Consider the following story: A patient in a teaching hospital is about to be examined by a resident physician. When asked by the patient to wash his hands, the resident refuses, saying he has done so recently. The staff physician then enters the room and the patient speaks of his disappointment regarding the actions of the resident. The staff physician is displeased and states that the patient...

Construction of several new Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories and expansion of existing operations have created an increased international demand for well-trained staff and facility leaders. Directors of most North American BSL-4 laboratories met and agreed upon a framework for leadership and training of biocontainment research and operations staff. They agreed on essential preparation and...

When epidemic cholera appeared in Haiti in October 2010, the medical community there had virtually no experience with the disease and needed rapid training as the epidemic spread throughout the country. We developed a set of training materials specific to Haiti and launched a cascading training effort. Through a training-of-trainers course in November 14-15, 2010, and department-level training ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the compliance with hand hygiene guidelines among nursing staff in secondary care hospitals in Kuwait. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted through direct observation using the Lewisham observation tool and self-administered questionnaire in six major public secondary care hospitals in Kuwait. Only patient care activities that are described as 'dirty ...

OBJECTIVES To investigate whether the regular use of alcohol hand gel was having a detrimental effect on hands of healthcare professionals and, if so, to what extent. The study also aimed to establish a link between individuals who felt their hands were suffering from persistent exposure to the gel and those who actively avoided using the gel. DESIGN A short descriptive questionnaire was dist...

BACKGROUND Cross-transmission of microorganisms by the hands of health care workers is considered the main route of spread of nosocomial infections. OBJECTIVE To study the process of bacterial contamination of health care workers' hands during routine patient care in a large teaching hospital. METHODS Structured observations of 417 episodes of care were conducted by trained external observe...

As awareness increases of the role that librarians can play in facilitating improved research data management, so does the need to provide university library staff with professional development opportunities. Cox et al (2012) argue that learning should be “exploratory, discursive and reflective, providing a space in which librarians can explore developments as they relate to their individual/te...

Norovirus strains were detected in two patients and in environmental swabs from a pediatric primary immunodeficiency unit in London, United Kingdom, during an infection control incident in November and December 2007. Detailed analyses of the gene encoding the P2 domain demonstrated that the majority of the strains were not related to the patients and that the environmental contamination was mos...

We describe an outbreak of skin sepsis due to an erythromycin-resistant strain of Streptococcus pyogenes in workers at a meat plant. The outbreak began among butchers in the boning room but subsequently spread to other groups of workers in the plant. Despite the introduction of additional control measures, the outbreak persisted for 7 months and affected 46/194 staff with 'hands on' occupations...

BACKGROUND For most patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer, dealing with the adjustment and rehabilitation after treatment can be overwhelming. There is a significant need for expert educational and counseling support, especially for the patient with a new ostomy. This pilot study describes acute care oncology staff nurses' knowledge about and attitudes toward providing direct ostomy care su...