The nursing assistant observes a first-time student nurse washing their hands. The student turns on the faucet to warm water, wets their hands with fingers upward, applies soap and lathers it for 20 seconds using a circular motion cleansing in between fingers and under nails, and holding the fingers upward rinses the hands and dries the hands with a towel and turns off the faucet with the same towel. What action should the nursing assistant take?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The nursing assistant should discuss with the student nurse the importance of holding the fingers lower than the hand and wrist so that the germs may be washed away and not roll back onto the wrists and arms. Also, explaining that using the same paper towel that was used to dry the hands to turn off the faucet offers no barrier of protection to prevent the transfer of pathogens back to the hands. Showing the posted directions and asking the student nurse to follow it and try again does not offer the needed constructive criticism of what is not being performed correctly. Both taking no action or pointing out that lotion helps preserve the integrity of the skin fail to acknowledge that the handwashing was performed incorrectly and how to correct it.

The Nursing Assistant Observes a First-Time Student Nurse Washing Their