, on occasion, medical professionals fail to live up to the rigorous standards of infection control, he has seen an important shift in the medical environment.

‘The culture has changed so that a nurse can say to a doctor, ‘Why haven’t you washed your hands?” said Mahoney.

Mahoney explained that in the past, nurses would rarely confront doctors on the topic. However, infection prevention is now recognized as a priority of the health care system.

‘We are much more effective at preventing infections than we are at treating them,’ said Mahoney.

Mahoney said technology has also fueled the change. He explained that alcohol-based hand sanitizer has only been around for about 18 years.

‘If you can just turn to the right and get a little squirt [of hand sanitizer], it makes everything a lot easier,’ said Mahoney.

He explained that this convenience is greatly beneficial in getting medical professionals to follow infection-control techniques.

Wettick also noted that hand sanitizer was conveniently located throughout the Student Health Center.

Mahoney stressed the importance of being a proactive patient.

‘It’s completely OK to ask [doctors] to wash their hands,’ said Mahoney.

Maria Legato, a student at Pitt, recently dropped a table on her foot and had to get stitches under her toe.

She said she was pleased with the infection prevention techniques used by the medical personnel who treated her.

‘Every time a doctor was going to be touching my foot, they washed their hands and put new gloves on,’ said Legato in an e-mail. ‘I also noticed a Purell dispenser next to the door that anyone who entered the room would use before leaving.

They opened new sterile gauze and instruments when needed and threw away bloody gauze in a red trash can.

At the doctor’s office, they washed their hands and opened up a package of instruments if they were needed.’