Loose in the real world again!

So, we've been let out of school and they've set us loose in the real world this week! This time I've actually been allowed to punch a needle into someone and see if they have blood in them! And yes, I was successful. We've been trained in how to draw capillary blood before, but this time we actually set the needle to skin and got entire blood samples! It wasn't half as scary as I thought, probably because I've mostly been angry that I haven't been ALLOWED to even try on another nurse, so when it finally happened, I was so stunned I didn't think too much - and hit the motherload on the first try. :)

On the microbiology side of things - I'm a bit shocked at how experienced nurses, with the wealth of knowledge they have on bacteriae, viruses and diseases, don't even use gloves when poking holes in people and drawing blood! Lots of the time, they don't even disinfect their hands between patients - and who knows what that patient had on his/her hands after their visit to the bathroom?!?! I admit that I might be a little overly cautious and too aware of the dangers in this world now, but I firmly believe that if you're working in a health facility you need to get real and see that you're not dealing with healthy people who can take minor infections without even noticing them, you're dealing with people who already have something to struggle with and who don't need more germs in their systems!

Shoot me at will if I'm wrong (I know I'm not), but it's a question of common curtesy to keep your hands clean - whether you work with sick people or not! Would YOU want to have poo on your hands after shaking someone else's hand??? Same thing with sneezing - snot - or picking your nose... Sure, do it if you want, but clean your hands before touching ANYTHING else! What's on your hands right now will in four seconds be in your eyes, mouth, food...
Ok, so that was this week's rant - do let me know if I have made ANYONE better at washing their hands after this ;)