Substitute attending on rounds this morning. Hasn't worked on the wards in a while, is doing a favor for his colleague by filling in. Brought a doughnut and coffee.
Touched the patient.
Touched the doughnut.
Put the doughnut in his mouth.
Touched another patient.
Touched the doughnut again.
Touched a bathroom door handle.
Touched the nurse's station.
Touched the doughnut.
Touched another patient.
Touched his eyes.
Touched the doughnut.
Guess who he will not be touching?
Me.
"Don't you think you should wash your hands?"
"I washed them on my way in."
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Ew. My old dentist put his hands in my mouth (wearing gloves) and then adjusted his glasses with his fingers. GROSS. I switched dentists.
ReplyDeleteI once watched an attending grapple with a medical waste garbage can, then reach into a woman's vagina.
ReplyDeleteIt was in the first four hours I ever shadowed.
At the same place I watched a doctor absent-mindedly lick her finger, try to rub off a spot of baby vomit on her dress, and then lick her finger again and rub at the spot again.
Huh? I read through this entire post wondering where the punchline was or whether there was anything other than perfectly normal behavious of this attendi-- *gets it* OHHHHHH. Cough. Um. Maybe I shouldn't have fallen asleep during those infection control lectures, eh? Heh. Ahem.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoos, gotchoo on my blogroll. Hope you don't mind the heading I've given you :) I'll be back!
Aaaand I will be having nightmares. I'm really crazy about washing my hands in the hospital, especially after using elevators or the stairs. And I'm working in a LAB right now. Not even seeing patients!
ReplyDeleteMr. Clean & the MRSA doughnut! Haha! You should have introduced him to that germaphobe resident from the previous blog. Haha! I bet they will be bestfriends=)
ReplyDeletepoor doughnut, gets a lot of virus,lol~
ReplyDeleteOh please. We were on uber precautions (actually, always are). Gown, gloves, mask, glasses. Still was sick for eight months straight. Nose was raw.
ReplyDeleteThis year, I'm on like my eighteenth gastro. It's not the hand washing. It's the breathing of the viruses, and patients casually mentioning halfway through your admission exam "oh yeah, forgot to mention, we've all had this bad diarrhea for the last week."
I've given up. I don't get sick anymore. My nose runs occasionally, and my throat is sore more frequently than not, but that's as bad as it gets. And on the bright side, I never get constipated. Ever. I never get the chance. Despite my horrid diet. Fiber? Who needs fiber?? Just hang out in a Peds ward for a few minutes, let a kid cough his enterovirus in your face, and you're set.