Foundation 3 Flashcards
Why is hand hygiene important
Most infections are transmitted from the hand, helps protect others and yourself.
Transient skin flora
Found on the surface of the skin. Composition of the skin flora depends on the prevalent micro-organism. We acquire these flora through contact with people, objects and the environment. Picked up and passed on to others very easily. Antibacterial properties of the skin prevent long term survival. Majority removed through effective hand hygiene
Resident skin flora
The micro-organisms that are always on us, Found in deep crevices with moisture content- hair follicles, sebaceous glands, groin and between toes. Types vary according to body site but usually S.aureus. Not readily removed from skin or transferred to others. Can cause infections through open wounds i.e. in surgery. Can be harmful to vulnerable groups like neonatal or ICU patients
The most frequently missed areas of the hand during hand hygiene
Thumbs, finger webs and tips of fingers
When should you use soap in hand hygiene
1) If your hands are soiled, greasy or dirty
2) After several uses of gel because gel becomes sticky
3) After contact with body fluids
4) Prior to aseptic techniques, may require specialist soaps
When should you use gel in hand hygiene
On clean dry hands, all other times when you need to wash your hands. These are the rules for non-infectious patients
How to wash your hands
Start water running and thoroughly wet your hands, apply x1 dispenser of soap. Do the hand washing technique with the water running throughout. Turn off the water with your elbows. Dry your hands with a single use paper towel. Keep hands in good condition with moisturiser and cutting your nails regularly.
How to take of your hands in a clinical setting
Bare below the elbow including jewellery as they will stop us from washing our wrists effectively. Can were on plane band without stones or patterns, as bacteria can get between the stones. Cant have false nails, nail polish/ gel as bacteria can grow between the gaps in the nail polish and between the false nail and the nail bed.
When do you wash your hands
1) Before patient contact
2) After body fluid exposure risk
3) Before aseptic task i.e. changing a wound
4) After contact with patients surroundings, including notes and equipment, equipment also needs to be washed
5) Recommended when entering a ward or clinical area
Describe interprofessional education
When students from various professions learn from each other to improve collaboration and quality of care. Helps you put into practise teamwork skills and gain the skills needed to be part of a multi-disciplinary team in the future. Helps you understand peoples views on other healthcare groups.
Stereotyping professional prejudice in multidisciplinary team
Stereotyping is when a proffesional role is expected to act a certain way. May get the stereotypes from the media, past experience, career path we want to follow and comments people have made. Stereotypes may make people feel pressured to act a certain way, it can have a detrimental effect on a person’s self-esteem. It can negatively impact on someone’s ability to carry out a job. People can feel misunderstood by other colleagues
Health and social care boundaries
Both health professionals and social care should be well informed about the patients condition and their treatment plan.
Consent
The principle that a person must give their permission before they receive any type of medical treatment, test or examination
What is needed for consent to be valid
1) Voluntary- decision is made by the person themselves and not family members
2) Informed- they must have all the information about the procedure
3) Capacity- the person understands all the information given to them and can use this to make a decision about consent
Medical students and consent
The GMC states that patients need to know that you are a student so they can decide whether they want you involved in their care; you must respect their descision. If you have any concerns about a patients consent talk to your supervisor, you should not carry out a procedure without consent.
Confidentiality
Information that is meant to be kept secret or private, all information should be kept confidential unless a compelling reason against it.
Importance of confidentiality
Preserves trust between the patient and health professionals. Subject to legal and ethical safeguarding. Includes all information. Don’t discuss patients in a public area especially identifiable information. Only discuss with clinicians directly involved in their care
Anonymity
When someone’s name is not given and cant be worked out by context. Always anonymise patient information and delete it when no longer needed
GMC being professional on placement guidelines
- Always introduce yourself to patients, letting them know your name and that you are a medical student.
- When you meet a patient check they consent to having a student present
- Make sure your ID badge is visible
- Dress in line with dress code
- Arrive on time
- Attend offered induction sessions
- Complete mandatory training arranged for you on placement
- Make sure you know the rules and guidelines specific to your placement and how to raise concerns
- Be honest with patients if you don’t know the answers to their questions
- Never discuss patient identifiable information without their consent
What do you look at to identify a bacteria
- Size, shape, colour- microscopy/imaging
- Growth conditions- anaerobic/aerobic
- Metabolic attributes (biochemistry)- some grow in different growth media/ biochemical tests
- Serology- how they react to antibodies
- DNR- molecular biology techniques such as PCR
Tests you do to identify the bacteria
Take a sample and grow it on an agar plate, you incubate it overnight. You pick the bacteria off the agar plate and take a gram stain to see what the bacteria looks like under a microscope. You look at colony shape, size and colour. Other biochemical and genetic tests occur and you can look at the blood Lysis as certain bacteria will cause it to change colour.
Viruses
Small infectious organisms that can only replicate inside other living cells as they don’t have their own machinery for genome replication, transcription or translation. Instead they take over the machinery of the host cell. Debate over whether they are alive because of this
Virus structure
A virion is a single virus particle. The genome (either DNA or RNA), capsid (a protein shell that encloses the genome). Genome and capsid make up the nucleocapsid. Enveloped viruses have a lipid bilayer derived from their host cell. Capsid proteins protect the genome from being damaged. Very small
Prion
A misfolded protein which is infectious, it replicates in the host by inducing normal proteins of the same type to adopt an abnormal structure. Replicates itself without genetic information. If lots of proteins misfold you get a build up of abnormal proteins forming an amyloid plaque (stop working and become insoluble) which can cause cell death. Consumption of prion aggregate can spread prion disease
Protozoa
A diverse set of unicellular eukaryotic organisms, cause a range of human diseases like malaria
Helminths
Multicellular worms which cause infections. I.e. tapeworms
Eukaryote structure
Nucleus Diploid chromosomes Organelles 80s ribosomes Membrane contains sterols Only fungi have a cell wall Move through complicated cilia
Prokaryote structure
No nucleus Haploid DNA with a few circular chromosomes No organelles 70s ribosomes No sterols in the cytoplasmic membrane A cell wall Asexual (binary fission) reproduction Moves via flagella Smaller then eukaryotes, bigger then viruses